Average December airfares

[masterpabu]

Hi everyone!

I’m currently (not-so-patiently) counting down the weeks and days until my first trip to both Disneyland and Disney World
I’m travelling from Australia and have my international flights booked, accommodation booked and all I have left are my US domestic flights.

Just wanted to see how much other people usually pay for their previous flights in December during early-mid December?
Routes I am tracking are:
LA –Orlando
Orlando – New York
New York – LA

separate legs or one ticket,I'm not too fussed, just wanted to see what the ballpark is for a "good price" that other people pay

Thank you for your help!

 

[kaytieeldr]

There's no such thing. I mean, you can google, but airfares a constantly changing. Average cost to date will be different frkm average cost next week, or even tomorrow.

Ditto for when to buy.

 

[rwdavis2]

It's impossible to pick a "best time" to buy an airline ticket. Book it when you are comfortable with the price and stop looking.

 

[drwadadli]

Delta currently has at for $403.00 total per person....JetBlue for $472.00 per person

(since you put which New York airport or exact dates, I picked)
12/1 ---- JFK to LAX
12/5 ---- LAX to MCO
12/9 ---- MCO to JFK

 

[baozi]

You can use google flight to get some idea, fares for all dates will pop up when you choose the date from the calendar. Fill in all relevant airports (for instance, LAX, LGB, BUR, ONT, SNA for LA airports) for source/destination.
One factor is that it is still early, certain ultra budget airlines (for instance, Frontier) have not even published the schedule for Dec, not that you would like to take those airlines, but there might be market adjustment.

 

[writerguyfl]

As noted, there's really no way to know the best time to purchase airfare. Prices fluctuate a lot, even multiple times per day.

That said, it's probably helpful to know "normal" cost for flights between each of your destinations. And, you can determine if changing your flight by a day may result in savings. For that, you may want to use this website:

http://matrix.itasoftware.com/

This is the software Google bought to power their flight searches. You'll get the same result from Google, but I prefer using the above website because it's not filled with ads. You can't purchase airfare from the website. If you see something you want, visit the official website for the airline.

Important: This will give you the current prices, as of right now. Prices can and will change.

To get the following results (from a computer, not a mobile device):

• Click on the "One-way" tab.
  
• Enter the Departing from and Destination airports.
  
• Select "See calendar of lowest fares" radio button.
  
• Enter a Departing date (you'll see that day plus the following 30 days).
  
• Change the number of people flying (if necessary).
  
• Change the Currency and Sales city to view in Australian funds (if desired).

Sample results (in US dollars for one person)

Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) to Orlando International Airport (MCO)

Orlando International Airport (MCO) to John F Kennedy Airport New York City (JFK)

John F Kennedy Airport New York City (JFK) to Los Angeles International Airport (LAX)

Notes:

• Both Los Angeles and New York City have multiple airports. For Los Angeles to Orlando, you may want to choose a different airport than LAX (where is probably where your Australia flight arrives). If you're going to Disneyland, you may want to consider Orange County (SNA) or Ontario (ONT).
  
• The website allows searches that include multiple airports. For example, you can use "LAX, SNA, ONT" in the Departing from field and it will give you prices for all three airports.
• As long as the flights are on different days, you can choose different airlines for each leg of your trip.
  
• If renting a car, it's possible to pick up and drop off at different locations. For example, you could pick up a car at LAX and return it at ONT. Doing that may change the price.
  
• Unfortunately, one of the largest airlines in the United States, Southwest Airlines, does not allow third-party websites to show their fares. To see their fares, you'll need to visit their website: https://www.southwest.com/

 

[masterpabu]

Notes:

• Both Los Angeles and New York City have multiple airports. For Los Angeles to Orlando, you may want to choose a different airport than LAX (where is probably where your Australia flight arrives). If you're going to Disneyland, you may want to consider Orange County (SNA) or Ontario (ONT).
  
• The website allows searches that include multiple airports. For example, you can use "LAX, SNA, ONT" in the Departing from field and it will give you prices for all three airports.
• As long as the flights are on different days, you can choose different airlines for each leg of your trip.
  
• If renting a car, it's possible to pick up and drop off at different locations. For example, you could pick up a car at LAX and return it at ONT. Doing that may change the price.
  
• Unfortunately, one of the largest airlines in the United States, Southwest Airlines, does not allow third-party websites to show their fares. To see their fares, you'll need to visit their website: https://www.southwest.com/

Thank you so much for the advice writerguyfl! I've been using the Hopper and Kayak apps to track the prices so far, the notes you've added are really helpful and I'll have a look at flying out from the different airports too.

I just wanted to get a general idea of what other people have paid for their flights previously, I am very aware that it's hard to determine an "average price", in hindsight I should've worded my question better!
I have seen how airfares can fluctuate a lot, and I'm used to checking international airfares which generally tend to have a ballpark for how much different routes are, but as someone who doesn't have experience with US domestic flight pricing I just wanted to get an idea of what other people would consider a good price.

I've seen $124 for LAX-MCO one way, which is the lowest I've seen it in a while, would this be considered okay or has anyone paid lower for example?

 

[masterpabu]

Delta currently has at for $403.00 total per person....JetBlue for $472.00 per person

(since you put which New York airport or exact dates, I picked)
12/1 ---- JFK to LAX
12/5 ---- LAX to MCO
12/9 ---- MCO to JFK

Thanks drwadadli! I have been checking Delta prices often and they seem reasonable enough, I just have to remember to include checked baggage fees in the calculations

 

[writerguyfl]

I've seen $124 for LAX-MCO one way, which is the lowest I've seen it in a while, would this be considered okay or has anyone paid lower for example?

I'm glad I could help. I don't have a ton of recent experience with Southern California to Orlando. All of my family is in the greater LA area. I did used to live in Orlando, but it's been over 10 years. That said, I do live in Fort Lauderdale (just north of Miami). The Orlando and Fort Lauderdale markets are similar in that they attract a lot of price-sensitive tourists.

Whenever I fly to/from Florida and Los Angeles, I'm VERY happy to find a ticket for $150 or under. While you may get very lucky if you wait, I think it's more likely that the price will increase. Getting a ticket for $124 on a flight that meets your schedule would be considered a good deal in my book.

I really don't ever fly between Florida and New York City. But, based on the few times I've considered trips, I'd say that anything between around $100 is probably a good deal.

I have zero knowledge about New York City to Los Angeles.

The only other thing I'd add is to consider avoiding ultra-low-cost carriers (ULCC). They generally aren't worth the savings. United States ULCCs to avoid would be Spirit, Allegiant, and Frontier. (I think Spirit is the only one that shows up on the website I provided.)