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Air travel

Fare too good to be true? Maybe not

Rick Seaney
Special for USA TODAY

We’ve all read about cases where airlines post a ridiculously low fare and customers find cross-country flights for $5. Such mistakes are rare these days, and even rarer that they're honored.

But “impossible” fares exist, like Frontier's $19 one-way deal from Chicago to Miami (advertised last month) or WOW Air's current $205 one-way to Paris in the springtime. Can you really snag such a deal? Yes but you may have to adjust your expectations a bit.

Will $99 fares to Europe become the new normal?

1. Impossible fares are usually one-way prices. Both of the above examples are for one-way bookings; impossible fares are almost always advertised that way. Unless you have no plans to return home, your impossible fare will cost more. Which brings us to No. 2.

2. Round-trip fares are not always double the one-way price. Some $19 Frontier deals we priced out came to precisely $38 round-trip but others were more expensive (sometimes, a lot more). As for the $205 one-way WOW ticket to Paris, we also found a round-trip for double the price, but we found many more itineraries where the total was significantly higher than $410. On the other hand, while you may not consider a $500 round-trip flight to Paris an impossible deal, it's still a very good one.

3. Impossible fares are rarely available when most people want to fly. Look for impossible deals in the dead of winter and/or on weekdays. Off-peak season, including the January/February deal zone, is the best time to find these deals but they crop up again starting in late August, too. That said, every now and then an impossible fare will pop up when you least expect it, though never for Thanksgiving or Christmas. If you can fly when most of us don't want to, you can find impossible fares.

WOW Air offers $99 fares to Europe; What's the catch?

4. You will pay fees. Most impossible fares are on low-cost or ultra-low-cost carriers (think Frontier, Spirit, Norwegian, WOW) which charge fees for almost everything: soft drinks, bags of all sizes, even seat selection. Don't pay them! Pack ultra-light (using a carry-on that fits under a seat), bring food and drink from home, and take pot-luck on seats (but you may get stuck in the middle).

If you have a specific travel destination you want to visit, set airfare alerts and let the deals come to you. If one is an impossible fare, act fast; you're not the only one looking for it and these deals are always extremely limited.

FareCompare CEO Rick Seaney is an airline industry insider and top media air travel resource. Follow Rick (@rickseaney) and never overpay for airfare again.

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