Last minute flights

[93VR6]

Good afternoon everyone,

Anyone have any experiences good or bod booking flights last minute, or not even booking just going to the airport and looking for a cheap flight somewhere.

I have no problem waiting around for a few hours to get a flight, I just have a field job without a rotation and I just want to get out of here for 2-3 weeks.

For this trip specifically im looking to go to Thailand for 3 weeks and since I don't know when my job will be done i'd like to just show up at the airport when I am done the job.

[shakalaka]

Theoretically speaking, if there is a flight that has room and is about to take off in a few hours, last minute prices should be a 'good' deal, since you'd think that they'd like to fill their seats up. However, I am not sure if that is indeed the case in reality. Would like to hear what others who may have a better idea about this say.

[Tik-Tok]

"Last minute" deals dont exist. Airlines would rather fly with empty seats. Otherwise they eventually end up with everyone trying to do this.

Cheapest way to fly last minute is to use aeroplan/airmiles/etc. As the point cost and taxes doesnt change no matter how far in advance you book.

[toyboy88]

Yeah as others have said, in theory, you'd think if the airline has 'empty' seats (ie. day of departure) they would basically sell for whatever (if the flight is flying regardless).

But airlines nowadays have pretty good 'planning' to fill their planes near capacity before 'last minute'. If you are really trying to find a 'last minute' deal, you have a better chance getting a deal 1-2 weeks out from flight date, as airlines try and fill their seats then.

If you want to book day of/day before, airlines generally assume that you NEED to fly last minute (and charge you $$$).

Example here, you can see flights almost anywhere leaving today/tomorrow are all priced higher than week or two weeks out from now:

www.google.com/flights/explorer