What the Flight!!

[DVC_Corrys]

So, I have a trip coming up at the end of September. I have had the ressies since March and have been stalking websites for airfares. I am in So Cal and my closest airport is SNA. The cheapest flights were around 390 and LAX was something like 350. That is with 1 stop.

About two weeks ago we saw Continental was 275 out of SNA and we had been looking for so long I booked it. Great, no more looking, just be glad you came in at budget.

Well, I still kept peeking. It was a daily internet habit and it was hard to break. For the last two weeks no major changes, my tickets went up a bit so I was happy.

Last week, Continental changed my return time from 7pm back to 1pm. That is a BIG difference when you are leaving WDW. Add to that we are using ME so that means by pick up time went from 4pm to 11am. 5 hours is a huge chunk of time to visit the parks one last time, swim at your favorite pool, yada yada yada.

I called them and was like, what the heck!! They canceled the flight and there was no later flight than 1pm. I told the person on the phone I picked them because of the evening flight. They offered a full refund.

The cog wheels started turning... I declined because at the time it was the best deal. While, secretly I could continue my internet flight hunt (think savage music, me in the jungle with a spear and airlines running through the brush)

Then, this morning hit. Southwest sent a 48 hour special email and of course I wanted to check it out.

Sure enough, for 215 round trip including taxes I could make my way to WDW. This was 120 dollars cheaper than my current fare. AWESOME.

Just to be sure I did my usual search on sidestep and farecast to be sure. It was a great deal! I called Continental to cancel then booked on southwest.

Things were great, until 8pm this evening. I ran my sidestep one more time to reflect on my great deal when I came across a non-stop delta fare round trip for $211 bucks. HOLY COW... Non Stop for 211 with taxes.

In the same day the nonstop went from 490 to 211!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I called southwest to see what my options are. I was worried I was going to have to make something but I was told that you can cancel without penalty and get a full refund in the first 24 hours!! Hallelujah

So, I canceled southwest and booked delta non-stop. I know it will cost me 30 bucks round trip in bag fees but 30 bucks is a small price to pay for one flight at 5 hours than two flights at 7 hours...

I have never made three different airline reservations for the same trip in my life. I usually never had to wait this long for a great deal on airfare.

This whole experience lead me to say WHAT THE FLIGHT!

[Leash]

First congrats on the awesome deal!
Second, I am right there with you on the flight hunt and my trip isn't even until next year. I made a spreadsheet with all the airlines that fly Vegas to MCO and am tracking a variety of flights per airline. My rationalization is that this way I will be onto the trends for time changes and price changes and will therefore be ahead of the game next year when I actually have to book.
Some people make fun of us obsessive planners but then you do what you did and get a great flight and save money and then you can rub it in their faces!

[DVC_Corrys]

AMEN!! Not only does this save us 2 hours each way and the hassle of changing planes but we got way better flight times. We now leave 2 hours later and get in at the same time but we leave 3 hours later and get in 30 minutes later on the return flight. Plus, I like one take off and one landing. Feels safer and you can avoid any delays with transfering planes, etc.

[DVC_Corrys]

Just wanted to add to this... I checked the non-stop fare on Friday for the same flight and it is now $370 r/t. From Tuesday to Friday it went from $490 to $211 then to $370!!! Crazy.... Good thing I am a fare stalker.

[msmayor]

Originally Posted by DVC_Corrys

AMEN!! Not only does this save us 2 hours each way and the hassle of changing planes but we got way better flight times. We now leave 2 hours later and get in at the same time but we leave 3 hours later and get in 30 minutes later on the return flight. Plus, I like one take off and one landing. Feels safer and you can avoid any delays with transfering planes, etc.

Of course, this assumes that Delta doesn't change things on you too....just like Continental.

[tkitty]

Sounds like you did well in the end. I booked Continental back in April for Oct trip, and they just recently had a slight time change, only about 35 min later. Now you have me worried! I booked them also because of the early flight time, and late return flight. Hope they don't mess with mine anymore!