Farecast Adds Top Deals Search

Chris Null wrote about Farecast when it first launched because of its unique way of determining whether fares are on the rise, static, or coming down. Well, the travel site has added some new features as of this week, including Farecast Deals, which finds the best fares within the next 90 days from 26 cities.

Farecast started out with two cities in June, and now lists fares between 26 top U.S. cities. But one of the best things about the new feature is it breaks down the deals into categories that make it easier to plan different kinds of trips: last-minute deals, week-long trips, family getaways, and top deals. Just click on your departure city, and up pops the best air fares to different cities in those four categories. To view different dates than the ones that first appear, just click on a calendar icon to the right of the fares.

The Flight Deals for Families are to destinations near family theme parks and national parks.

If you haven't checked out Farecast since it first launched, it's time for another look. To check out the city-to-city feature, I popped in some flights from Newark to Atlanta in early April and found that Farecast predicts the prices will go down in the next seven days. I was advised to wait. It's such a welcome feature that helps take some of the guesswork out of deciding whether you're getting the best air fare deal. There's also a feature that allows you to put in the flights, times, and dates you're looking for and receive email updates from Farecast on the best fares.

For a look at some other web sites that compare fares, check out these posts:

Forecasting Airline Prices
Hedging Your Bet on Travel Prices with Fair Guard
Check Out FareCompare's Insane Flight Pricing Tool