Flying through the major hubs of the big airlines could make your trips more expensive than they should be. Tripdelta finds the hidden airports that could save you as much as 90 per cent over the standard route.
The site was built by a team of mathematicians who travelled to more than 100 countries to find the best airports to connect you to where you want to go. For example, if you’re flying from San Francisco to London, tripdelta finds the cheapest route will be from Oakland to Los Angeles and then from LAX to London (LGW). Kayak simply has you go from SFO, which costs $US193 ($267) more.
Tripdelta works best now for one-way flights and there might be a convenience cost, with multiple transfers. Still, if you’re looking for the absolute cheapest flight, this is a good place to start your search.
Comments
4 responses to “Tripdelta Finds Cheaper Flights Through ‘Secret’ Airport Routes”
Im curious why people dont add a value to their time when considering things like this
For example – I can fly direct to Melb to HK – 9.5 hours
So why (for example) would I want to fly to Sydney, change planes and wait 3 hours to get the connecting flight or go to Singapore, change planes and potentially wait more than 1 hour for the connecting flight to save maybe $100 or $200?
is your time, and the convenience, not worth it that you need to find the CHEAPEST way possible? If so, I dont think thats a person I would want to travel with (scenario: lets take the fast train to a new destination for 3 hours at a cost of $40, other person says ‘No lets take the 12 hour bus ride for $10’)
There’s some good points here.
Connections can be risky
In your example below you have a significant risk of missing a connecting flight if there is a minor delay somewhere in the broader network, and if you aren’t careful you may end up stranded with no recourse.
Last month we were delayed for 60 mins on a Syd-Bri flight for a false alarm mechanical issue, but people on my flight missed connecting, unrelated flights and had no recourse unless they had travel insurance.
Cheap != ideal
A former employer of mine prefaced cheapest individual leg when booking as opposed to cheapest round flight or direct flights.
Some amazing examples ensued.
Sydney to Manila (8hr direct via Phil Air, Qantas) Amex suggested flight –
Sydney to Brisbane (Tiger)
Brisbane to Bangkok (Thai)
Bangkok to Seoul (Air Asia)
Seoul to Dalian (China Southern)
Dalian to Manila (China Southern)
32 hours total travel, with no hotels, assuming no delays
Another example had Sydney to Brisbane via Melbourne as part of the above.
A colleague of mine flying Manila to San Fran didn’t read his ticket properly and left a day before my trip back to Sydney and arrived a day after I did via Guam (half the way to the US) then back to Narita, and back to LA and SF.
Another went from Sydney to Argentina via Asia, Europe, and the USA instead of direct. 48 hours flying I believe.
Depends on your goals. If you’re low on status credits with a requalification date approaching, there is the tendency to connect rather than fly direct. Or if you’re heading (for example) to mainland China, a lot of folks would rather take the combinations of SQ/MI or CX/KA than fly direct with China Southern/Eastern/etc.
Good point!
When I’m travelling with my family, saving 5x$200 for an extra 3 hours in Sydney is something I’m happy to do 🙂
And if i was travelling with you, I’d say “ill pay the extra $100 or so dollars” and I’ll meet you in the end destination.. most likely already checked into the hotel, had lunch and doing some siteseeing while you are still flying, that is IF you’d made your connecting flight and it hasnt been delayed