46
votes
Accepted
Would an airline be willing to let me board a similar flight that leaves a few hours earlier, if I ask at the airport a few hours before the flight?
Would there be any point in asking the Wizz air worker in charge of boarding if I could get on the other flight instead of mine?
Absolutely. You can certainly ask.
Is there any chance that they ...
- 112k
31
votes
Sudden cheap travel?
You don't have to seek out some special place for last minute deals. There are plenty of websites that do this - just search for "last minute deals". Alternatively, you can just go to your favourite ...
- 364
25
votes
Are inexpensive last minute tickets a thing?
Generally not, but this can be very different between airlines and routes. Typically airlines set a price for a seat on a given flight; if the seats sell fast, they may even increase prices; if the ...
- 6,701
15
votes
Is it possible to book a flight at the gate after deplaning from another flight?
That probably depends on the airport. In general, they're not equipped at the gate to sell you a ticket, but it might be possible.
If you got in early enough you could leave the secure area, go to ...
- 15.4k
13
votes
Accepted
Sudden cheap travel?
The most flexible search engine I've used to find flights is Adioso.
You start by selecting your origin airport, then:
Destination, which you can either select from cities, or airports, up to whole ...
- 4,614
12
votes
Accepted
What are the options for booking short-stay accommodation between London and Newcastle at very short notice?
Campsites for people who are walking mostly allow walk-on's, reserving some or even all their lots for people who walk. Most restrict staying to one night, which will suit you.
And when carying your ...
- 62.6k
12
votes
Sudden cheap travel?
If you google 'last minute travel deals', you'll find plenty of sites, including lastminute.com, which have deals like this.
I also subscribe to travelzoo, they have a last minute section too (eg for ...
- 160k
11
votes
Would an airline be willing to let me board a similar flight that leaves a few hours earlier, if I ask at the airport a few hours before the flight?
It depends a lot on the airline and the fare.
With a full fare on an incumbent airline, it’s very likely you could be transferred to that flight, especially in your situation (original flight delayed, ...
- 89.9k
11
votes
Would an airline be willing to let me board a similar flight that leaves a few hours earlier, if I ask at the airport a few hours before the flight?
I have successfully changed flights in the past. My scenario was flying out of a major east coast USA airport with a winter storm approaching. Our outgoing flight was running late due to the ...
- 542
9
votes
Are inexpensive last minute tickets a thing?
Yes, lower-cost last minute tickets are made available sometimes. Pricing of airline tickets is very complex and is done to maximize the price each customer pays. The general pattern is that tickets ...
- 46.3k
7
votes
Are inexpensive last minute tickets a thing?
I agree with the other answers that it's uncommon for prices to decrease within the 48 hours before the flight. I'd add that some flight search engine shows the price history, which may help you ...
- 59.7k
6
votes
Would an airline be willing to let me board a similar flight that leaves a few hours earlier, if I ask at the airport a few hours before the flight?
Yes, and you can always ask. I've done it (on SAS), but then they only released the seats on the earlier plane like 30 minutes before departure and you had to be ready and queueing at the gate to see ...
- 533
5
votes
Is it possible to book a flight at the gate after deplaning from another flight?
(I've been working adjunct to the airline industry for 20 years--those check-in kiosks you see? That--along with some other team members, of course--was I, starting in 1996, with the first fully ...
- 151
5
votes
Is it possible to book a flight at the gate after deplaning from another flight?
You may or may not be able to buy at the gate and it's hard to predict whether you can or not. Your best bet would be to try buy one directly on the United App and you can also check in there. United ...
- 112k
5
votes
What are the options for booking short-stay accommodation between London and Newcastle at very short notice?
Yes, in that the major options, Kayak, Hotels.com, AirBnB, Expedia, etc. don't do anything to prevent making last minute bookings. They are not at all uncommon.
The one that might the trickiest to ...
- 32.8k
5
votes
Sudden cheap travel?
I tend to use SkyScanner to search for flights- it will let you choose where you fly from/ to (airport/ city/ country, etc) or you can specify where you want to fly from, and leave the destination ...
- 277
5
votes
Are inexpensive last minute tickets a thing?
Airline pricing isn't driven by econ 101 S&D. There are a couple reasons for that. The biggest reason is that there are only a few airline providers and the other is that the marginal cost of ...
- 695
4
votes
Would an airline be willing to let me board a similar flight that leaves a few hours earlier, if I ask at the airport a few hours before the flight?
It depends on whether you've got hold luggage
At this point I was at the terminal after passing through passport control and security.
At this point your hold luggage, if you have any, is on its way ...
- 2,232
3
votes
Can you add an extra passenger to your booking at the ferry terminal when traveling by car between Dover and Calais?
You won't be allowed on the ferry:
When traveling to and from the UK, it is now mandatory to provide
Advance Passenger information. This is a requirement that is needed
for each person prior to ...
- 759
3
votes
Where can I get a battery for an old(ish) laptop in Lima?
There appears to be an electronics market, Cyberplaza which may have what you need, depending on your luck and how standard that battery is.
If you are staying at a hotel they may be able to suggest ...
- 3,738
2
votes
is there an ultra-last minute price drop on long haul flights with regular (not low cost) airlines?
Each airline is free to apply the pricing policy they want, so the answer could vary greatly from airline to airline.
A quick search for a transatlantic flight for today gives me a minimum price of $...
- 1,196
2
votes
Is it possible to book a flight at the gate after deplaning from another flight?
Yes, Gate Agents can book new tickets (no cash though) but this wouldn't be my first plan because:
They have a lot to do otherwise.
You still have to comply with the 30-45 min purchase requirement ...
- 32.8k
2
votes
Sudden cheap travel?
There are also Virtual Assistant services that will add a personal touch to this and can help you go through the masses of options out there so you dont have to, just tell them your requirements and ...
- 4,263
2
votes
Are inexpensive last minute tickets a thing?
Mostly not, companies try to get the most from desperate people who need to catch that flight at last second and they can pay a lot for a ticket (like people who are going to a funeral), so better to ...
- 1,331
2
votes
Would an airline be willing to let me board a similar flight that leaves a few hours earlier, if I ask at the airport a few hours before the flight?
I have done it but there was a good weather reason for the change. Notably, the agent said it was allowed because the flight change wouldn't get me to my final destination any earlier.
- 8,124
2
votes
Would an airline be willing to let me board a similar flight that leaves a few hours earlier, if I ask at the airport a few hours before the flight?
It obviously depends on the airline. They may even suggest it.
(Back in the late 90s, I arrived at my gate, and the employee at the counter mentioned that another flight would be departing for my ...
- 121
2
votes
Am I allowed to leave Mainland China without using the onward ticket used to get visa-free entry (I'll leave in due time)? If so must I notify anyone?
I might be late for this question, but French passport holders are now visa-free for China.
http://fr.china-embassy.gov.cn/fra/zgzfg/zgsg/lsb/202311/t20231124_11186513.htm
From December 1, 2023 at 00:...
- 688
1
vote
Are inexpensive last minute tickets a thing?
You may be lucky, maybe not. 25 to 30 years ago this was a thing, especially in the UK and offers were constantly streamed by teletext which was text transmitted between analog TV frames.
Bucket shops ...
- 291
1
vote
Accepted
Is it practical to travel to Iceland without booking accommodation in advance in late September?
Yes, it should work just fine.
Sadly most tourist come at the normal tourist season, mid-June through August, which means they missout on a lot of Iceland. However this is good for you as you'll be ...
- 2,115
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible