Anyone Else Sick of Checking Feb. Airfares!!!

[HeatherC]

Yep...we are one of those "northeasterners" trying to escape the mid winter cold by heading to Orlando. Except this time the airfare is ridiculous...as everyone here knows!!!

Last President's week we flew Song for $180 pp non stop. This time the nonstop fares are over $600 a person and the flights with stops are around $370 a person. (Plus they stop in NY which may not be a great idea depending on the weather here in the Northeast)

Since I have to buy 5 tickets, that is a huge part of our budget. These prices are from Boston...the other airports are even higher.

So I have been playing with dates and am thinking that I may actually yank my kids from school for a week!! Am I terrible or what? We usually miss 2-3 days that week since I try to get airfare earlier in the week before the rates jump for the holiday. So now I'm convincing myself that another day or two won't kill them. Which it really won't. My kids are in 4th grade, 2nd and Kindergarten. So I'm not too worried about the younger two, but my oldest will have a lot of work to make up. And I'm thinking I won't be able to do this once we hit middle school next year.

I found that if we go the week before President's Week and come home during that week I can fly JetBlue nonstop for $257 a person. This is about as cheap as I will probably get. Even if SW releases their fares, I'm thinking by then most other flights will be filling up even if SW doesn't have great rates.

So...I need opinions...this is driving me crazy. I'm sick of checking air every day and don't want to have to sit on the computer until SW releases flights -probably late fall - that probably won't be very low anyway. Plus...the week before would be a lot less crowded and the rental car is probably cheaper.

Help! What's a mom to do? My dh says he prefers not to miss school, but when I told him the prices ...he said "yank them"!

HeatherC

 

[debster812]

Heather--I'm in much the same boat. Flying to Ft Myers instead of Orlando, but the same principle. There are actually some flights from Orlando to Boston on AirTran with one stop for $119 on the 22nd (The Thurs of Vacation Week--if you're pulling the kids a couple of days early, this might be an OK departure for you). If you did the stopover in Atlanta, the weather would be less of an issue. In February, I won't connect much more North than Atlanta.

I'm seriously on the fence about jumping on a comparable fare to get us home from Ft Myers.

Good Luck!!!

 

[Tinkim]

Me too, Heather! I have been checking since the 331-day mark after our trip last February and have yet to see a decent airfare. We are trying to fly out of MHT and the best price I can find is $350. I have to buy four tickets and I just can't see spending $300+ on airfare per person. Last year I got $128 round trip and even though I know that is unlikely to happen this year I would like to be at least in the $200 range if at all possible. Our school vacation week is the week after President's week and the airfare isn't much better for that time and my kids are older 8th grade, 7th grade, and 4th grade so I really think pulling them out of school is not an option. The teachers were less than thrilled three years ago when we took them out in January. I am waiting on Southwest but I feel like if I don't get on their website the minute they release those fares I am going to get lousy flight times at a very expensive price. I am considering flying out of another airport with Jet Blue but the 2 to 2-1/2 hour commute home when we get back worries me because of the winter weather. I don't really have any advice for you since I am in pretty much the same boat myself. I am starting to think maybe this year's trip wasn't meant to be although I really do want to go. I am going to be checking out Allegiant Air out of Portsmouth to see what they offer but I have a feeling the flights are more limited in the winter than they are now. They are only showing fares through Dec 15 right now and I have no idea when they will release any dates beyond that. I can't offer any advice but I sure do symphathize with your frustration.

 

[HeatherC]

Debbie - I did see that $119 rate...but then I checked and found out that if I fly JetBlue out of Boston non stop from the 10-21, the price is $119 each way. With taxes it comes to $257. I don't think I will see lower than $119 each way for that week, so I think we may just go ahead and book.

The teachers may not be happy, but I don't care. The kids are all good students and we'll make up the work.

Besides going to Disney, I really really really like that mid-winter escape from the cold. If I could find somewhere else that was warm and relatively affordable for 5 people I'd go anywhere in Feb. How spoiled am I?

Such decisions....

 

[gottaluvdis]

We're planning to go during Feb vacation as well (last week of Feb), but I will wait for SW to release dates/fares. I won't even consider another airline or airport due to the hassle factor. I also have credits with SW. Just be quick when they release the Feb dates and be flexible with travel days. Try flying out on a Mon or Tues and returning on a Mon or Tues. I usually pull DD9 out of school for one or 2 days around the vacation week to get better flights/prices without any trouble. We travelled for $225 per person RT last Feb vacation, which was actually a good fare at the time. I'm expecting the fares to be higher than that this year.

 

[jennybobenny]

Same boat here too. We bought annual tickets for our trip last June so we really 'need' to get back to Disney sometime this winter. I've been checking February airfares at least 30 times a day - adding and taking away days to try to find the best price --- obsessed would be putting it mildly --- and still nothing close to $200. The most I've ever paid was $275 RT and that was nonstop and long before Jet Blue and Song brought the prices way down. I've resigned myself to paying maybe $250 pp RT but much more than that and we'd be spending the money we're supposed to be saving by using the annual passes again. Make sense?

Which brings me to school vacation week and pulling kids out of school. We took my daughter out of school for a week every year from the time she was in Kindergarten all the way thru 5th grade. She started middle school last year so unfortunately that was the end of our low airfare/low attendence disney vacations. We've experienced both extremes with my daughter's teachers - one gave her a journal to write in every day of her trip. That's it. No homework, no makeup work, nothing. Loved her! Another wasn't allowed to give any work out ahead of time, but insisted every single thing should be made up, so when we got back from vacation there was a stack of homework and in-class paperwork 3 inches high. Yuck!

So...my opinion? Take them out of school while you still can.

 

[HeatherC]

Well...sorry to hear that everyone else is in the same boat.

Gottaluvdisney - I understand waiting for SW ...especially if you have credits. Might as well use them before they expire. We are in central Mass so I can pretty much fly out anywhere from BDL, PVD, MHT or Boston. So I pretty much go where-ever is cheaper. I have tried pricing Mon/Tues flights, but we go for 10 or 11 days so we thought we'd leave on Wed the 14th and come home on Sat the 24th. But anytime around those dates are still way high. So now I'm thinking the 10th - 20th...$119 each way.

JennyBoBenny - I hear what you are saying about the teachers with work. So far we have been very lucky...no complaints from them... but last year (3rd grade) my dd had a ton of work to make up from 4 days. She had to do not only all the day work she missed, but all the homework. But...that's fair. I understand it...but I don't have to like it, right? So I think I'm taking your advice to heart and going for one more low rate/low attendance Disney trip before we hit middle school next year.

If I come across any "bargains"...yeah, right....I'll be sure to post them.

HeatherC

 

[jackdis]

Heather and fellow February friends!!
I'm soooo glad to hear I'm not the only one checking airfare constantly for President's Week!! That's all I've been doing. Unfortunately, I'm a teacher, so I have to go the days we have off and cannot take extra days around the vacation. Sooooo......this is what I finally did last night. I cut the trip short by a few days (5 days now instead of 8) to get the lower fare. We are AP holders, too, so I really wanted to go at that time, even if it was only for a few days. After all, 5 days at Disney are better than none!! The price for three tickets was cheaper by about $500 this way. (And my wheels are already turning to see about going for a few days before Easter!!) Have a great time everyone!

 

[gottaluvdis]

Best of luck to all of us Northeasterners for our Feb. travel! $119 one way doesn't sound too bad actually. I will still wait for SW to release so we can fly from MHT since we are very close to MHT. If it doesn't work for us for Feb., we'll try for DD's April break instead. We're pretty flexible. There will be a mad dash once SW releases Feb. dates - I remember last year having to get the flights the first day because they were pretty much sold out at the lower fares after that. Some of the lowest fare tiers were unavailable the minute they were released, undoubtedly because SW knew it was vacation week and they didn't have to offer rock bottom prices. Still, some of the one way fares offered were pretty decent. I can understand not wanting to wait however and booking now for peace of mind.

 

[disneyjunkie]

Add me to the list.

 

[debster812]

Hey all you February fliers...I posted on a separate thread as well, but AirTran announced today in the Globe's business section that they will be having one non stop flight a day to Orlando, Ft Lauderdale, and Ft Myers, starting in November, for the 'winter season'. I actually was able to jump on the non-stop out of Ft Myers, to Boston for $129.00 with all fees and taxes for the one-way.

You might have to finesse the dates some, but there were still some reasonably priced tickets on the one-ways.

Good Luck!!!

 

[Boardwalk Tigger]

Definitely pull them out!!!!!!!!!! I did this with my children until high school. If you go the week before vacation, you will still have plenty of time when you come back to do homework. Try to get their assignments ahead of time. My children had one teacher until seventh grade so I always bought the principal and teacher a little something for when we came back So relaxing not to have to make up the work until you get back. I have even pulled my children when it didn't back up to a vacation and I have NO REGRETS! We did some of the work before they left and finished it on the plane or at Disney or wherever we were going. You are not going to be able to do this much longer so ENJOY IT NOW!!!!!

 

[Charleyann]

Yep...we are one of those "northeasterners" trying to escape the mid winter cold by heading to Orlando. Except this time the airfare is ridiculous...as everyone here knows!!!

Last President's week we flew Song for $180 pp non stop. This time the nonstop fares are over $600 a person and the flights with stops are around $370 a person. (Plus they stop in NY which may not be a great idea depending on the weather here in the Northeast)

Since I have to buy 5 tickets, that is a huge part of our budget. These prices are from Boston...the other airports are even higher.

So I have been playing with dates and am thinking that I may actually yank my kids from school for a week!! Am I terrible or what? We usually miss 2-3 days that week since I try to get airfare earlier in the week before the rates jump for the holiday. So now I'm convincing myself that another day or two won't kill them. Which it really won't. My kids are in 4th grade, 2nd and Kindergarten. So I'm not too worried about the younger two, but my oldest will have a lot of work to make up. And I'm thinking I won't be able to do this once we hit middle school next year.

I found that if we go the week before President's Week and come home during that week I can fly JetBlue nonstop for $257 a person. This is about as cheap as I will probably get. Even if SW releases their fares, I'm thinking by then most other flights will be filling up even if SW doesn't have great rates.

So...I need opinions...this is driving me crazy. I'm sick of checking air every day and don't want to have to sit on the computer until SW releases flights -probably late fall - that probably won't be very low anyway. Plus...the week before would be a lot less crowded and the rental car is probably cheaper.

Help! What's a mom to do? My dh says he prefers not to miss school, but when I told him the prices ...he said "yank them"!

HeatherC

Delta has return flights out of Boston for 178.00 taxes in. Thats not bad. The date showing was Feb 6th - feb 14th.

Charleyann

 

[poohbear2]

I have been trying for our April vacation and the prices are just as bad. I thought with it being way after Easter the prices would be a bit better, but no luck so far.

 

[BigTigger]

February school break is always a more expensive ticket from the northeast unless you're lucky and catch a sale or a new flight addition. We gave up last year trying for Florida and went to southern California. The weather is the same and the airfare still very cheap for direct flights. So you get the same Disney experience at the old Florida prices for 2-3 extra hours on the plane. We are going on Delta from BOS to LAX leaving Friday the 16th and returning Friday the 23rd for just under $1100 for the five of us. JetBlue had similar fares from BOS to Long Beach for those dates last year and I'd expect will this year. We went with Delta so we could use upgrades to first, but have already had four schedule changes or a few minutes here or there and a plane change or two. Disneyland is also pretty cheap for tickets compared to Disneyworld and the two parks can keep you busy for three full days. You can get good deals on the Disneyland hotels if you book ahead too. And rental cars in CA are cheaper than Florida - a minivan for $216 for the week or a midsize car for $176. So look west before you give up on a Disney vacation in February!!

 

[Alexander]

Nope, we booked our February flights in May. $304 R/T out of Rochester, NY to Melbourne. Spending the week at Vero Beach. Now, however, April flights....UGH! I can't find anything under $450. Even have a more flexible schedule than in Feb. since we have Holy Thursday, Good Friday and the whole week after Easter off this year. I too am a teacher and can only go when we're off. Get this, JetBlue out of Syracuse is $540 round trip! OMG! The $304 in Feb. is the most we have ever paid to fly to Florida, but really wanted to fly into Melbourne.