What happened while I wasn't paying attention?! WHAT has happened to airfares?!!

[Fargoman2]

Holy moly, Rocky!

Trying to book MSP to MCO for mid June and the prices just keep going UP!!!
Today, for a party of four, we are looking at $434...That's flat out ridiculous.

So the plan of fewer, more crowded flights is working for the airlines to get the fares up I see...Is there ANY hope I'll see any kind of deal for mid June flying or do I just need to suck it up now?!

Yikes!

 

[gmeh1]

Holy moly, Rocky!

Trying to book MSP to MCO for mid June and the prices just keep going UP!!!
Today, for a party of four, we are looking at $434...That's flat out ridiculous.

So the plan of fewer, more crowded flights is working for the airlines to get the fares up I see...Is there ANY hope I'll see any kind of deal for mid June flying or do I just need to suck it up now?!

Yikes!

Is that 434 per person or total for 4 people? Round trip or one way? And, for those of us who don't know airport codes, where is MSP?

There is always hope, but, summer is a busy time for the Orlando/disney area. Combine that with higher fuel costs and you get high airfares.

 

[Fargoman2]

We're talking ROUND TRIP PER PERSON from Minneapolis St. Paul (voted #1 airport in the country as a FACILITY, but definitely NOT FOR DEALS!!)

I'm going to keep scouring the travel sites daily and after midnight--you just never know when a fluke deal might pop...

 

[chicagodisneyfan]

Are you looking for airfare in Four weeks? Then yes, $400 per person is about the going rate.

 

[daisy_77]

I wish I could get airfare that price per person. It is getting ridiculous. We have had to back our trip back twice because the cost of flights.

Hope you end up getting a deal.

 

[TJA]

I was going through the same issues for the end of August. I ended up switching airports to one an hour further away, but the price was SO much lower that it will be worth it. Is that an option for you? I also changed my dates slightly to get a better rate. Got $114 each way Pittsburgh/MCO. Buffalo, my normal airport, was approx $370 each way -- more than 3x higher than the other airport!

 

[phanomouse]

Sadly, that rate is the future. Ten years ago I was paying $245 - $275/person for round trip fare from SLC to MCO or TPA. Five years ago that went up about $100. Now I am paying $475 - $600 for the same thing. Occasionally I see it dip down into the mid 300's when I am about 2 months out, but it is rare that those fares don't come with restrictions that don't fit my schedule.

Best of luck!

 

[dudspizza]

I was going through the same issues for the end of August. I ended up switching airports to one an hour further away, but the price was SO much lower that it will be worth it. Is that an option for you? I also changed my dates slightly to get a better rate. Got $114 each way Pittsburgh/MCO. Buffalo, my normal airport, was approx $370 each way -- more than 3x higher than the other airport!

Unfortunately, MSP doesn't have another airport within 2.5 hours of it. Duluth has Allegiant, but that's it. Those of us in the MSP area are stuck with what MSP has to offer.

I will say that the price the OP is looking at is probably what he's going to get. You are talking about flying just after school gets out to a very popular vacation destination.

Good luck.

Duds

 

[Minnesota!]

Try Southwest - still "only" $176 + tax each way...on certain days.

Can you try out of Sioux Falls?

 

[luvmy2babies]

They seem to have gone up over time. We are going June 21st through the 30th. I read it helps to buy them early, so I stalked this board to find out the date my airline (Southwest) would be releasing the dates and went on the first day they were available. Thankfully I had the funds to purchase then. It’s getting so you have to plan that far ahead now. I got our tickets in November. We are flying from Raleigh, NC and with taxes I am paying $645 for 3. When I checked again last month out of curiosity, our same flights were almost double what I paid. The outbound flight alone was $191 per person.

I hope things work out for you.

 

[lugnut33]

We are flying Milwaukee to Orlando on June 19 and returning June 29 for about $250 (inc. all taxes and fees) per person on Air Tran. The day they went on sale was the day I bought them. I wasn't about to wait and hope they went down, I was willing to pay the extra $40 or so to lock in at that moment.

Right now the same flights are going for $476.

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

Today, for a party of four, we are looking at $434...That's flat out ridiculous.

That sounds like a bargain compared to new prices from our closest airport (SYR). Current round trip cost (per person) for our dates (Aug 26 - Sep 2) is $643 .

Fortunately, we booked early (mid January) and paid $289 pp. Otherwise, this family would have been "staycationing" for a week this summer.

A hike in price of 223% from January to May is almost hard to take in.

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

You waited too long to book for this summer. I'd buy now, before they go up again.

 

[DisMN]

Are you looking for airfare in Four weeks? Then yes, $400 per person is about the going rate.

Wouldn't have mattered much. Prices out of MSP stay about the same year round. The only changes we've seen is when there's a very temporary *sale* price and then it's only a $25 or so discount. Big deal.
Minnesota is, for some reason, held captive when it comes to airfares.

You waited too long to book for this summer. I'd buy now, before they go up again.

I've kept an eye on summer prices and they never were low, even when they first came out. Not out of MSP.
Yes, $20 here, $10 there but not the hundreds of dollars I'm seeing reported from other airports. Not out of MSP. It just doesn't happen here.

That sounds like a bargain compared to new prices from our closest airport (SYR). Current round trip cost (per person) for our dates (Aug 26 - Sep 2) is $643 .

Fortunately, we booked early (mid January) and paid $289 pp. Otherwise, this family would have been "staycationing" for a week this summer.

A hike in price of 223% from January to May is almost hard to take in.

The increase has been amazing hasn't it? Add that to the fact that any kinds of *sales* or discounts have all but disappeared.

 

[Lewisc]

Sadly, that rate is the future. Ten years ago I was paying $245 - $275/person for round trip fare from SLC to MCO or TPA. Five years ago that went up about $100. Now I am paying $475 - $600 for the same thing. Occasionally I see it dip down into the mid 300's when I am about 2 months out, but it is rare that those fares don't come with restrictions that don't fit my schedule.

Best of luck!

The price of crude oil has more then quadrupled in the last 10 years. The airfare you listed didn't even triple.

 

[uva185]

Holy moly, Rocky!

Trying to book MSP to MCO for mid June and the prices just keep going UP!!!
Today, for a party of four, we are looking at $434...That's flat out ridiculous.

So the plan of fewer, more crowded flights is working for the airlines to get the fares up I see...Is there ANY hope I'll see any kind of deal for mid June flying or do I just need to suck it up now?!

Yikes!

A bit late for this now, but the US Airways Mastercard's companion pass benefit should be enough to entice most families to get the card. First passenger is regular price and the next 2 passengers are $99 each.

 

[Missyrose]

Just as an FYI for future trips, you really don't want to wait much beyond the 6-week mark before your trip to buy airfare. After that, the airlines start to consider fares "last-minute" fares with MUCH higher prices.

If you can afford it, buy the tickets now. Some airlines will do super-last-minute sales where you can buy cheap tickets the weekend before. But I highly doubt Orlando would be a destination that would go on sale at the height of summer break season. Too many schools will be out of session by that point.

 

[rpierce99]

Wouldn't have mattered much. Prices out of MSP stay about the same year round. The only changes we've seen is when there's a very temporary *sale* price and then it's only a $25 or so discount. Big deal.
Minnesota is, for some reason, held captive when it comes to airfares.




I've kept an eye on summer prices and they never were low, even when they first came out. Not out of MSP.
Yes, $20 here, $10 there but not the hundreds of dollars I'm seeing reported from other airports. Not out of MSP. It just doesn't happen here.





The increase has been amazing hasn't it? Add that to the fact that any kinds of *sales* or discounts have all but disappeared.

I'm also flying out of MSP and the best rates I have seen for my dates (June 21 - July 2), which also happens to be the prices I'm booked at, were achieved by booking each leg separately and flying two different airlines, but my PP R/T price is sitting at $309 ($172 down, southwest, and $137 back, AirTran)

 

[Alexander]

That sounds like a bargain compared to new prices from our closest airport (SYR). Current round trip cost (per person) for our dates (Aug 26 - Sep 2) is $643 .

Fortunately, we booked early (mid January) and paid $289 pp. Otherwise, this family would have been "staycationing" for a week this summer.

A hike in price of 223% from January to May is almost hard to take in.

We are flying SYR to MCO August 25 to September 2 on United for $249. I booked it about a month ago. It is our Christmas flights that are scary! The cheapest I have found for December/January is $608.

Even to fly out of ROC or BUF is really, really expensive right now. SYR used to be the expensive one, but the other two are just as bad or worse.

Yes, the fares we are seeing here in Upstate NY are triple of what they were a year ago.

 

[disneymom1229]

I was going through the same issues for the end of August. I ended up switching airports to one an hour further away, but the price was SO much lower that it will be worth it. Is that an option for you? I also changed my dates slightly to get a better rate. Got $114 each way Pittsburgh/MCO. Buffalo, my normal airport, was approx $370 each way -- more than 3x higher than the other airport!

We did the same thing for August! We live close to BUF but will be flying out of PIT and also got the $114 each way.(also used a coke reward code for $20 off RT ) Even though we are driving 4 hours, paying for parking and at least one night in a hotel, we will still make out way ahead. RT from BUF with times we wanted is $452 now. Not even a consideration with 5 of us traveling. We paid $210 RT out of BUF last September and we bought at a time when there were worries about the oil and gas prices. This year it is really tough to tell what will happen...