A quick question for all you airfare experts out there.......

[lolatuck]

We plan on travelling from Salt Lake City to MCO for our vacation August 15-23. I have been watching fares for this route religiously every day for the past few months in the hopes of getting a better fare.

Now, with the price of fuel going up, I notice that the airfares are going up as well.

My question is this:

Should I wait longer in the hopes that the fares will go down again before our trip, or should I buy my tix now to avoid them going sky high in cost?

Do you experts anticipate that the rates will go down before August? Or are things just going to get worse?

Do you think that the public will avoid flying due to the high cost? This could result in the airlines lowering their prices to fill the seats on their flights. On the other hand, more people may be flying to avoid the high cost of driving.

What do you think?

I don't do enough travelling to justify buying the tix now and accepting a voucher if the rates go down, so I want to get the best deal I can when I purchase them. I have the $$ in the budget to purchase them now if you think that's best, but I don't mind waiting to purchase them if you think I can get a better deal.

Thanks in advance for all the much needed help.

Lola °Ü°

 

[gogiant]

Basically its a personal choice whether to "gamble" or not. It can go either way. If you have done some research and the fare you are presently getting is in line what other airlines are offering then you are getting the best you can presently find. I have waited and I have booked and i'd say its about 50-50..I say book your trip and start looking forward to your vacation.

 

[Goof]

Originally posted by gogiant
Basically its a personal choice whether to "gamble" or not. It can go either way. If you have done some research and the fare you are presently getting is in line what other airlines are offering then you are getting the best you can presently find. I have waited and I have booked and i'd say its about 50-50..I say book your trip and start looking forward to your vacation.

I totally agree with gogiant, it is basically a chance situation. The fares could go either way. If there is an expert out here who could predict what the airlines are going to do, then they would become millionaires instantly. If you book now and the fare goes down, you most likely will be able to get a voucher for the difference that can be applied to future travel.

 

[Ms. WDW]

I had the same delima. I'm going July 17th through the 25th and waited. Well I waited, and waited and watched my $79.00 fare climb up to $134 for the return leg of my trip.

I bit the bullet and searched out other airlines and purchased the tickets this week from Song for about $214.00 person round trip.
I saved about $110.00 but this wasn't my first choice of airlines.

 

[lolatuck]

I watched the fares online for months, Expedia, Travelocity, Delta, Southwest, etc. and the rates for my route stayed at $262 (give or take) for what seemed forever.

Then when the gas prices started rising I noticed that the airfare suddenly jumped to $336 for my route. I tried to bid lower on Priceline, but had no success.

So after reading the discussion here, I took the plunge and called Delta and Bought the tickets for $336. At least that way I was able to pick my flight times and seats. And the very helpful agent on the phone assured me that they would give me a refund (not a voucher) if I should see that the rates go down for my flight before our trip. That was very reassuring.

So, in the end I spent more than I had really wanted to, but I feel good about the flights that I got (non-stop on Delta), and I have some confidence that if the rates go down I will be compensated.

Thank you all for your kind input.

Lola °Ü°

 

[Poly Pal]

We are traveling in August too. I am waiting until Southwest's fares come out for after 8/7/04 to see if Song will match or at least come close for BDL (Hartford) to MCO.

I don't think Delta will give the OP a cash refund if the fare drops, despite whatever the reservationist said. Vouchers are all I've seen and I'm a Delta Medallion FF.

 

[BriarfoxinWA]

My experience has been that the fares seem to drop once you get within 90 days of your travel date then go back up in the last 2-3 weeks. Right now we are planning to go to Hawaii in June so I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the fares will come down the first of next month.

 

[louise1928]

Since we are going to Orlando during Christmas/NYE holiday, playing the waiting game was not an option for us. I know we could have waited until summer, but I got a good rate with the dates and flight times we wanted, for $210.00 pp roundtrip and purchased them in March thru Expedia. I researched prices for about a month before buying.

If the price is good, and you can get the dates and times you prefer, buy now!!!!!!!

Sometimes by waiting, you take the risk of not getting what you prefer, especially during peak season...However, some people have been lucky....

 

[rsschneck]

I have received price adjustment vouchers from Delta. I was not given an option for credit back or voucher. It is my understanding that it is only a voucher that you would receive.

 

[mep319]

I think you need to know the trends of your airport...I know they can differ from airport to airport. A good thing to do is to sign up for price alerts thru Yahoo then you don't have to log on day to day and it will tell you when there is an increase/decrease of $25.00...I find airport pricing varies depending upon if it is a hub, major airport etc..etc... for instance Phila use to only go up the closer you got(unless bad times) while Baltimore seemed to go down! I find that w/ my airport I would rather book early w/ an airline that offers a credit/refund if the price goes down...then I figure I can always apply it to a future trip. Now I use to have Philly down to an art but everything is out the window since SW has come in....which has actually been great since it has down nothing but drive prices down!!!

 

[BriarfoxinWA]

My theory on the 90 days out turned out to be wrong! It worked well for our previous trips - but with the rising gas prices... I booked our Hawaii airfare before it got to the 90 day mark because the rates just keep going up. If I had waited it would have ended up costing me about $200 per ticket more

I use Travelocity's farewatcher alot. Orbitz also has a similar feature. Like MEP319 said I think the trick is to just keep on top of what the airfare cost pattern tends to be for the airport that you use the most.

 

[chaoscent]

_Help mep319
___________________________
Now I use to have Philly down to an art but everything is out the window since SW has come in....which has actually been great since it has down nothing but drive prices down!!!
_____________________________________

Helpmep319 - some help please?
we are (9 of us) going to wdw 11/20/04 to 11/27 from Philly. My brother won't fly SW (long story ) so we are looking at other airlines (US Air is what I normally use). I haven't booked airfare yet as i was hoping for a air price competition with SW. any advice?
thanks, Penny aka chaos cent

 

[mep319]

Honestly I'm bit too impatient so I typically book about 6 mos out if my dates are firm. Prior to SW coming in they didn't go down significantly...maybe $25.00 and I would just get a credit voucher. I booked for my 8/17 trip on 2/21 and just checked back once in awhile. Well on 3/29 I noticed they dropped $80.00 a seat....and I got a refund! Not a credit but a refund!

For Philly 6 mos is usually when I book (if I know my dates) and just keeping checking back. One think I have noticed which may help...is that when Southwest releases their dates and fares....USAir rates typically follow. If you match up the flight times...SW to USAIR they are the same price down to the penny. Southwest is only booking to September right now so I would wait till they start booking November...2 mos.

The difficult thing about your dates is that you are over Thanksgiving and that books up really quick....and there aren't many deals to be had...at least right now. You might not get too many breaks .... it is the most travelled holiday of the year! Plus you are flying Saturday to Saturday...another reason your flight prices are probably going to be higher. Typically Leaving mid week lowers your fares....could you adjust your dates a bit?

Good luck I don't know if I really helped or confused you further if you have any questions let me know...I can try to help!

I know you axed SW but keep in mind both they and USair will issue credit vouchers...Airtran won't. I don't know where you are in Philly but you might want to check Song out of Atlantic city as well...too far to be worth while to me but I understand they sometimes offer good deals.

 

[chaoscent]

We are taking 5 children (4 boys, 1 18 year old young lady) with us and they will already be missing 3 days of school, so we can't really leave earlier than saturday. i can play around with leaving friday night and coming home on sunday, but that's about it.
thanks for your advice. I will keep looking and hoping.
Penny aka chaos cent