air fare secrets

[dpwright]

hi all
we want to go down during february school vacation - the only time we have available and the air fares are really terrible. I can't see spending $2000 just on air fare for 4 to fly to florida from massachusetts round trip. we could drive - but - groan, it's a 24 hour drive nonstop. Any one have any tricks for finding the cheapest air fares? Am I crazy for trying?

 

[momtomatthew]

Did you try AirTran or SW? See if changing the day you leave makes any difference. I can usually find airfare from Philly to MCO for $79/person each way. I tend to book our airfare first, and then get rooms based on the dates of cheap airfare. Of course, DS isn't in school yet, so that makes it a little easier for us.

Also- check Expedia and Travelocity. They will compare flights and prices, but I've found they don't always have the cheapest. Get an idea from them, but then check the airline site itself.

Good luck-

 

[wrighter]

Have you considered adding a layover somewhere? For our upcoming trip, we are still paying more than we did last year for pretty much the same flights, but we saved some money by adding a layover in Atlanta. Normally, with young children, I insist on flying direct. But in this economy we have to switch things up.

Good luck!

 

[dpwright]

thanx all
HOWEVER>>> I've tried all of the travel sites, Orbitz, travelocity, expedia, everyone I could think of, I've tried changing the date by one day before or after on the flight down and back, and I've tried the airlines directly, including AirTran and Jet Blue, and Southwest among others and am looking at stopover flights - about $450 is the cheapest per person round trip!
Any other ideas, anyone?

 

[Tinker'n'Fun]

Sign-up for the extra rewards at all of the airlines that fly out of your terminal. It is cheapest 6 to 9 months out or 60 days out. Tuesday is historicallly the best day to book airfare. Prayer doesn't hurt. Definetely price out driving, bus, and Amtrak.

 

[lindsmom]

Not sure if you have ANY flexiblity at all in your schedule (or exactly what your dates are). I was looking at Southwest for down on the 18th, back on the 24th (tuesday so you'd miss 2 days school if your schedule is like ours). Manchester to Orlando you can get 4 of you for 1180.

Or I see Providence to Orlando same dates for just over $1350. Flight back is late so you might miss one more day school (but it's an extra disney day).

Also look at Hartford to Orlando. I looked at flying into Tampa but I can't see any savings for you there.

We got hit hard last April vacation - same situation.

Good luck!

 

[lindsmom]

Oh, and you might want to try Southwest Ding - if you like using them. You could buy tickets now and if something cheaper dings, you can trade then use the credit in like a year.

 

[Disneypirate85]

Is it possible to drive a little bit and fly from a diffrent airport? Never know, just another option. GOODLUCK.

 

[HeatherC]

We are also in Mass. and flying over Feb. break. We are actually driving down to White Plains airport and flying Airtran for $79 each way direct flights!

We are in central Mass. so the drive is only about an hour more than Logan.

All the aiports around here were outrageous. So I decided to go ahead and book it back in May.

You could consider checking HPN (White Plains) and play with different airports in Florida. Even renting a car and driving to Orlando can be A LOT cheaper.

We are actually flying in to West Palm ....visiting relatives for a day and then heading to Orlando. The rental car was reasonable and doesn't have a one way drop off fee.

To fly direct from Logan or PVD or BDL to MCO was over $2000 for connecting flights. JetBLue alone would be almost $800 a person. This way I'm paying around $850 for 5 people direct flights.

Good luck to you! Hope this helps you out in some way!

 

[lindsmom]

We are also in Mass. and flying over Feb. break. We are actually driving down to White Plains airport and flying Airtran for $79 each way direct flights!

We are actually flying in to West Palm ....visiting relatives for a day and then heading to Orlando. The rental car was reasonable and doesn't have a one way drop off fee.

Wow! I'm going to look into White Plains... I'm looking to go to west palm that week to visit the 'rents too! Thanks!

 

[Bren's Mom]

We just flew Airtran from White Plains (we're in CT) to MCO. Non-stop. $179 pp round trip including all taxes and fees. If you can make the drive DEFINITELY check the fares for Airtran AND JetBlue from HPN (White Plains).

 

[richmond282]

Try Priceline.com. You can name your own price.

 

[mom2aredhead]

thanx all
HOWEVER>>> I've tried all of the travel sites, Orbitz, travelocity, expedia, everyone I could think of, I've tried changing the date by one day before or after on the flight down and back, and I've tried the airlines directly, including AirTran and Jet Blue, and Southwest among others and am looking at stopover flights - about $450 is the cheapest per person round trip!
Any other ideas, anyone?

If it's around President's Day weekend, don't expect any great deals.

I also like the site FARECAST dot com - compares prices for most airlines, surrounding airports, and predicts (baased on historical data) if prices are expected to go up or down - it's been pretty accurate for me so far...

 

[Mom2apirate]

The best secret I have found is to look for one way tickets each way. For example: You can fly to Orlando on Delta and fly home on Jetblue. I know it can be scary to buy tickets to Disney and not have found return flights. I had almost a month between buying my tickets. We always go to Fla. during Pres. week and because of the high air fare I really had to search for good fares. This year we're flying out of Rochester NY (not our home airport - an extra hour away) via Airtran $72 and flying Delta home $49.
To sum up:
1) Look for one way fares on different airlines
2) Be flexible on airports
3) Be flexible on number of stops

There is one negative about using multiple airlines is keeping track of all the flight changes.
Good Luck!
FYI My favorite travel site is Kayak.com. You can sign up and they'll notify you when a fare had dropped in you price range.

 

[laughinplace199]

It might help if you can be flexible with your dates. We've gone to WDW during April vacation for the past few years. However, we always either leave a few days before school break starts, or we return a few days after school resumes. My kids miss 2-3 days of school by doing it this way, but I'm ok with that.

 

[lindsmom]

one more... look into direct air from worcester to sanford orlando. Looks like it's a charter system (so you're probably packed in like sardines) but the prices seem reasonable.

I looked at skyauction - make sure you notice the fees before you bid.

good luck!

 

[JESW]

Not that it will help you THIS year, but many of us who fly during school breaks frequent the airline sites often and know when they release the dates. We fly Jet Blue out of Logan and got airfare for April vacation the day the came out for that time period. It was still pricey but we fly sun - mon (kids miss one day of school) and that saves a bit.

Good luck!

Jill

 

[Survivor:Disney]

When are you leaving?

Have you tried Continental? I just put in some dates in Nov. to check for you and it had rates as low as $188 with a stop from Boston to Orlando.

We are flying from TX for $198.

 

[disnut1149]

Hi
Try checking late at night, or even after midnight. I head that sometimes the fares are lower, and then they raise the fares the following morning. It worked for me last year. I went on Air Trans website at 11:45PM and the fare going down from Philly to MCO was $79. and the fare returning was $27.
I couldn't believe I got a fare for $27.00. The next morning I checked and the fare was back up to $79.00. Good luck.

 

[Trentmom]

Hi
Try checking late at night, or even after midnight. I head that sometimes the fares are lower, and then they raise the fares the following morning. It worked for me last year. I went on Air Trans website at 11:45PM and the fare going down from Philly to MCO was $79. and the fare returning was $27.
I couldn't believe I got a fare for $27.00. The next morning I checked and the fare was back up to $79.00. Good luck.

I was just giong to suggest that. I got on airtran website at 1am and got 51 dollars each way from Phila to Orlando