Best sites for booking flights?

I usually book on expedia.com, but now there's a message saying if you live outside in the UK you need to book on the UK site.  I want to pay in USD, so I'm looking at other sites.

Anyone recommendations?  Is Vayama.com any good?

kayak.com. I use them a lot!

I used Vayama to come here in August...Hmm, the flight was cheap but the plane was really small and it was really uncomfy and there was no personal screens-I did fly on Delta if that makes a difference.  So they were good in regards to price, Delta was bad in regards to comfort 

Delta was bad in regards to comfort 

Delta is some & some.  They have been in the process of replacing the older aircraft with newer ones...so sometimes you get a new plane with personal screens & cool stuff at each seat  - and sometimes you don't  .  Bit of a crap shoot.  Delta is in the process now of merging with Northwest Airlines - not sure how (if at all) it will affect the planes they are using for various flight routes.  (Could mean good stuff because they're getting a lot more aircraft than what they've had before!)

For airfares, I usually check out several websites for price comparisons like oanda (doh!) opodo, kayak, cheaptickets, etc...then I end up booking directly with the airline usually anyway.  Our trips to the US involve so many legs (different stops), the consolidator sites can't handle our complex itineraries and booking with the airline is generally much simpler & just as cheap if not cheaper.

I used Vayama to come here in August...Hmm, the flight was cheap but the plane was really small and it was really uncomfy and there was no personal screens-I did fly on Delta if that makes a difference.  So they were good in regards to price, Delta was bad in regards to comfort 

Delta is some & some.  They have been in the process of replacing the older aircraft with newer ones...so sometimes you get a new plane with personal screens & cool stuff at each seat  - and sometimes you don't  .  Bit of a crap shoot.  Delta is in the process now of merging with Northwest Airlines - not sure how (if at all) it will affect the planes they are using for various flight routes.  (Could mean good stuff because they're getting a lot more aircraft than what they've had before!)

I flew with Delta this summer (8 flights in total within 4 weeks!) and was pleasantly surprised with the service, although I agree that some of the planes weren't the nicest (in 4 transatlantic flights this year, not all with Delta, only one had back-of-seat screens). Delta provided soft blankets, ear plugs and eye shades for the overnight flight, as well as a choice of three different snacks on each flight (crackers, cookies or peanuts) - which I thought was really good, since most airlines won't even give you any snacks at all anymore, just drinks. On the smaller, shorter flights, we were allowed as many snacks as we wanted (they came round with a basket and told us to help ourselves!) and for the longer ones they provided menus for the in-flight meals so that we could choose what we wanted before they came round.

Yeah, I fly Delta pretty much exclusively (flight routing & family reasons  ) - and the snacks/food are just as you describe as to whether the flight is short/domestic, or long/transatlantic.  It's very much still what I consider a 'traditional' airline carrier, meaning you still get the free food/drinks etc...as opposed to EasyJet, Jet2, etc (cheap carriers) where you pay out the wazoo for every little extra thing.  Of course, you pay a bit more in fares to fly a carrier like Delta.  But having the personal screens particularly on the long flights does make it so much nicer!  (Delta's pilots are really nice too!) 

(Delta's pilots are really nice too!) 

Yeah, I thought that the crews were great on most of the flights - always making jokes (i.e. 'Please take all your belongings with you, but if you do leave anything on the plane, we would appreciate it if it was good quality and preferably in a size 6.'), and I can't help but chuckle every time I see their flight safety video too, lol.

Random coincidence though, I was on a tiny Delta plane from Cincinnati, OH to Little Rock, AR (one seat, aisle, two seats) back in July and strangely enough, the pilot/captain was from Manchester - it seemed quite strange to have an English captain on a domestic US flight !

Random coincidence though, I was on a tiny Delta plane from Cincinnati, OH to Little Rock, AR (one seat, aisle, two seats) back in July and strangely enough, the pilot/captain was from Manchester - it seemed quite strange to have an English captain on a domestic US flight !

Indeed!  I met one of their English pilots previously (at a Thanksgiving dinner!), but they flew internationally so I doubt it was the same English pilot.  I did have an Irish flight attendant once though, on a Delta Atlanta to Wichita (Kansas) flight.

ETA:  Like other old-school traditional air carriers, Delta used to recruit their pilots pretty much exclusively from ex-military pilots...so you knew that whoever was flying the plane had loads of experience, hundreds of hours of flight time etc - from their very first day on the job.  Not sure that's so much the case anymore, but the old school pilots will be the ones with the most seniority there now - although they are starting to retire.

For airfares, I usually check out several websites for price comparisons like oanda, kayak, cheaptickets, etc...then I end up booking directly with the airline usually anyway.  Our trips to the US involve so many legs (different stops), the consolidator sites can't handle our complex itineraries and booking with the airline is generally much simpler & just as cheap if not cheaper.

This is exactly what I do too.  Most airlines have the cheapest rates right on their own sites and you don't have to pay the extra booking fees on the third party websites.  Also, most airline websites will honour a cheaper fare found on a third party website if theirs is not cheaper. 

I found the flight I want on both cheaptickets.com and united.com.  United's price is $50 more expensive, but I'm a bit hesitant as I've never booked with Cheaptickets before.

Anyone have any experience with Cheaptickets? 

Thanks!

With cheaptickets & expedia be careful with the hidden booking fees that don't show up till the end. I usually book straight through United.com, but couldn't this time because we have an infant daughter that is a lap passenger and you can't book their tickets through the company's website. So we had to use Expedia.co.uk to do it and were charged £40 processing fee for our conveniece.

Our only other option was to book through by calling the airline direct and then you never know what kind of price you'll get.

I found the flight I want on both cheaptickets.com and united.com.  United's price is $50 more expensive, but I'm a bit hesitant as I've never booked with Cheaptickets before.

Anyone have any experience with Cheaptickets? 

Thanks!

I've used them before. It all comes through your email as an eticket to print out.  Very reliable.

I'd also recommend lastminute.com. and cheapfareguru wasn't bad, it was just an issue with my airline. The people who run CFG are really nice! 

Count me as another one who checks online using a service, and then goes directly to the airline to book it.

Though last time I used...Expedia, I think. And they kept ringing my cellphone every hour or so and telling me utterly useless things like, "it's time to board your flight!"

Thanks, robot lady!

Count me as another one who checks online using a service, and then goes directly to the airline to book it.

Yeah, that's why I also like using Kayak and other services that are just listing sites that direct you to the airline to book. 

You also sometimes save money because of not having to pay the booking fees, but then sometimes the flight is cheaper on a discount site, so I always look for airlines that have a price guarantee - if you see the same flight lower on another site and bring it to the attention of the airlne (I use print screen and email it), they'll give you the difference.  BA has this kind of deal.

I use my credit card's reward program to earn points. I buy EVERYTHING with this card, and am able to get at least a flight a year.

I fly BA, and go online to find the cheapest flight, then book through my card's travel agent. In fact, I just got a free flight for myself for next month!