Airline price question

[Philagoofy]

I rarely visit this board so please forgive me if this has been asked or if it's a stupid question.

A few weeks ago, the price of an 11:20 am flight on AirTran for 9/5/09 was $79.00. I checked again today & the lowest price is now $139.00 for the same day/time. Does that mean that that price is sold out & will definitely not be available again or is there a possibility that it could be for that time? Now that I type this out, I think I know the answer & yes, it's a stupid question but I'm hopeful anyway.

If you wonder why I didn't book it back then it's because my dh hasn't been well & I don't know if he'll be ok to go. Trying to plan a nice little, inexpensive vacation with Mickey but don't want to have to cancel a flight & lose a lot of money. I usually plan the whole thing through Disney.com, it seems that when I try to do the flights separate it comes out to more money.

 

[jlewisinsyr]

Flights may or may not be cheaper booking directly through the airline, it depends on what flights you are looking for and if they prepurchased tickets at a lower fare then what is currently available.

As for if the flight prices will go down, they may or may not. What the price increase indicates is that the number of seats allocated at the $79.00 fare class have been sold out at this time or at least in the number you are trying to book. The airline, depending on continued purchases may reduce the price on additional fare classes as time progresses based on their experience versus original estimate.

If you are unsure if you can go, and want to still lock in your options, a refundable fare may be a better option. It will cost you more, but you also won't be out of the money if you end up unable to go.

I hope your husband feels better.

 

[Philagoofy]

Thank you for your well wishes & your response, gives me some hope. I think refundable tickets might cost more than cancelling & forgoing the money, but I'll check it out. Thanks!

 

[koquinn]

I was coming to post the same thing!! I've heard that the prices go up Thurs-Sun or Mon, and then Tues & Wed go back down. I'm not sure if it's true or not, but the flights I've been watching for Oct just went up by $50 today too. Here's hoping we didn't wait too long!!!

 

[dudspizza]

Airtran is one that runs sales all the time. If your trip is a ways out, wait for another sale. If your travel dates are peak dates, you may not see the sale price for the flight you want.....

best of luck..

Duds