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Looking for Flights by date

This may be a stupid question, but does anyone know of a website to look for flights from a particular airport by date? One of the things we looked forward to when retiring was being somewhat spontaneous. Me, “honey there’s a cheap flight to Lisbon in 10 days, do you want to go.” I know COVID put a big damper on that idea, but I am still hopeful things will improve each year. Anyway, is there such a website?

Posted by
1226 posts

I use google flights. I enter a departure and arrival airport where required, and enter an approximate date (meaning, I enter a date, because its necessary, but it may not be the date I need or want to travel). Only after you search for a specific trip like this does google flights offer a link called "date grid". When you click on the "date grid", you go to a calendar page with departure dates horizontal across the top and return dates to the left vertical. The whole calendar is then filled with departures/return intersections with a price, and the prices vary by dates. You can move the dates across the top and along the side to change the calendar. So while I may enter departure of December 3 and return of December 10, I can then move the departure date by clicking on the right as far as I want (although if I move the departure date farther than the return date in the vertical column, the grid is blank. You do have to update both columns to mitigate this).

This is how I always look for flights because I look for the cheapest option, and have flexibility of timing. You can also change airports to compare prices, and flights...

Ill try to link this but not sure it will work. Here's a flight from JFK to Heathrow (again, random dates). Just below where the dates are you will see "date grid" and "price graph" links. What I describe above is what you see when you click "date grid":
https://www.google.com/travel/flights/search?tfs=CBwQAhoeagcIARIDSkZLEgoyMDIxLTEyLTEwcgcIARIDTEhSGh5qBwgBEgNMSFISCjIwMjEtMTItMTRyBwgBEgNKRktwAYIBCwj___________8BQAFIAZgBAQ

Posted by
2822 posts

On Google Flights you can leave the destination block empty and search flights from a particular airport by a block of dates - a world map will display showing all of the various options so you can let your imagination run wild. You can then fine tune your dates to zero in on a particular trip that interests you.
If you then click on a particular destination it will display the current Covid restrictions in place there - pretty handy actually.

Posted by
16254 posts

My sister and her husband used to use Travelzoo to find great deals, including some last-minute ones; on flights to Europe. I have never used it myself, so I don’t know if you can set the alert function to include only deals from a certain airport. I know one year they flew to Sicily over Christmas for a great price (something like $700 RT if I recall correctly) and had a great time in the off-season. But I am sure we won’t see prices like that anytime soon.

Posted by
1625 posts

Also Scotts Cheap Flights has great deals, they will send you an email with the deal. You don't put in any dates they just announce fantastic deals either mistake fares or sales.

Posted by
3841 posts

Thank you all for the relpies. I am going to check each ine out.

Posted by
2948 posts

Global distribution systems (GDSs) formerly known as Computer Reservation Systems (CRSs) i.e., Sabre use Matrix Airfare Search: https://matrix.itasoftware.com/. Sabre was started by American Airlines (AA) for travel agents to sell their air fares back in the early 60’s. After the millennium Sabre broke off from AA since it was way more lucrative to sell all airlines fares.