With the Thanksgiving holiday just around the corner, many SMU students are anticipating flights back to their respective hometowns. With many online options, finding a great deal on an airline ticket is feasible. It’s just a matter of how hard one is willing to look.

From Nov. 27 – 30, American Airlines seemed to be the best bet for finding decent deals on flights. With the exception of one flight to New Orleans, the tickets never exceeded $1000. American had the best price for Los Angeles, starting at $422.50; that’s less than half the price of Delta Airlines’ starting price of $867.50. American also offered less layovers and more non-stop flights than Delta, which explained their significant price differences. Continental had relatively moderate prices compared their competitors. The search for flights to the East Coast cities, like Boston and New York, returned higher prices ranging from $1,150-$1,300.

Southwest Airlines didn’t fair as well as the others. Although they advertised flights to major cities starting at enticingly cheap rates such as $48 to Los Angeles, upon visiting the Web site and looking for flights, it failed to deliver what commercials promised. It is still a reputable chain for low-priced tickets to moderately close cities. For example, a flight from Dallas to Houston or Austin is $91 and $93 each way.

Priceline.com is and excellent concept, but as far as reliability goes, it’s somewhat questionable. It failed to offer significant details like the airports one would arrive in and the actual airline one would take. They do promise that flights will be on a major airline.