All this airfare talk... How about a little challenge...

[Ted and Holly]

Hello all,
I have been reading all the posts about the great rates that eveyone of getting. I am having a TERRIBLE time getting anything reasonable for our next trip. I have checked Travelocity, Delta, AA, PanAm, and Southwest. Seems I can not get anything much lower than $500 round trip for 2. So, I propose this challenge. I challenge all those who find the least bit of enjoyment in searching the internet for great fares the following:

Holly and I are planning on going from Manchester, NH (MHT) to Orlando International (MCO) on November 17, returning November 24.

Doesn't sound that tough... Some desired details are:
Early flight down, late flight back.
The dates are not too flexible due to Holly's new job (congrats).
Less connections are better (Holly is not comfortable with take-offs and landings)
MHT is desired but Logan is an hour away (tougher to get to but if fares are worth it...)

So, there it is. A chanllenge. Not intended to stress anyone out. Just for fun. Of course, I would love someone to spot something I missed so I do not have to give blood to finance the flight. I am already stretching it with the AKL booking.

Luckily, I am on vacation this week and next. I have been bored and now I found something to help me fill a couple days. I will not be defeated!

Thanks!

Ted

 

[Wendy]

Hi Ted! I think the reason you're seeing everyone geting such great airfares while yours are still so high, is that these fare sales that everyone is taking advantage of only go through October. There are no sales yet for November, so right now it looks like you probably won't find any great deals on your tickets.

 

[ny'er]

Have you looked at maybe flying in late the night before or maybe using
another airport?

We had great rates from Delta for the 1st part of Nov. but we will be going
into Tampa

 

[Ted and Holly]

Wendy, that is what I am afraid of. But I hate to wait too long.

ny'er, I was just thinking about that. So, you are going in to Tampa, are you going to floy back out there too?

Ted

 

[robinb]

I just ran your dates on Orbitz and Southwest has direct flights for $209 RT! The routing is good too, arrival at 11:50 am and leaving at 3:00 pm. That may or may not inlude taxes.

BTW, do you mean that you can currently find airfare of $250 RT or $500 RT?

 

[Ted and Holly]

Thanks Robin! Let me list what I have found:

Travelocity:

$844.50 for two on USAir. 3 hour layover at LaGuardia.

Expedia:

$713.00 for two on USAir, two stops.

Soutwest.com:

$795 for two. Non-stop. Promotional fares not available for both dates.

Delta:

$588 for two. Two stops. Gets there at 10pm!

AA.com:

$859.50 for two. 8 hours travel time.

PanAm (Portsmouth, NH):

$663.00 for two. Non-stop. Good times. Put off by LONG delays and unscheduled maintenance.

US Airways:

$578.00 for two. Late flight down. 2.5 hour layover in LaGuardia. One leg is in a Dash-8. I doubt I would get Holly NEAR one.


So, how does Orbitz work? I checked out the site and I do see the $419 for two, non-stop flights. They are the best prices I have seen so far.

Ted

 

[kellymonaghan]

When you search on Orbitz it looks for fares only. It will tell you that a $419 fare exists for the city pair you searched on, but it tells you nothing about availability.

Only when you decide to buy does Orbitz actually search to find out if there is a seat available at that fare on the date you specified. I have had $150 fares turn into $500 fares when I went to book. Apparently, this happens a lot with Orbitz.

 

[Ted and Holly]

That was what I was concerned about. Orbitz states that only those fares with the "Select" button are available. Of course, NONE of the Southwest fares were available. I believe, however, that this was a choice that Southwest made as far as Customer Service. Who knows if these fares are even accurate?

Hmm, not doing much better as I research today.

Ted

 

[robinb]

Sorry! I didn't read the "fine print" on the Orbitz site .

 

[Ted and Holly]

That's OK Robin! Thanks for your input! Well, we saved some money with DC on our room... I suppose I shouldn't obsess TOO much about airfare... But $400 per person for round trip tickets?!?

Ted

 

[robinb]

November is still a long way away. Given the prices that you're seeing now for your dates I don't think it would hurt too much to wait before booking your tickets. Things might come down.

 

[jel0511]

I didn't look at trying to find you better dates, but there is one thing you should consider while looking for airfares. YOu plan on flying out the Sat before and after Thanksgiving. One or both of those dates may be blackout dates, meaning the lowest available fare might not be available. If you're concerned you could try to contact the airlines to see if those are indeed blackout dates for cheap airfare, but as others have indicated, most of the discounts only run through the end of Oct, so I'd keep searching.

 

[AllanJ]

>>>Doesn't sound that tough...
>>>Some desired details are:
>>>Early flight [11/17/01] down [to MCO],
>>> late flight back [11/24/01].

Sorry. These are very tough conditions!
The best fares for these dates from just about anywhere to Orlando tend to sell out 330 days in advance.

Yes you could be lucky and a fare sale occurs at the same time a few of the lowest class seats open up. But it would be a matter of luck because lots of folks check the airlines every few days to snag the few seats at the really lowest fares.

More Disney tips:
http://members.aol.com/ajaynejr/disney.htm

9/65 Disneyland
3/75 (World Inn* off I4 near DD)
4/85 (Kon-Tiki* on 192)
'80s Disneyland once or twice
7/94 PORiv (DxL)
9/97 ASMu
11/98 ASMu
12/98 (Knights Inn on 192)
9/99 ASMo
12/00 ASSp
11/01 ASSp planned
*no longer exists

 

[GirlPoly]

That is Thanksgiving week so the airfares will be much higher, void of many discounts

Good Luck~

BTW - I did a quick search through delta.com and found a fare for $224 each roundtrip - with one stop over

There are also several for a bit more $260+

 

[Beverly Lynn]

THE BIGGEST PROBLEM ON GETTING YOU A DECNT FARE RIGHT NOW IS NO SALES ARE out for your time frame yet and the return date is pretty booked already. my suggestion to you is buy the tkt now and then when the sale comes out get the refund difference in the voucher to use for your next trip. there will be sales coming out just not yet.