When it comes to airfare, a little effort can save you a bundle. Courier fares are the cheapest for those whose plans are flexible enough to deal with the restrictions. Tickets sold by consolidators and standby seating are also good deals, but last-minute specials, airfare wars, and charter flights often beat these fares. The key is to hunt around, be flexible, and ask about discounts. Students, seniors, and those under 26 should never pay full price for a ticket.
Airfares to Mexico peak in late March/early April and mid-June through August; holidays are also expensive. Midweek (M-Th morning) round-trip flights run US$40-50 cheaper than weekend flights, but they are generally more crowded and less likely to permit frequent-flier upgrades. Not fixing a return date (“open return”) or arriving in and departing from different cities (“open-jaw”) can be pricier than round-trip flights. Patching one-way flights together is the most expensive way to travel. Flights between Mexico’s capitals or regional hubs—Mexico city, Guadalajara, and Cancún—tend to be cheaper.
If Mexico is only one stop on a more extensive globe-hop, consider a round-the-world (RTW) ticket. Tickets usually include at least five stops and are valid for about a year; prices range US$1200-5000. Try Northwest Airlines/KLM (☎800-225-2525; www.nwa.com) or Star Alliance, a consortium of 16 airlines including United Airlines (www.staralliance.com).
Fares for round-trip flights to Mexico City from the US or Canadian east coast cost US$500-600, US$400 in the low season; from the US or Canadian west coast US$500/300-400; from the UK, UK£800/700; from Australia AUS$4000/3700; from New Zealand NZ$3300/2700.
While knowledgeable agents specializing in flights to Mexico can make your life easy and help you save, they may not spend the time to find you the lowest possible fare—they get paid on commission. Travelers holding ISICs and IYTCs qualify for big discounts from student travel agencies.
The commercial airlines’ lowest regular offer is the APEX (Advance Purchase Excursion) fare, which provides confirmed reservations and allows “open-jaw” tickets. Generally, reservations must be made seven to 21 days ahead of departure, with seven- to 14-day minimum-stay and up to 90-day maximum-stay restrictions. These fares carry hefty cancellation and change penalties (fees rise in summer). Book peak-season APEX fares early. Use Expedia (www.expedia.com) or Travelocity (www.travelocity.com) to get an idea of the lowest published fares, then use the resources outlined here to try to beat those fares. Low-season fares should be appreciably cheaper than the high-season (mid-June to Aug.) ones listed here.
Basic round-trip fares to Mexico cost roughly US$500-600, US$400 in the low season. Standard commercial carriers like American and United will probably offer the most convenient flights, but they may not be the cheapest, unless you snag a special promotion or airfare war ticket. You will probably find flying one of the following “discount” airlines a better deal, if any of their limited departure points is convenient for you.
Basic round-trip fares to Mexico cost roughly US$900-1200, US$800 in the low season. Standard international carriers like American and Continental will probably offer the most convenient flights.
Basic round-trip fares to Mexico cost roughly US$1900-2200, US$1800 in the low season. Most likely, this trip will require multiple carriers.
Traveling standby requires considerable flexibility in arrival and departure dates. Companies dealing in standby flights sell vouchers rather than tickets, along with the promise to get you to your destination (or near your destination) within a certain window of time (typically 1-5 days). You call in before your specific window of time to hear your flight options and the probability that you will be able to board each flight. You can then decide which flights you want to try to catch, show up at the appropriate airport at the appropriate time, present your voucher, and board if space is available. Vouchers can usually be bought for both one-way and round-trip travel. You may receive a monetary refund only if every available flight within your date range is full; if you opt not to take an available (but perhaps less convenient) flight, you can only get credit toward future travel. Read agreements (and the tricky fine print) with any company offering standby flights with care. To check a company’s service record in the US, contact the Better Business Bureau (☎703-276-0100; www.bbb.org). It is difficult to receive refunds, and clients’ vouchers will not be honored when an airline fails to receive payment in time.
Ticket consolidators, or “bucket shops,” buy unsold tickets in bulk from commercial airlines and sell them at discounted rates. The best place to look is in the Sunday travel section of any major newspaper (such as The New York Times), where many bucket shops place tiny ads. Call quickly, as availability is extremely limited. Not all bucket shops are reliable, so insist on a receipt that gives full details of restrictions, refunds, and tickets, and pay by credit card (in spite of the 2-5% fee) so you can stop payment if you never receive your tickets. For more info, see www.travel-library.com/air-travel/consolidators.html.
Some consolidators worth trying are Rebel (☎800-732-3588; www.rebeltours.com), Cheap Tickets (www.cheaptickets.com), Flights.com (www.flights.com), TravelHUB (www.travelhub.com), Kayak.com (kayak.com) and Mobissimmo.com (mobissimmo.com). Let’s Go does not endorse any of these agencies. As always, be cautious, and research companies before you hand over your credit card number.
Tour operators contract charter flights with airlines in order to fly extra loads of passengers during peak season. These flights are far from hassle free. They occur less frequently than major airlines, make refunds particularly difficult, and are almost always fully booked. Their scheduled times may change, and they may be cancelled at the last moment (as late as 48hr. before the trip, and without a full refund). Additionally, check-in, boarding, and baggage claim for these flights are often much slower. They can, however, be much cheaper. Discount clubs and fare brokers offer members savings on last-minute charter and tour deals. Study contracts closely; you don’t want to end up with an unwanted overnight layover.
 |
 |
 |
 |
For 52 years, we have published the world’s favorite budget travel guides, written entirely by students and updated every year. With pen and notebook in hand and a few changes of underwear stuffed in our backpacks, we spend months roaming the globe in search of travel bargains.
Facebook
Twitter
You Tube
Foursquare
Newsletter
RSS Feed
Overview