Airline Ticket Purchase

[PrinceOfPeace]

Not sure if this is the correct thread...but here it goes. Just wondering what you would do to get the best deal for flights for 5 people from SoCal to Orlando in September? I will not be purchasing for another few months or so, but want to make sure I begin my research in maintaining our budget.

Thank you so much in advance.

 

[OhMari]

If you book with SouthWest, you can book right away. if the prices drop they will give you credit. I am hoping airline prices. Will drop like gas prices, but I doubt it.

 

[darrenf67]

Following... We head to mco from lax end of August returning sept

 

[msmama]

Check several airports if you're really looking for lowest price. Of course then add in transportation to and from airport costs. Sign up for deal emails from your preferred carrier.

And if you're really interested in saving then you can sign up for a rewards cc. SW often has deals where you get 50000 pts which would be more than enough for at least 2 rt flights.

 

[Marionnette]

Not sure if this is the correct thread...but here it goes. Just wondering what you would do to get the best deal for flights for 5 people from SoCal to Orlando in September? I will not be purchasing for another few months or so, but want to make sure I begin my research in maintaining our budget.

Thank you so much in advance.

Better rates will be for Tues, Wed, Thurs flights.

"Off-hour" flights will be cheaper and will have more availability for 5 people at the lower rates.

Travel for holiday weekends (Labor Day, Rosh Hashanah/Yom Kippur in Sept.) to resort destinations, will be more expensive than the other weekends in Sept.

Start your search for one person, not all 5. Lower-price seats will be limited in number and if you search for 5 and there are only 4, then you won't see that lower rate. If you find a good rate, increase your search to 2, then 3 and so on but keep the first window open on your computer until you verify that the rate is available for more than one passenger. You must have a plan in place as to who you will book at the lower rate if you find that you cannot book all 5 people for the lowest fare.

Consider flying out of a different airport if the fares are too high from the airport closest to you. I once found a fare flying out of ACY instead of my home airport of PHL, yet the flight connected in PHL to go to MCO.

Or fly into an airport other than MCO and drive to Disney. The amount of money that you save on 5 tickets could more than offset the cost of a rental car.

Use a fare predictor on websites like kayak .com. It is located in the upper left corner of the page when you enter your travel dates.

Consider using Priceline to name your price for tickets, if having a cheaper fare is more important than the length of your layover or the airport that you connect through.

 

[luckyman_apd]

Kayak.com....You can even set price alerts. My advice...search and book one way flights. You may take 2 separate airlines...one there, one back and it can save you money. I wouldn't recommend Spirit airlines cross country...BUT they can save a lot of money on the right flight...Just know the fine print with Spirit, as a cheap fare can end up almost the same as other airlines when you tack on extra fees for everything. Spirit and Southwest you need to check their websites in addition to Kayak. Southwest does NOT use any site other than their own. Spirit occasionally shows up on Kayak, but will always be cheaper on their site.

 

[CalDisneyMomof2]

I find that here in So Cal, if you can be flexible with your airport you can get a great deal. LAX has had great deals but sometimes Long Beach (JetBlue) has great deals too. We typically have someone drive us to the airport in our car (so as not to have them use their gas) and pick us up as well. If you can do this it can save you a bunch.

Just remember, JetBlue will start charging for their bags starting next year so factor that in your cost if you need to check bags. Southwest still allows two free bags.

I usually book two one ways since it's cheaper that way (not always). Definitely use Kayak and get alerts. You should be able to get a roundtrip total per person right around $300.

 

[kkmcan]

Vary your search times. In other words look up some flights in the morning when you get up. Then try again in the early afternoon and again at night. Also flights tend to be higher when searching on weekends and holidays when people have time to be looking at flights.

I have found some of the best deals by looking everyday and varying the times of the day I did my searches. Prices sometimes are at the lowest early in the morning and later at night.

 

[Shelly F - Ohio]

http://www.airfarewatchdog.com/

you can enter you trip info and they will email you when prices drop.