Airfare To WDW

[GOOFY4DONALD]

I have a question about airfare. I am planning my trip for the end of 2007 and will most likely book in January. I am wondering if I should book my airfare with the package or buy my flight separatly. Right now tickets are about $560 pp . I need to buy 5 tickets so it is a big chunk of change. If I do buy with Disney will the price fluctuate or is it set. If I wait I might be able to get the tickets for around $450 pp. Still a lot but I would be saving over $500. What would you do? We only have Delta, NW, Continental & I think (not sure) about United.

 

[jeankeri]

Post on the transportation board. Also mention the airline in the thread title- there are many airline/ airfare experts there who would be glad to help!

 

[pyrxtc]

for my trip this December, I bought my tickets back in january at $177 pp and now the prices are outrageous. I am glad I bought so early on this one. I am flying non-stop too so I got awesome deals. First flight out and last flight home!

 

[mickeyluv'r]

NEVER book your airfare with a package at WDW. The cancelation terms are aweful, and the fares aren't very good.

I have to disagree with the above posters. I think January is WAY too early for aflight for December. Now is too late to get the best deals (for this December), but January is a bit too early.

It especially matters if there is a discount carrier flying out of your local airport. If you aren't sure, then I would suggest finding out for sure. Southwest is expanding all the time, as are the other discount carriers. Also, I know Montana is a big state, I don't know if you have any options for airports. Sometimes driving a little further for another airport can make a big difference in price. I have a few to choose from where I live, so I usually shop around. Especially factor in the idea of a different airport if you are unable to get a direct flight to Orlando from your area.

If, as you think, there are no discount carriers in your area, then buying relatively early is a good idea, but I still think January is way too early. They aren't going to offer anything remotely resembling a discount THAT early out. My rule of thumb for my area is to look about four- 4 1/2 months out, and keep checking. With Southwest, if a lower fare comes out, you can rebook your ticket, but I know many major airlines charge you a penalty for doing that. In my area, when Sothwest releases their sale prices, the other carriers magically discount thier fares as well (and this is the case for other discount carriers too. When they release their lowest fare, other airlines will match).
It also makes a difference if you plan on flying Christmas week or earlier in December. Christmas week buy early, other weeks, it would make sense t o wait longer, especially if you have some flexiblity on when you fly.

 

[pyrxtc]

when I bought last january, I got a great deal and prices haven't dropped back down to that low yet. I've been watching. i would book that far out again ina heartbeat to get that price for non-stop! I was just looking to see how much it was for my trip next year but it is still too far out. Even the fares that came out last month for airlines like southwest or jetblue couldn't beat my 1 yr advance deal.

 

[GOOFY4DONALD]

Post on the transportation board. Also mention the airline in the thread title- there are many airline/ airfare experts there who would be glad to help!

Thank you. I posted and did get a response. I had no idea about the other boards...now I will never get off the computer

 

[GOOFY4DONALD]

NEVER book your airfare with a package at WDW. The cancelation terms are aweful, and the fares aren't very good.

I have to disagree with the above posters. I think January is WAY too early for aflight for December. Now is too late to get the best deals (for this December), but January is a bit too early.

It especially matters if there is a discount carrier flying out of your local airport. If you aren't sure, then I would suggest finding out for sure. Southwest is expanding all the time, as are the other discount carriers. Also, I know Montana is a big state, I don't know if you have any options for airports. Sometimes driving a little further for another airport can make a big difference in price. I have a few to choose from where I live, so I usually shop around. Especially factor in the idea of a different airport if you are unable to get a direct flight to Orlando from your area.
If, as you think, there are no discount carriers in your area, then buying relatively early is a good idea, but I still think January is way too early. They aren't going to offer anything remotely resembling a discount THAT early out. My rule of thumb for my area is to look about four- 4 1/2 months out, and keep checking. With Southwest, if a lower fare comes out, you can rebook your ticket, but I know many major airlines charge you a penalty for doing that. In my area, when Sothwest releases their sale prices, the other carriers magically discount thier fares as well (and this is the case for other discount carriers too. When they release their lowest fare, other airlines will match).
It also makes a difference if you plan on flying Christmas week or earlier in December. Christmas week buy early, other weeks, it would make sense t o wait longer, especially if you have some flexiblity on when you fly.

Thank you for the advice. I do now as of right now we do not have Southwest but you never know...we have, I believe, the second largest airport in the state. I do not know if we want to travel 4 hours home after we just spent a week at Disney but if we can save hundreds it might be worth it.

 

[badblackpug]

Definitely book seperately. Start looking now, check every day. I got the best deal from AirTran at $59 each way. Don't know if you are a hub.........

 

[janette]

What part of Montana are you in? I grew up in MT and have booked flights mainly out of Billings but not to Orlando. If you are in the NW SouthWest flys out of Spokane so that is an option.

I'd use the main flight search engines like travelocity, expedia or orbitz to get an idea of the price ranges. You might search for flights to hub cities like Salt Lake, Denver, MN/St Paul to see if booking 2 flights might be cheaper.

Are you trying to use a small carrier to connect? Often this makes the standard booking engines crazy. My Mom has to use Big Sky to get to Billings so I usually can't book her flights online.

 

[3dog2kidmom]

We booked ours in a package from Disney for last Christmas and it was much cheaper doing it that way, so it's not always a bad idea to do a package through Disney. I have a friend who lives in MT, and from what she says airfare from MT to anywhere is always expensive.

I find it extremely exhausting trying to decide when to purchase tickets. Good luck!

 

[GOOFY4DONALD]

What part of Montana are you in? I grew up in MT and have booked flights mainly out of Billings but not to Orlando. If you are in the NW SouthWest flys out of Spokane so that is an option.

I'd use the main flight search engines like travelocity, expedia or orbitz to get an idea of the price ranges. You might search for flights to hub cities like Salt Lake, Denver, MN/St Paul to see if booking 2 flights might be cheaper.

Are you trying to use a small carrier to connect? Often this makes the standard booking engines crazy. My Mom has to use Big Sky to get to Billings so I usually can't book her flights online.

We are in Great Falls. As of right now we would save about 50.00 pp if we flew out of Billings. That would be a savings of 250.00 BUT.. if you factor in a 3 hour drive each way and most likely at least a one night stay in a hotel it wouldn't help at all.
If it looks like we will save 100+ pp we may just have to go there. Great idea on the 2 flights instead of 1. I am pretty much open to any options that won't cost me 550+ pp.

 

[GOOFY4DONALD]

We booked ours in a package from Disney for last Christmas and it was much cheaper doing it that way, so it's not always a bad idea to do a package through Disney. I have a friend who lives in MT, and from what she says airfare from MT to anywhere is always expensive.

I find it extremely exhausting trying to decide when to purchase tickets. Good luck!

You are right. Flying anywhere from MT is expensive. When I lived in Calif we flew from LAX to Boston for about 150 pp. In Jan I went from MT to LA ...680pp

 

[GOOFY4DONALD]

We booked ours in a package from Disney for last Christmas and it was much cheaper doing it that way, so it's not always a bad idea to do a package through Disney. I have a friend who lives in MT, and from what she says airfare from MT to anywhere is always expensive.

I find it extremely exhausting trying to decide when to purchase tickets. Good luck!

This is my delima. If I book through Disney the tickets are, roughly, 525 pp. The only prices I am looking at are about 550+ pp. I am trying to decide if it is worth the hassle of finding my own airfare. If I can't get the tickets for 450 or less i may just have to book through Disney.

 

[GOOFY4DONALD]

Definitely book seperately. Start looking now, check every day. I got the best deal from AirTran at $59 each way. Don't know if you are a hub.........

WOW... wish I could get a deal like that. The closest hub is 12 hours away.

 

[hsmamato2]

I don't know where you're traveling from,but 550 pp is a horrible price! I wouldn't pay more than 200 rt, we just got ours on Airtan for January,we're driving 1 1/2 hours to get there, but 84 each way, we saved almost 500 off Sw published fares,yes,it's worth the drive!
Watch,and wait,usually 35 months before your trip is a god time to catch a good fare

 

[Dizneydaz]

Wow, I'm glad I don't live in Montana! (only because of the airfares, of course). We live in So. Cal. and usually pay less than $300 pp. We have several airports to choose from, but our fav. is Ontario which is only 30 min. away and very easy to use. We did fly out of LAX Jan. 05 ($180 rt LAX to MCO, non-stop, on Song (Delta)).

For our last trip (Sept 9th) we paid about $225 pp r/t. on Delta. 1 stop in ATL. If we had to pay more than $500 pp we definitely wouldn't be able to go so often.

Yes, sometimes picking the flight is the hardest part of booking the trip. Usually I leave our actual dates at WDW open depending on what flight we can get for the best price. This trip the best fare required us to stay for 10 nights! Of course, I was more than happy to add days to my trip to take advantage of the great fare.

Good luck!

 

[GOOFY4DONALD]

I don't know where you're traveling from,but 550 pp is a horrible price! I wouldn't pay more than 200 rt, we just got ours on Airtan for January,we're driving 1 1/2 hours to get there, but 84 each way, we saved almost 500 off Sw published fares,yes,it's worth the drive!
Watch,and wait,usually 35 months before your trip is a god time to catch a good fare

Did you mean 3-5 months? Just checking if I had to plan over 3 years in advance I am way too late. I hope it was a typo.. now you have me worried.

 

[GOOFY4DONALD]

Wow, I'm glad I don't live in Montana! (only because of the airfares, of course). We live in So. Cal. and usually pay less than $300 pp. We have several airports to choose from, but our fav. is Ontario which is only 30 min. away and very easy to use. We did fly out of LAX Jan. 05 ($180 rt LAX to MCO, non-stop, on Song (Delta)).

For our last trip (Sept 9th) we paid about $225 pp r/t. on Delta. 1 stop in ATL. If we had to pay more than $500 pp we definitely wouldn't be able to go so often.

Yes, sometimes picking the flight is the hardest part of booking the trip. Usually I leave our actual dates at WDW open depending on what flight we can get for the best price. This trip the best fare required us to stay for 10 nights! Of course, I was more than happy to add days to my trip to take advantage of the great fare.

Good luck!

I do know that I won't be able to get anything under 400 pp. It was so much easier & cheaper when I lived in Ca. Anyway it is pretty bad when the airfare costs more that the rest of the trip. And since we have 5 people we won't really catch any breaks. My friend went in June and the come to Disney for 1500 ended up costing over 4000 because of the airfare.

 

[Piglet'sPal]

Have you thought about getting a Delta American Express SkyMiles card? You may want to check into that. You get 1 mile for every dollar that you spend and some places, like home improvement stores, pharmacies, stand alone grocery stores, gas stations, etc, you can get double miles. Once you earn enough miles (either 25,000 or 50,000), you can fly Delta for free on certain flights. I know that this sounds like a lot of miles, but they actually add up quickly. I got my card this past May and I already have over 35,000 miles (I got 15,000 just for signing up). My trip is next October, so I should be able to get at least 2 tickets, maybe 3 tickets for free. American Express also has periods of the year where they offer double miles for all purchases. We have been putting all of our expenses on our credit card each month, and then paying it off at the end of the month. It has worked great for us so far. Anyway, it may be something worth checking into.

 

[Zoemakes5]

I know flying in and out of Montana is always expensive. Hints I've given (and successfully used) in the past.

Look to see if there are airports within 6 hour drive that you can get cheaper flight in or out of. Sometimes if we fly out of Des Moines or Milwaukee we can get a significantly cheaper flight.
Look to see if there are other airports within a 2-4 hour drive of where you want to be. We frequently fly in and out of Tampa when going to Orlando, and will often fly in and out of Vegas when going to Anaheim or San Diego. Sometimes, not only are the flights cheaper, but so are the rental vehicles! We saved over $800 on flights and car by flying into and out of L.V. last year.
Look on Expedia or Travelocity or similar to see if a day either way gets you a cheaper rate. I had searched and searched for flights and thought I was going to get stuck with a $345 pp flight, and found a flight going out a day ealier that we got for $287.
Google to see if there are any charter airlines going out of your main airport. I found out we have an additional one I never knew about. My parents didn't know about a major charter service that flies in and out of their airport to ours.
Try price line. Might be useful at this point.
And, not my favorite, but sometimes can really work well. If one person or a couple of people are confined in their travel times, but the others aren't, sometimes you can get a cheaper fare for those who aren't confined by their travel and then get the more expensive flight for those who do have restrictions.
DO NOT use WDW travel for flights. They have terrible cancellation fees (as stated), but they also have restrictions about who they can use, so they are often more expensive.
Good luck!