Airfare problems

[HappyCamperToo]

When I convinced DH that we could take this next trip (12/16-29/06), it was with a $175-200 per person airfare budget---total cost for 5, under $1000.

Non-stop tickets from Chicago to Orlando were about $300 last week, so I held off. Now they are $444 !!!!! Total cost $2220!! Yikes.

What do you think? Will I be able to pull this off? SWA and AirTran don't have their schedules posted for December yet. I'm so worried. Does anyone have any encouragement for me??

 

[Dewy]

They only predictable part of airfare is that it will change. You have lots of time before your trip so check often. Also, sign up for email deals on the airlines web sites, every once in a while a good offer comes through.

Good luck!!

 

[abeyst]

Don't worry (or buy) tickets just yet. You'll most definitely find lower fares, just make sure you're signed up for emails from your airlines and the Southwest Ding!

Hopefully this will give you some reassurance. We went to WDW on 2/10, but we didn't buy tix until 2/5. By that time my fav airline was $800pp and the cheapest I could find was $303 and that was a 6pm departure with a layover for arrival at MCO at 12:24am. I jumped on it cause I thought it was the best I could get, esp without 7 day advance purchase. I didn't want to take the chance of waiting a day or two and having all airlines ask for $800 pp. 2 days later I receive an email from Spirit saying they're having a Valentine's special with fares starting at $54 each way. I check their site, and sure enough they had a flight for me at $84 pp each way. Boy do I wish I had waited. For 3 tickets I could have saved a bundle!

 

[lpbm4]

I hate waiting, I'm such a planner!!! But everyone here is saying to wait. Where are you looking to fly out of??

 

[mamacatnv]

I don't know, your dates are during the Holidays, I don't have a lot of experience with that time of year, hopefully someone will come along who travel alot at that time. We got good rates on SW last year but we had a Christmas day departure and did not return until well into the new year.

I booked our trip again this year leaving Christmas day with Delta, I got a pretty good fare and was too impatient to wait for SW to come out with their Dec/Jan fares sometime in Aug/Sept.

Good Luck, MamaCatNV

 

[Fionasmommy]

Wait wait wait!!!!! I know it's hard and you'll be so much more relaxed after you get the tickets booked, but I really think it will go down. Definitely keep an eye on DING, and otherwise just keep checking every now and then.

At this point it's so far in advance that they aren't pushing the seats yet, and aren't worried about it not being full yet. I bet you'll find a summer or fall sale and be able to get a much better deal. The hardest part is the waiting!

 

[Fionasmommy]

Ugh!! You're not online!!!

I just went to http://travel.yahoo.com and found a fare of $219 per person, including tax, on Northwest.


DEPART:
Flight 931 / 956
11:32am
Chicago, IL (ORD) 4:37pm
Orlando, FL (MCO) 4hrs 5min - 1 Stop

Change planes in Memphis, TN (MEM)

RETURN:

Flight 957 / 936 7:07am
Orlando, FL (MCO) 10:21am
Chicago, IL (ORD) 4hrs 14min - 1 Stop

Change planes in Memphis, TN (MEM)

 

[HappyCamperToo]

Thanks everyone.

It pretty much needs to be nonstop, since we'll be traveling with medical equipment which I don't want to have to have loaded and unloaded onto two different planes. I just checked out Yahoo travel again (and Orbitz), and they now have a weird kind of deal on two different airlines, but both ways nonstop, for $288 after taxes. Should I do it? That's $1440, still about 400-500 more than I was hoping for....Or should I hang on for SWA to enter the market? Oh the waiting IS hard.

 

[JDietz40]

I booked tickets on SWA for Easter week MDW to MCO and back for $ 89.00 each way on the day that the fares were released so I think that you still have a good chance of snagging a good rate when SWA opens these dates but be ready to boook the tickets immediately as these fares went fast and are now $ 258.00 each way.

Good Luck,




John

 

[HappyCamperToo]

I booked tickets on SWA for Easter week MDW to MCO and back for $ 89.00 each way on the day that the fares were released so I think that you still have a good chance of snagging a good rate when SWA opens these dates but be ready to boook the tickets immediately as these fares went fast and are now $ 258.00 each way.

Good Luck,




John

Okay. I think i'll hold on

2 questions though

1) How can I tell when SWA will be likely to open up those dates? Is there some sort of projected pattern to go by?

2) (Here's the worrier in me....) What if the outbound date opens (12/16) before the return (12/29)? Would I need to get them as one way tickets?

 

[JDietz40]

Okay. I think i'll hold on

2 questions though

1) How can I tell when SWA will be likely to open up those dates? Is there some sort of projected pattern to go by?

2) (Here's the worrier in me....) What if the outbound date opens (12/16) before the return (12/29)? Would I need to get them as one way tickets?

SWA tickets are all basically one way. but I would guess that when they open December it will cover the entire month.

I have not been able to find a pattern to SWA release dates. Others on this board that fly SWA more than I do may be able to better answer this.

Even though we were able to book the good price we were nervous while waiting fo SWA and I booked business class tickets on AirTran knowing that they were completely refundable. Once we booked on SWA I cancelled the AirTran booking and it was creditted back to my credit card.


John

 

[PURTYPAT1]

I travel alot, holidays, & non holiday.

Please anyone correct me if you think I am wrong, but for holidays, the fares are usually in the ball park of $200.00 rt. Any other time, I can usually find fares for about 60.00 to 89.00 each way.

My advice is, if you can find a fare for 200.00 non stop RT book asap.

I found a non stop fare for Thanksgiving for 200.00 rt & I am sure it is not going to go much lower than that. Even if it does, I am very happy to have this fare, & I can rest in peace.

It can be so confusing .

Hope this helps

Patricia

 

[HappyCamperToo]

My advice is, if you can find a fare for 200.00 non stop RT book asap.

PURTYPAT1 - You sure sound like someone in the know. What would you do?The fare nonstop is at $270 right now. Should I wait? For 5 tickets, that's $350 extra--which is a lot of money....

 

[PURTYPAT1]

I would look "EVERY" morn as early as possible. That's when the airfare seems to be cheap. Sometimes, they have 3 seats, at a low cost. I was able to get our Thanksgiving fare's this way. By afternoon, the fares go up.

Don't be afraid of one way fares either. I do this all the time. I usually do this on our President's fare. I also booked 18 people (my family) for thanksgiving on one way fares.

Try different websites like

http://quickfares.bestfares.com/qui...partureCode=NYC&ArrivalCode=MCO&o=DNYC&d=AMCO

I have used travelocity, orbits

http://www.mobissimo.com/search_airfare.php

http://www.kayak.com/

I would keep trying early in the morn & try to get your fare in the neighborhood of 200.00


If you see a good price, don't wait jump on it.

Hope this helps

Please let us know, when & what you get when you book.

 

[lpbm4]

Where are you flying from??

 

[PURTYPAT1]

Where are you flying from??

She said Chicago to Orlando

 

[lpbm4]

But I mean what airport--Midway or O'Hare.

 

[HappyCamperToo]

But I mean what airport--Midway or O'Hare.

Whichever is less expensive at the time....



I've resigned myself to checking twice every day, early a.m. and before I go to bed. And I'm hanging tight at least for a little while, hoping to get a non-stop for around $200. I've also vowed not to go online to check in the middle of the day--it just eats up too much TIME surfing around on the web. Of course, as you can see by the current time of this post, I've already broken this promise to myself....

Wish me luck, and I wish everyone else who's waiting lots of luck and pixie dust, too!

 

[Cinderumbrella]

I just want to wish you luck!

We are going 11/26 to 12/3 which means we are flying out the Sunday after Thanksgiving- the busiest travel day of the year. I started looking at flights every day starting at 331 days out. The lowest it ever went was $235 (before fees) from ORD to MCO nonstop. Since we were getting 8 tickets and the plane was starting to fill up, we bought them (even though we were hoping for $200 per person before fees). Our same flight today is $329 (before fees).

For us Midway was not an option so we can't take advantage of SW since does not fly out of ORD. I did get an email today from travelocity about $133 flights using Air Tran but I'm not sure what the travel dates were.

Good luck and hang in there!!!

 

[HappyCamperToo]

Cinderumbrella, thanks for your post. It is interesting to hear how flight prices change. I don't think that Air Tran price would have covered your dates--they don't seem to be booking out that far yet.