Marilyn, it may still be too soon to find deeply discounted airfares online between the west and Boston -- assuming that you, like me, are willing to accept restrictions in order to get the lowest possible price.
In general, the US airlines list their cheapest fares about *5-6 WEEKS BEFORE* departure date. However, I like to start "stalking" airfares about 10 weeks before departure date so I have some notion of the market, although I know that usually the price I'm willing to pay isn't available for about another month. (I check Expedia, but there are other similar aggregator sites, as well as a few airlines that aren't listed on any of them, e.g., Southwest). In off-season (ca. October-April), SATA typically flies only between Boston and Ponta Delgada, São Miguel, and only on Tuesdays and Fridays (except for a smattering of extra flights around various major holidays), with Tuesday fares generally a bit lower. However, domestic US fares to/from Boston tend to be significantly lower on Tuesdays than Fridays, so substantial savings on those might help you decide, if your schedule permits. One smart move SATA has made lately is to schedule their return flight from PDL to BOS for a few hours earlier than it used to, so that it's due to arrive in late afternoon, allowing sufficient time for connecting passengers to clear Customs, then make the next flight (previously, their flights arrived so late that a continuing passenger had to spend the night in Boston, and hotels there are pricey). Don't hesitate to ask if you have further questions. Katharine. -- To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. Follow the confirmation directions when they arrive. For more options, such as changing to List, Digest, Abridged, or No Mail (vacation) mode, log into your Google account and visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/Azores. Click in the blue area on the right that says "Join this group" and it will take you to "Edit my membership."
