grrrrr... the flights that I was stalking went up!!

[NeverlandClub23]

That is aggravating. I was going to book my flight for my upcoming trip last Thursday through airtran for $195 total round trip. I only had my laptop and I wanted to be able to print out the confirmation right away so I waited until the next day. The same flight went up to $230. So I booked through Southwest since their flight was about the same cost (but instead of going to the airport 5 minutes away I have to drive 20 minutes to another one, but not too big of a deal) and now I don't have to worry about cramming 6 days worth of stuff into a carry-on . Good luck OP!

 

[DisneyAndRedSox]

I noticed and was told, that the first time you search you get the best deal. If you think about it and go back, it will be higher because of the tracking cookies, try signing in on a different computer/ server, like firefox, and see what happens.
Noticed this once watching a car rental too.

You took the words out of my mouth!

My Mom's BF was searching a flight over and over, and it went up right in front of her face from one search to the next. She called her DD who went on her computer, the price was lower.

 

[disfan07]

when in july are you going?

we are going july 4th-july 12th LAX-MCO and we booked back in feb. (July 4th was the cheapest day to travel)

we got our flights on SW for $139 each way and now the flights are $200 LAX to MCO and $251 MCO to LAX.

For july, i would not wait too much longer.

I dont know which airport you woul db eflying out of in ohio (cleveland or columbus) but right now Cleveland-MCO, the cheapest prices are $145 each way and Columbus-MCO is $109 each way.

If you would be flying out of columbus i would say dont wait because they will probably not drop below $109 each way

 

[kaytieeldr]

I noticed and was told, that the first time you search you get the best deal. If you think about it and go back, it will be higher because of the tracking cookies, try signing in on a different computer/ server, like firefox, and see what happens.
Noticed this once watching a car rental too.

Not true. Prices tend to be higher in subsequent searches because other passengers have purchased the lower fares while you're 'stalking' those same fares/flights. They may go down again later because someone with that original low fare cancelled/changed plans, and it's an airline that does make the tickets available for the original price.

 

[disneyscrappinjan]

I am watching Southwest now for flights for June 20th, they are higher than I have ever paid. But I did notice on DING they are only doing the specials through the end of May, so they have not had the specials for June yet. We have always got our flights this way for $60-$80 on one way. The rate right now is $140 on flight down and $170 on the return flight.

 

[crashbb]

Not true. Prices tend to be higher in subsequent searches because other passengers have purchased the lower fares while you're 'stalking' those same fares/flights. They may go down again later because someone with that original low fare cancelled/changed plans, and it's an airline that does make the tickets available for the original price.

You are *never* going to convince people that this isn't true. If it makes them happy to delete their cookies...

Wouldn't it be illegal for the airlines to charge differently based on people's cookies?

 

[bettymae1121]

Not true. Prices tend to be higher in subsequent searches because other passengers have purchased the lower fares while you're 'stalking' those same fares/flights. They may go down again later because someone with that original low fare cancelled/changed plans, and it's an airline that does make the tickets available for the original price.

Or the airline adjusts it's inventory and releases more seats at the lower price. They tend to do that if the higher priced tickets aren't selling and the flight is only half full, they'd rather discount the tickets than fly a half full plane. But if the flight is still selling tickets even at the higher rate, then the airline has no reason to offer more tickets at the lower rate.

Booking airline tickets is always a gamble! If you buy the ticket now, you're locked in and protected from fare increases but lose out on possible decreases (in most cases, SWA being the exception...sort of). If you wait, you may score big if the fare drops, or get screwed if the fare goes up and/or the flight sells out.

My advice to my clients (I'm a travel agent, btw) is that when you see a fare you can live with on your prefered flights, jump on it and then don't worry about it. Unless it's SWA, looking to see if the fare went down after purchase is useless and just going to drive you nuts. Unless a trip is 100% optional and you're only interested in going if you find that rock bottom fare, waiting for a better deal can backfire, as the OP unfortunatly found out. If you wait, you're rolling the dice on your vacation and your budget.