airfare going up!

[maxiesmom]

Why on earth would they already be raising the prices of airfare in October? I just checked Delta, and they are going up, up, up!

Does anyone think they will ping pong around a bit? Or should I just suck it up and buy tickets. It seems a bit crazy to buy 7 months out.

 

[DebbieB]

Why on earth would they already be raising the prices of airfare in October? I just checked Delta, and they are going up, up, up!

Does anyone think they will ping pong around a bit? Or should I just suck it up and buy tickets. It seems a bit crazy to buy 7 months out.

As seats are sold, the remaining go up. They only have a few seats in the lowest fare class. Sometimes though they put more in the lower class if they are not selling. Just keep watching. If you are going around a school holiday, they may not go down.

 

[SandyinMonterey]

I can't tell you when and if airfare will go down. I can tell you what happened with my latest experience buying airfare. I started looking 11 months out and it was in the mid $400's to $500 range. That's flying from California with one layover. I thought for sure airfare would go down because I was looking so early and that is what is has done before. Well, it didn't. It kept going up and on top of that, all the times changed (to sometimes not getting to MCO until the next day) and connections changed too. I ended up paying $2000 for three of us. My rule of thumb from now on, know what I want to spend and what I'm comfortable with, once it's that price...buy it and stop looking. I messed up on this one but thankfully I budgeted so I can cover it.

 

[ancestry]

We usually fly JetBlue and/or Southwest. In my experience from our home airport to MCO the price usually is the cheapest when they are first released. Rarely does the price go below their initial price release.

The legacy carriers vary more in their pricing and they are harder to predict from our home airport. If the trip dates are set in stone for you then I would buy the airfare now. If you have some flexibility on your dates within the month of October then I would probably hold off a bit.

 

[sam_gordon]

Why on earth would they already be raising the prices of airfare in October? I just checked Delta, and they are going up, up, up!

Does anyone think they will ping pong around a bit? Or should I just suck it up and buy tickets. It seems a bit crazy to buy 7 months out.

You've been around these boards long enough to know the various arguments about airfare.

Do you have another option if the prices don't drop?
Can you afford the current prices?
You can look and see how full the flight is on Delta's page. Is it filling up or still pretty empty?

I would probably hold off until next Monday or Tuesday.

 

[connie1042]

We booked Delta from MN. MSP to MCO non-stop. Arrive at 11:30 am Leave MCO at 2:10. We paid 330. Next day fight disappeared for that price. Went up to 456. Two days later it was back, then daughter booked hers. I have decided if I am happy with the price and times, I book it. We are going in Late Sept.

 

[maxiesmom]

So after talking it over with my nephew, we booked. $298 round trip which may not sound bad, but it is for GRR. We are usually under $250. But I'm glad we booked as a couple of the flights had way more seats gone than I would have thought.

 

[gdrj]

So after talking it over with my nephew, we booked. $298 round trip which may not sound bad, but it is for GRR. We are usually under $250. But I'm glad we booked as a couple of the flights had way more seats gone than I would have thought.

In general there airfares IMO are up. Less flights, more mergers, less competition, higher flight occupancy = higher fares. There is still opportunity for less expensive but they don't seem to be around very long. My strategy has changed to from waiting for the drop to buying when it is within my budget.

 

[jgraney106]

In general there airfares IMO are up. Less flights, more mergers, less competition, higher flight occupancy = higher fares. There is still opportunity for less expensive but they don't seem to be around very long. My strategy has changed to from waiting for the drop to buying when it is within my budget.

Got to agree with you about fares in general. We are paying about $40 per person more this year than we did last year for the same flights.

 

[PeanutButterMom]

Our trip last October, I ended up buying our tix on May 29th. They never went a dollar lower (ended up going much, much higher). I tracked them in Yapta since the day they were announced - the cheapest was a day in April, then they spiked until the end of May I assumed seen I bought in May that I would end up with a credit as they dropped... Didn't happen. Also, those flights were nearly $300 (for 4 tickets) than the exact same flights the year previous.

ETA: for our December trip, my goal is to buy them when they come out, then just cross fingers and feel lucky if they drop.

 

[mm1971]

Less planes/flights = reduced capacity resulting in higher demand and prices. It has been noted in the news and financial circles that most airlines are limiting the number of flights in order to fill up the existing routes and save $$. Instead of having 10 flights per day that are 60% full, they are dropping to 6 flights per day at 90-100% capacity. That allows them to reduce costs and charge more for the limited space.

This has been going on for a while. Fuel costs rising, employee salaries rising and general costs of everything going up. Only way to keep margins is to raise prices along with costs. I wouldn't expect the patterns to change any time soon. Travel in general will continue to be more expensive.

I for one will gladly pay the extra $$ to make sure they have enough resources to keep my plane in good working order and serviced properly. No corner cutting please.

 

[Dizfan4life]

So after talking it over with my nephew, we booked. $298 round trip which may not sound bad, but it is for GRR. We are usually under $250. But I'm glad we booked as a couple of the flights had way more seats gone than I would have thought.

I was watching flight costs out of GRR too and the prices just weren't what I wanted to pay. I searched a little more and found rates at $229pp out of Flint on Southwest. I called my sis-in-law, who is a travel agent, and she said Flint was such a nice airport. I ended up booking the flight there and saved us almost $400. I will be paying $60ish to park for 8 days then when we return I think I'll take that money I saved and make a quick stop at the Birch Run Outlet Mall!!

 

[kristenrice]

I was watching flight costs out of GRR too and the prices just weren't what I wanted to pay. I searched a little more and found rates at $229pp out of Flint on Southwest. I called my sis-in-law, who is a travel agent, and she said Flint was such a nice airport. I ended up booking the flight there and saved us almost $400. I will be paying $60ish to park for 8 days then when we return I think I'll take that money I saved and make a quick stop at the Birch Run Outlet Mall!!

We did the same thing! I booked with points but the fares were $220 for non-stop. I booked a hotel for the night before because the flight is at 6:50am but still saved big.

 

[Greysword]

On a side note, Delta is changing their price structure and attempting to align their frequent flier mileage program to the price of airfare.

Also, they recently instituted a structure where frequent fliers need to attain a certain dollar spend goal along with mileage or flight segments to earn elite status. This equates to about $0.10/mile, and I am sure Delta would prefer their ticket prices not dip too much below that threshold (to both collect more revenue and ensure their fliers meet the dollar goal).

With Southwest and the other "low-cost" domestic airlines pricing about the same (or more) than the legacy airlines, the the latter likely feel they can raise their prices a bot an remain competitive.

Lastly, delta is an odd bird in another way, as they bought a refinery several years ago in an attempt to regulate their own fuel prices. The refinery has posted a slight profit, so it will be interesting to see if this actually hedges Delta's fuel costs, and if so, whether they lower prices or keep them tracking with other airlines.

That all said, airfares in general are still lower that those 30-40 years ago (when adjusted for inflation).