AirTran's web site has me ready for the rubber room!!!

[Ned Land]

This website changes fares constantly. See a fare you like? It may triple by the afternoon. Who would pay $300 for a one way fare from Orlando to Tampa? I think they are conducting some kind of sick experiment.

 

[Kelly&John]

We were lucky enough to book our October trip a few months ago. We are going Akron to Orlando for $135 roundtrip. Now, the same first leg of our trip is $259. I believe the price is dependent upon how full the flight is. I'm glad we booked early.

I notice Continental now has a decent fare out of Cleveland. Good Luck with your planning.

Kelly

 

[A kid at heart]

Its called supply and demand & inventory, While you are looking at it so are thousands of others. In fact while you're looking at it, other's could be grabbing the seat and holding it until they decide if they want it. Its happened to me several times when I am looking at another airlines websight or even on expedia, etc. I've benn having the same problem with trying to get a rental car.

 

[WiscMomof2]

I've been burned so many times by this same thing. Now if I see a flight that's in an acceptable range I snatch it up right away. To me it's not worth the headache or hassle of checking and rechecking all the time with rates going up and down so much.....It's enough to drive you batty!! BTW I just did some "rechecking" and my Oct Airtan flights have gone from $191.00 to $305.00. Glad I booked when I did!!

 

[travelitis]

I picked up some great AirTran fares, but like ANY airlines if you find a great rate get it then. I used to be a TA and saw airfares change constantly. If you didn't hold a reservation for a client the fare could go up as you were discussing the flights. The poster who said "supply and demand" was right on target.

 

[Obi-Wan Pinobi]

$300 one way from Orlando to Tampa?????? I would think a one way car rental would be cheaper.

I'm holding my breath hoping the Airtran rates I'm seeing from Newport News to Orlando in September don't change. They did go down a few bucks, so we're going to book our flights this weekend.

Question for others who have flown Airtran -- I've read that some airlines (not sure if Airtran is among them) refund fare differences if the fare goes down after someone books the flight. If they further lower their fare, how easy is it to get the difference refunded from Airtran? Or is it not worth the aggravation?

 

[siouxi31]

I read in a travel budget book that the best time to look for airfare is Wednesday at 1AM (That would be late Tuesday evening just for clarity). They said that this is the time of the week when airlines are most competitive. Maybe you should try that website at that time of the night?? I've been dying to try this myself but so far we have no trip planned for me to check airfare and I'm not losing sleep just for curiosity sake. Good Luck!

 

[WiscMomof2]

Obi-Wan Pinobi,

I could have sworn I read on Airtran's website when I booked a few months back that they don't do price adjustments. I'm not 100% certain on this though. Anyone know for sure?

 

[Firedog]

...but they consider it a change, and they charge $50/ticket for any change. So unless the price difference is more than $50, it's not worth it.

We went through the same thing in May, booked our flight on a Thursday, and the price went down the next day.

 

[monalsw]

i see a few people from ohio here
i'm planning a trip for next may (just got back 5/5/02) and figuring airtrans will be the best for us. we are about half an hour south of akron-canton airport, so it will save us time over cleveland or columbus. any suggestions on when to start watching for 05/03 fares? i've heard that it's best to book as soon as fares become available, and i've heard that it's best to book a few weeks before trip . when will i get the best buys?
thanks, lisa

 

[Obi-Wan Pinobi]

any suggestions on when to start watching for 05/03 fares? i've heard that it's best to book as soon as fares become available, and i've heard that it's best to book a few weeks before trip . when will i get the best buys?

Right now is waaaaaaay early. Most airlines won't have their schedules for next May out until at least after New Years. Even if they have schedules available now for May, they can change flight times or cancel/add flights. You could probably wait until next March to get your tickets and be safe.