Arranging your flight for your Alaska fishing trip

As I’ve mentioned before, it’s so important for you to begin planning early when arranging your flight. The earlier you begin, the better your chances of getting everything you’re looking for and the more relaxed you’ll be as the big day arrives. You’ll be making a few reservations such as your airlines, rental vehicles and a motel room here and there along the way. The earlier you begin, the better your chances are at getting ideal accommodations.

Everybody seems to have their favorite airline to fly. Naturally, that’s absolutely fine but it may not yield you the most economical flight to Alaska. If you don’t absolutely have to go with one particular airline, my advice would be to shop around.

One great way to fly to Alaska absolutely free is to enroll in a credit card program that gives you air miles for making purchases on your credit card. If you are a good handler of money, I highly recommend this. If you have high credit card debt and have problems in that area, then please do not go this route as it could only add to your financial problems in the long run.

Do your homework and select the time of the year you wish to go based on the different salmon runs. Then it’s just a matter of matching those dates up with each airline to find your best rates.

No matter what airline you select there are a couple of things to remember when flying. Always allow plenty of time to check your luggage in and get through the security check points. In some of the small, regional airports, 45 minutes may be plenty of time while in some of the large, international airports during the busy times you may need 90 minutes or more to get through all of the necessary lines. Also, when calling for your reservations, ask what their policy is on seat selection. Don’t be afraid to ask for aisle seating or emergency row seating which will allow more leg room and access to the aisles to get up and move about on longer flights. That is a must for me.

You should be making your airline reservations at least 9 or 10 months prior to your departure time. Because of this, you’ll want to make sure you call the airline about 4 months prior, then about 1 month prior and then finally a few days prior to your trip just to confirm that there have been no schedule changes. Changes do occur and you’ll be doing yourself a big favor by being aware of them.

If at all possible, try to arrive in Anchorage during business hours. You’ll be so much further ahead of the game if you do. By doing this, you’ll be able to obtain your rental vehicle, make your quick pit stop at an Anchorage super market for some last minute items and be off and running and to your first fishing location all in the same day. This will allow you the maximum fishing time possible. This will probably only be possible for those living in the western or central United States or Canada.

For those living in the eastern United States or Canada, there is a chance that your multiple connections will get you into Anchorage after regular business hours so a little more legwork may be required. If you are renting a custom van or camper, make sure your rental company will cater to your needs and arrange for an after hours transaction. Look for a company that is sensitive to your needs. If they are not, look elsewhere.

If you do arrive late, you have a few options. You can still pick up your rental vehicle and hit the supermarket (some are open around the clock, just ask), and start towards your first fishing location. Pull out your Milepost and you can either find a campground, a roadside turnoff or a motel along the way. Driving at night is ok but to get the most out of your trip, always try to drive during the daylight hours just to take in the breath-taking views of Alaska. Another option is to head to the supermarket and then to simply find a hotel/motel in Anchorage, get a good first nights sleep and then head out into the wild blue yonder bright and bushy tailed in the morning. If you are an economically minded friend, my suggestion would be to find lodging outside of Anchorage. Generally speaking the lodging in Anchorage is going to be more expensive than any other location when comparing apples to apples…especially in the peak summer months. And there is a good chance that you’ll want to spend a night in an Anchorage hotel the night prior to your departure to get cleaned up and well rested to prepare for your return flight home.

Ok, now that you are armed with additional knowledge, let’s look at some links so you can begin investigating your most cost efficient airline (and hotel and car rental if you wish) for your trip. You’ve no doubt heard of the ones I’m going to list here. They are all large outfits with good reputations as well. Try Orbitz first. They’re the granddaddy of them all. Then move on to Expedia and Priceline to do your comparison shopping. You never know what you’ll find. Here we go…

Orbitz.com
Expedia.com
Priceline.com