Weekly Mailbag: Flight Tracking, Tropical Vacations, and More

Last week I asked you to submit your travel questions, and many of you did just that. Yesterday I tackled a tricky inquiry about holiday flights, and today I’m back with answers to several other questions in a speedy machine-gun fashion. Here we go…

“What are dimensions of a carry-on bag for traveling American Airlines?” – littlegranny

This is a popular question these days, especially since so many airlines now charge for the first checked bag. So popular, in fact, that we’ve created The Ultimate Guide to Carry-On Luggage to help readers just like you pack for your vacation. The chart makes it easy to find out what type of carry-on you can bring on a specific airline. For instance, American Airlines allows carry-on bags to be 22″ x 18″ x 10″.

“How do you go about finding the perfect island vacation when you care more about the flight costs than which island it is? We travel out of smaller airports (FWA and SBN) so we don’t see many travel deals advertised that are not major hubs. Are there sites that you can give your departure city and not be specific about the exact destination that can provide deals?” – Needvacation

I actually wish more providers offered a service just like the one you’re suggesting, because I know that a little bit of direction would go a long way when you’re searching with a limited budget and limitless destinations. With that said, Travelocity’s Dream Map may be just what the doctor ordered. Enter your departure airport and Travelocity will show you a list of destinations and prices tailored just for you.

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For a more all-inclusive getaway, Funjet vacations allows you to search for vacation packages by major airports and peruse what deals may be available that day. However, smaller departure cities are not included, so find a cheap flight to a major airport and begin your search from there.

“I know there are sites out there where one can track fares before buying a ticket, but what about after the ticket has been bought? The situation I’m thinking of would be in relation to a JetBlue ticket I’ve already purchased. I know JetBlue will let me “re-book” the flight if the fare drops so it would be great if I could get a notification if the fare actually does drop.” – daveshea

Our sister site, Airfare Watchdog, allows you to track specific routes and will alert you when the price drops. It’s not a perfect solution for your needs, but it will at least give you a heads up that things may have changed. From there, you can then double-check your exact itinerary for any price changes. It also might pay off to set a daily reminder to do quick price comparison on your own.

That’s all for today, folks! Be sure to write your question in the comment field below, and I’ll keep answering them until my typing fingers atrophy and my investigative skills run dry.