Best airfare from Oregon or CA?

[wrldpossibility]

It's too soon for me to find airfare for our late 06 or early 07 trip, but I'm concerned about the airfare prices, since that's the variable I can't price right now! We're in Oregon, and can fly out of Portland, or can drive down to N. CA and fly out of SF or Oakland. Anyone have good airfare prices from these places? What should I expect? I'll fly any airline. It's a real concern for me since we'll have 7 tickets to buy. Ouch!

Amy

 

[anitame]

I flew out of Portland in May. We flew Frontier out and Continental back as that was our cheapest option. We paid $910 including all fees for four tickets. A little less than $400 of that was to Frontier (they were in the middle of a great sale) and the rest was to Continental. We all LOVED Frontier; they had great service and wonderful planes with TV monitors in the back of every seat. I would love to use them again but I'm all about cost, so whoever is cheapest next time gets my money.

 

[eileenkeeney]

I paid $328 on my last trip, this last May, via American. I flew out of Portland. This was not a red-eye flight.
I think that Fontier was showing up as slightly cheaper, but I didn't like the schedule for some reason. I don't remember exactly why I choose not to use them.

I paid $356 in December 2004, and few American West, and took the red-eye flight one of the two ways. For this trip I flew out of Eugene rather than Portland. I think the price out of Portland was about $50 cheaper. Usually the difference is closer to $100.

For both trips, I booked at least a month ahead, for the December trip I think I booked about 3 months ahead.

The airline with the best deal varies.
I tend to use expedia or orbitz to compare, and then go directly to the website of the airlines that show up cheapest.
Most airlines offer their best deals on their own website.

I don't think I have ever paid over $450.

If airfares are close (not much difference) I choose by schedule.
It is an advantage to choose an airline with more flights. That way if a connection is missed, there is a greater chance the airline can accomodate you quickly.
I like to arrive by 6PM, and don't like to leave before 1PM.

 

[melaniemiller2002]

Well, it's not SF or Oakland, but I live in Reno and recently, there have been some fares as low as $200 roundtrip That was on Southwest with their DING airfares, but there have been a couple of other carriers offering low prices too.

I'm keeping my eye out for low priced fares but am not going until May. Right now, it seems like all the low fares through Southwest from Reno are for travel no later than this October.

This is from my Yahoo home page:

http://dps1.travelocity.com/lowfare...ult_pax_cnt=1&chld_pax_cnt=0&senior_pax_cnt=0

Hopefully, that link will take you to a page that has the low fares through Northwest, Frontier, Continental, United, etc. From what it looks like, they are all around $200 r/t.

Melanie

 

[Taja]

Be prepared for sticker shock! I just booked SWA from PHX to MCO for November 19 - November 28, 2005. It was almost double what I paid last year ($212 to $396, including fees and taxes). The next lower fare was on AmWest at about $450 (including fees & taxes). The other carriers (all of which require layovers) start at about $600 (without fees and taxes) and go up from there!

I'm keeping my eyes open for better fares on SWA (love their policy on changes, if not the cattle call travel!), but I suggest you make sure you budget for significantly higher airfare than in previous years.

My suggestion would be to log onto the website for each of the airports and find out which carriers have the routes you need. Then monitor the fares of those carriers from both airports for the interim period to get a feel for their pricing.

 

[ericamanda01]

We live in Portland but found that if we flew out of Seattle we could get a better deal. We went through Alaska Air and got 2 round trip tickets from Seattle to Orlando for Just over $400, total. I think they were $198 each then the taxes brought it over $200 each. And we got a non stop flight.

 

[webprinter]

Living in Washington, we fly out of Seattle. A couple years ago we paid $151 per ticket for RT. Last year we paid $189. This year I haven't found anything for much under $300. We are going in December and have held off purchasing our tickets because of the high prices. Hopefully they will drop. Usually we find the best price in Sept or Oct. Debby

 

[calypso*a*go-go]

We live in Vancouver and can fly out of Portland or Seattle. Haven't seen anything spectacular lately. Luckily we have enough frequent flyer miles for our next visit. One thing that may be a benefit in the future is JetBlue. They just started non-stops from Portland to New York and may be adding new cities. Orlando would be a great option as there are no other non-stops at this time...so keep your fingers crossed!!!

 

[rsschneck]

A non-stop from Portland to Orlando would be a DREAM!

We usually pay around $225. However, I have been checking airfare and right now just under $300 seems to be what the airlines are offering. I would say if you find something for $250 or under book it (especially if it is around the holidays). With gas prices and air travel up we are going to get hit with higher fares. Even Southwest has been high lately.

I book mark travelocity and check there often for air prices.

 

[mitchwebb]

I kept holding out for our trip Nov 16- 25 but started to worry about airlines selling out because of Thanksgiving. Took the plunge and got $289 United Sf to Orlando non- stop. I think I've see it a little lower not more than $10 to $20 but with three kids decided on the nonstop.