Air fare is making me cry.

[bytheblood]

I seldom find a better deal at DAL. Especially when you add the extra travel time required to stop on the way. My time is worth money. I also don't like WN's policies...but that is just my personal feelings. I know many people swear by them, I do not. Plus, my AA miles are letting me stay at Port Orleans Riverside this October for free. Rapid Rewards cant do that. So, in the end, it just doesn't make financial sense for me to fly WN. I encourage all of my friends who like to visit WDW more than once every 4 or 5 years to look at the benefits. For the once in that many years visitor, it is probably fine. And once WN has direct flights from DAL, then we will see if anything changes...

We are DVC owners and travel several times a year. I can't agree with your comments.



I removed the rest of my post because I was apparently on crack when I wrote it.

 

[MichelleVW]

I seldom find a better deal at DAL. Especially when you add the extra travel time required to stop on the way. My time is worth money. I also don't like WN's policies...but that is just my personal feelings. I know many people swear by them, I do not. Plus, my AA miles are letting me stay at Port Orleans Riverside this October for free. Rapid Rewards cant do that. So, in the end, it just doesn't make financial sense for me to fly WN. I encourage all of my friends who like to visit WDW more than once every 4 or 5 years to look at the benefits. For the once in that many years visitor, it is probably fine. And once WN has direct flights from DAL, then we will see if anything changes...

I love flying Southwest with the no baggage fees. It takes a little longer for me to get to the airport but I love the small airport. On our last trip we had a stop in New Orleans, never changed planes and the extra flight time didn't bother me a bit. I love flying American since they usually have awesome flight times, but on our last trip we saved a ton of money flying on Southwest.

I'm still waiting to book air for July, if we can't find flights for under 500 total, we'll just drive.

 

[Elmo007]

Can you purchase one way tickets on two different airlines to save money. We do this all of the time. We use to fly down on SW and home on Jetblue or Airtran.

If you use this strategy just be sure not to do it during a peak bad westher season (ie hurricanes or snow).

I did this once in Feb from NY to FLA. I had AA going down and SW coming back. The AA flight was canceled and I could not get a replacement. If I had been on any other airline but SW coming back, I would have had issues with the fact that I could not make my flight as it was not their fault.

 

[bytheblood]

If you use this strategy just be sure not to do it during a peak bad westher season (ie hurricanes or snow).

I did this once in Feb from NY to FLA. I had AA going down and SW coming back. The AA flight was canceled and I could not get a replacement. If I had been on any other airline but SW coming back, I would have had issues with the fact that I could not make my flight as it was not their fault.

Booking on the same airline is not a guarantee you will get in the air. The airlines themselves do not decide if you get to fly or not. The FAA makes the decision to ground flights, which airports and how many runways.

 

[Disneyhayes]

I found flights for my family of 4 for $1000 which includes fees but I just can't seem to bring myself to do it when I can drive for $350 roundtrip. I guess if fares drop closer to my trip then I might do it. My other idea was to fly one way and rent a car and drive the other way. But would I want to get to WDW faster or not sit in a car for 16 hrs after being at Disney for a week

 

[MissElizabeth]

I've been keeping my eye on Delta's fares DTW to MCO Nov 11th=19th. We're flexible on the dates a bit, we have reservations at POFQ from Nov 13-19 but we have family to visit and need a couple of days either on the front end or the back end. I've seen rates between 175/pp-234/pp and today I noticed that rates dropped to $158. The flight out is less desirable but we can live with it. I'm trying to decide if I should jump on it or if it'll go lower. I definitely want to fly Delta since the flights are non stop and I'm a Delta gold sky miles member, so we'll save on all that checked baggage.

 

[bytheblood]

OP - were you able to find a deal that suits you yet?

 

[KELLY]

I was all for that I was going to pay at least 1200.00 this year for 4 of us on the cheap side. I was just about to book and I checked SW and found 67.00 fares. For all 4 of us it is 665.00 out of Manchester NH. So yes there is still deals to be found. That is the lowest airfare I think I have paid in a very long time.

 

[StrwLady]

Just keep watching. We are flying out of DFW to MCO for $100 each for 5 tickets in December. We are still looking for the flight home. Let me give you a few suggestions that save us money each time....

1 - Dallas Love Field is usually a better deal
2 - Book each leg separately
3 - Consider using different airlines for each way. (example: American one way, Airtran the other)

I love Love Field. It is so much easier to deal with then DFW but South West was actually a tad higher than what I ended up booking on AA. Even though I have to pay bag fees on AA, what I would have saved on SWA was small considering the extra travel time.

Thanks for the suggestions. I checked all these ways and more. The fares for June are just nuts. I'm just glad to finally have something even if it is high

 

[StrwLady]

I love flying Southwest with the no baggage fees. It takes a little longer for me to get to the airport but I love the small airport. On our last trip we had a stop in New Orleans, never changed planes and the extra flight time didn't bother me a bit. I love flying American since they usually have awesome flight times, but on our last trip we saved a ton of money flying on Southwest.

I'm still waiting to book air for July, if we can't find flights for under 500 total, we'll just drive.

I agree. I was very happy when they amended the Wright Amendment allowing through travel to non-neighboring states. So I had checked it several times. Having several options of 1 stop no change plane makes it much more appealing. Yea it adds an hour flying time but that is not too bad. But for June the fares just were not good. I paid $391 per person on AA but for similar times Southwest was $456 per person.

 

[StrwLady]

OP - were you able to find a deal that suits you yet?

I am the OP. The person you were responding to on Sunday, YenSid1222, is not. Nor do I think she is currently trying to book flights. Just nicely offering her opinions regarding Love Field.

Did I find something that suits me, no not really but given my experience with booking flights I feel strongly I found the best out there (unless fares plummet which of course always happens after one books huh? )

I posted several days ago...

Well I jumped in head first and booked my air fare. It was higher than I was really hoping but I had been watching it and the outbound went up $5 a person (no biggie) and the return went up $75 a person (very biggie). I was able to get the dates and times (return an hour earlier than I had hoped) I wanted for approximately $1000 for the 3 of us.

Before I committed I did try every which way to get it cheaper. I could have shaved $200 off but this would have put us there 2 days past the current general public discount so we would have had 2 days at rack rate. So no real savings there. Southwest rates had jumped about $80 per person each way. Even tried a couple of other connecting flights and the small savings over nonstop on AA was not worth dealing with longer travel times.

I am glad to have this part over. Of course tomorrow the fares will drop drastically LOL. Isn't it always that way. But at least that is one stress off my back. Even though I do not have my resort booked yet (waiting on June AP rates) I feel like I can finally start planing.

Good Luck to all on finding the right fares for your trip

 

[YenSid1222]

Glad you were able to find something.

I know I have mentioned it, but make sure you have everyone set up with an AAdvantage account. I truly believe that if you take a little bit of time to look into some of the more hidden details of the program it will really help out in the long run. ESPECIALLY for anyone living in the DFW Metroplex. There are soooooo many ways to earn miles and now with the one-way awards you can really save on flying later down the line. If you play the program right you can earn lots and lots of miles. For instance...I get 2 miles for every dollar on my electric bill. Can you imagine how many miles I get in a typical Texas summer?!?!?!

I know many love Love Field...I just can't stand the place. Maybe it is because I am Tarrant County resident who still thinks the place should have been closed like the original deal said ! After all, we DID close down our airport like promised. Oh, well...the Dallas and Fort Worth rivalry shall live on forever! Anyway, I think DFW is a great airport. It is easy to access right near your gate (not like an ATL where you have a million miles to go no matter what gate you leave from!). Skylink makes connections super easy...I just think it does not deserve the bum wrap it sometimes gets...Plus we are about to have direct service to Sydney! (OK...that is just a personal thing that I am excited about...)

I just also think we all need to realize that the days of artificially low airfare are pretty much over. WN no longer has all their hedged fuel to keep the price down...as can be seen by all the current fares everyone has been posting. It may not be what we want to hear, but it is just the way things are going to be...

Happy traveling...

 

[StrwLady]

Glad you were able to find something.

I know I have mentioned it, but make sure you have everyone set up with an AAdvantage account. imagine how many miles I get in a typical Texas summer?!?!?!

I think DFW is a great airport. It is easy to access right near your gate (not like an ATL where you have a million miles to go no matter what gate you leave from!). Skylink makes connections super easy...I just think it does not

We do have AAdvantage accounts. Last July my son and I used points for a one way ticket to Orlando. Hubby had 26k miles so I was happy that we were going to find him a flight for June seeing his dates were very flexible. Imagine my heartbreak, anger, disgust, when I logged into his account only to find his points expired in November 2010. Had I known that was going to happen I would have booked him something back then. I was near tears. Oh well such is life

I do agree DFW is a great airport. I love the new terminal. But when I first moved here (from New Orleans) I was not a happy camper. I thought our airport was big. I was shocked the first time we flew out of DFW and had to take a tram to the terminal! GASP In NO you park and walk in LOL. I got over that as I grew use to the hugeness of the Metroplex

 

[YenSid1222]

We do have AAdvantage accounts. Last July my son and I used points for a one way ticket to Orlando. Hubby had 26k miles so I was happy that we were going to find him a flight for June seeing his dates were very flexible. Imagine my heartbreak, anger, disgust, when I logged into his account only to find his points expired in November 2010. Had I known that was going to happen I would have booked him something back then. I was near tears. Oh well such is life

I do agree DFW is a great airport. I love the new terminal. But when I first moved here (from New Orleans) I was not a happy camper. I thought our airport was big. I was shocked the first time we flew out of DFW and had to take a tram to the terminal! GASP In NO you park and walk in LOL. I got over that as I grew use to the hugeness of the Metroplex

You know that AA has a program he can get his miles back by becoming active again in the program? Basically you call and ask for the program (called the re-engagement challenge) and they set up his account. He has to then be set up to get the statement emails from AA. Then he has a choice of completing one of three things: 1) Get the Citibank card and earn at least 750 miles on it (I think that is the amount...) OR 2) Earn 5,000 miles from 3 different partners (pretty easy to do really) OR 3) Take an AA paid round trip that is at least 750 miles each way.

SOOOO....if he is flying with you to MCO, that is almost 1,000 miles each way. Just sign him up the for the program and once he takes the trip and earns the miles he gets all the expired miles back!!

 

[YenSid1222]

Oh, almost forgot an important part....you have to talk to AAdvantage Customer Service (NOT Reservations). You can call the standard number (1-800-882-8880) and say "AAdvantage Services" then "Agent" twice...should get you to one of their agents.

 

[kimara3]

I have never paid more than $250 RT from Denver to MCO, but this year, we planned a June trip to WDW. I love Southwest, so when when fares opened at $145 each way, I felt I could wait (as I normally do) and get a better fare. Up, up up and I finally bought tickets at $348. Today that same fare is $535!!!!

Gas prices are going up, Egypt is burning and we have an off-shore drilling ban stopping helping to raise oil futures.

I recommend booking now if you can afford it.

CowboyCo,

You may want to check your SW airfares today. We are also going in June and our fares dropped today by $70 on our outbound flight, and a little on the way back (and we paid less than $348). Hope its the same for yours!

ETA: We are DEN to MCO also!

 

[StrwLady]

You know that AA has a program he can get his miles back by becoming active again in the program? Basically you call and ask for the program (called the re-engagement challenge) and they set up his account. He has to then be set up to get the statement emails from AA. Then he has a choice of completing one of three things: 1) Get the Citibank card and earn at least 750 miles on it (I think that is the amount...) OR 2) Earn 5,000 miles from 3 different partners (pretty easy to do really) OR 3) Take an AA paid round trip that is at least 750 miles each way.

SOOOO....if he is flying with you to MCO, that is almost 1,000 miles each way. Just sign him up the for the program and once he takes the trip and earns the miles he gets all the expired miles back!!

Oooooo. Thanks for this info. I did look on the site when I realized why his miles wasn't showing up and saw that we could buy back the miles but it wasn't worth the cost. I will call the Advantage desk and asks about this

 

[YenSid1222]

Oooooo. Thanks for this info. I did look on the site when I realized why his miles wasn't showing up and saw that we could buy back the miles but it wasn't worth the cost. I will call the Advantage desk and asks about this

Let us know how it works out!