Turning up at the airport - Pot luck? ... - Thorn Tree travel forum

Turning up at the airport - Pot luck?

Replies: 8 - Last Post: 20-Jul-2008 16:25 Last Post By: snan

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Posted
26-Feb-2007 14:24
by: somewhere_in_the_uk

Posts: 1
Registered: 05/02/07

Turning up at the airport - Pot luck?

A friend and I have some time to kill. To be exact, from Weds 28th to Mon 5th. We are contemplating turning up at the airport (probably Gatwick) and seeing where we can go cheaply.
Is this likely to give us a good deal getting somewhere potentially interesting?

Posted
27-Feb-2007 09:34
by: RestlessPilgrim

Posts: 188
Registered: 22/09/05

1

Anywhere is potentially interesting...

A square peg in a round hole

Everywhere is walking distance if you have the time

When all is said and done, the weather and love are the two elements about which one can never be sure... Alice Hoffmann

Posted
28-Feb-2007 14:19
by: soylentyellow

Posts: 1,449
Registered: 22/02/03

2

A slightly cheaper way in the Internet age would probably be to go to a lastminute site the day before and see what they offer and take either whatever takes your fancy or whatever is cheapest or ...

Posted
01-Mar-2007 01:18
by: CheersTerry

Posts: 6,362
Registered: 07/03/01

3

"... Is this likely to give us a good deal..."

No.

Cheers,
Terry

Posted
16-Mar-2007 06:46
by: Bothsidesnow

Posts: 123
Registered: 25/05/06

4

I second the online option.
Did this last year the week before I had a free weekend, and ended up scoring a really cheap flight to Stockholm on ryanair and had an amazing trip. The place picked was still rather random, and there was still an element of time pressure, but at least I knew ahead of time that I should pack cold weather clothing.

I really don't know clouds at all

Posted
23-Mar-2007 03:29
by: speeddemon

Posts: 1
Registered: 23/03/07

5

Yep go online first if you are cash concious, but you may miss out on some of the buzz of just turning up at the airport and ending up somewhere you've never been before. I do it sometimes when I am stressed I just turn up at the airport and pick a flight number that has my lucky number in it (23) and go to that destination. When I arrive I pick a hotel from a hotel list that has my lucky number and just follow it that way with the number as the key. One of the better trips was Stuttgart and there was an animation film festival that weekend and I pretty much got clued up on all things anime in a couple of days it was fantastic. My next trip I am going to use strangers instead of the lucky number as the key. So I will go somewhere where I had a conversation with a perfect stranger, I am going to eat food that is eaten by a stranger, clubs hotels etc. The downside is that you have to be a bit solvent to do this kind of thing but sometimes it is worth it. ss

Posted
24-Apr-2007 02:18
by: bendejo

Posts: 646
Registered: 06/09/03

6

I think turning up at airport and shopping for a ticket to no where in particular is going involve a few hours in a back room, and, if you have a name anything like Abdul, more than a few hours.

... went straight 'round the corner
and never came back

Posted
26-May-2007 15:02
by: RichardInSF

Posts: 990
Registered: 25/07/04

7

The days of cheap last minute standby fares being available at airports are long gone -- at that point, typically only the most expensive fares are available. Do what the folks who suggested above regarding lastminute website surfing suggested.

Posted
20-Jul-2008 16:25
by: snan

Posts: 114
Registered: 16/07/08

8

Sign up for emails from kayak.com. They always send me emails about crazy-cheap last minute fares. You might be with some unheard of sketchy airline, but I've seen sales w/ domestic flights under $50 and international ones (to South/Central America) under $100.

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