Airfare - buy tickets now or in summer?

[CoolPool]

Is it better to buy now (march) when availability is good OR wait for deals? Does airfare typically rise or fall in the summer?

We are going end July. I have a preference for Delta because the schedule LAX/MCO is closest to my desired schedule.
Thanks.

 

[lady_hlh]

We have gone at the end of September the last 2 years on SW and they do drop their ticket prices as the dates get closer. Last year I got nervous about waiting for the prices to drop so I booked in May but then they dropped the prices and I ended up with a $500 credit. This year we are going at the end of August and my DH wants to hold out for the price drops before we book our flights.

 

[shortbun]

Is it better to buy now (march) when availability is good OR wait for deals? Does airfare typically rise or fall in the summer?

We are going end July. I have a preference for Delta because the schedule LAX/MCO is closest to my desired schedule.
Thanks.

How much is it now? Are there direct flights available now that might be sold out at the cheaper fares if you wait? How important are seats together to you? Direct flights and seats together are things you may give up waiting for a better fare. You need to decide how much those things are worth to you. Also, the schedule you want is probably the flight everyone else would choose and they might not wait until the fares drop, leaving you to fly another airline and time. Call the airlines and find out what their policy is on fares going down-how much they have to drop before you get a refund and if YOU are responsible for watching for the drop or if they automatically refund to you. Also ask about penalties for changing tickets if the fares drop. Most airlines have a 'reissue' fee per ticket.

ETA: I just went on DL's site and found non stops roundtrip, July 15 return 23rd for $237 and some change per person. That's an excellent price and would be VERY hard to beat. Looks like midweek travel might be required-those dates are Mondays. The fare on the sundays prior was over $320pp.

 

[shoes99]

Continental is running $118 and $128 RT from Newark NJ to Orlando right now for selected dates thru the end of the year. I usually wait for Jet Blue, but I booked my December flights on Continental yesterday @$147.30 ($128) RT each person.

 

[Dizneydaz]

Is it better to buy now (march) when availability is good OR wait for deals? Does airfare typically rise or fall in the summer?

We are going end July. I have a preference for Delta because the schedule LAX/MCO is closest to my desired schedule.
Thanks.

Hi fellow Californian! I wish we lived closer to LAX so we could fly direct!

My experience with Delta (also my preferred airline, but out of Ontario) has been that once you find a flight (date and time and seat location) you like, at a fare you 're okay with paying, go ahead a book it. Even if the fares do go down (and sometimes they'll go down for a day and then go back up) you proably won't get the flight you want. If the fare does go down, substantially, then you can also rebook it by paying $50 per ticket. I did this recently for a trip for my niece to come home for Thanksgiving from SLC. I booked the faire at about $250 rt and the next day it dropped $100! I called and was able to rebook the cheaper fare. They charge $50 to do it but I was still left with a $50 travel voucher-good for one year. The original flight was booked online, so you can still rebook it, by phone, if you see a cheaper fare.

The only problem I've had with booking far in advance, on Delta, is that they change their schedules about every 3 months (according to rep I spoke to) and if they do that (even if it's only a flight number change, or 1 min. change) you will lose your seat selections, for each affected flight. They will re-assign you seats and it seems like the always put you in the back of the plane. They are supposed to email you any flight changes, however, both times this has happened to us, I found the change before they notified me (by checking my itinerary online). The first time it happened they never notified me by email and I just happened to check my schedule I saw the changes. By then it was too late to move our seats, and we were at the back of the plane. They actually had one of our flights with less than a 1 hr. layover in Atlanta so I changed to a one hour later flight (don't want to ever miss a connection again!). This can be a problem when connecting in Atlanta (you're probably getting direct though through LAX). I learned from that experience, and now I make sure I check my itineray at least once a week, so I have no surprises.

So, back to your original question, if you think the fare is reasonable-book it! Just my opinion, of course.

 

[Marshay]

This is always a gamble. When you find a price you can be satisfied with, I would book. It may not be the absolute cheapest, but it also prevents a lot of worry through the next months whether or not you'll find a seat, let alone a good price.

Best of luck! We are playing this game now, too for September.

 

[La2kw]

From L.A. to Orlando, I wouldn't wait. We bought our July tickets months ago, and the prices have only gone up since then.

 

[ccigliano]

I go to Orbitz and put one of those email alerts on for MCO and try to check back with Orbitz every morning and evening as once the alerts are set it takes but a few minutes. I live in NY and just like shoes99 I booked the $128 fare on Continental for my upcoming December trip just last Tuesday with great flight times and nonstop from Newark. You'll get the feel for when the prices are getting low and then book. As far as waiting til the last minute it can pay off if you have the stomach. A friend of mine booked a flight to Aruba last summer two weeks prior and paid $250 from NY, nonstop with great times. You can also use Orbitz to see which flights are booking up so to gauge where prices are going. Good Luck.

 

[kritter]

When will SW release dates for late Sept????

 

[CrzyforPiglet]

We booked our tickets a couple of weeks ago for our trip this Sept. Luckily we've gone to Orlando almost every year for about 4 or 5 years now so we know on average what is a good deal. We saw what we wanted for the times we wanted and booked. Actually we booked the day after we saw the fares and they went up about $10 per person but now those flights are $100 more than what we paid.

 

[Dizneydaz]

I'm still waiting for fares to get lower. As of now, RT to MCO from ONT is (the cheapest on) $404 inc fees! That's way too much so I'll keep checking and once it hits around $250 +/-, plus fees, I'll be ready to jump!