Book flight or not??? Need advice!

[jmpurdy]

Booked our DVC for January 8-12. Airfare is ridiculous from Hartford right now. I had my credit card out to book and just couldn't do it. Over 300 PP!!!
My dilemma is that we have our infant grandson coming and I don't want more than 1 stop and prefer non stop. What to do? Should I bite the bullet and just book it? 'Farecast' suggested buying now, but I just can't believe the rates won't come down a bit yet. Thank you all for your advice. Oh, one more thing...we can't travel to a bigger hub i.e. Boston to get JetBlue or Spirit, etc.. Too much stress on my grandson to travel 2 hours in a car, then get on a plane for a 3 hour flight.

 

[kda]

It's really tough, isn't it!

We booked DVC for Nov about ~ 7 months ago and I started checking airfares daily and then twice a day, so I can tell you what's been happening during that time. SWA has had some great Ding specials ($105-$130-$150), but they usually don't start to offer them until ~6 weeks before. You can always book and then get a credit if you find a lower rate. That said, I checked the SWA site to be sure that flights for your dates are wide open ---the lowest fares are still available. If the lower fares start to book up, there might not be much availability for a Ding special. Are you willing to gamble and wait until late Nov or early Dec to see if there's a Ding?

Delta hasn't seemed to offer real "sales". In the last 7 months, I read on this board on two occasions that people got a good rate from BDL to MCO, but it was only available for 24 hours or less. I got lucky myself, and happened to find tickets for $148 RT (we stop in Atlanta going down and have a direct flight coming home). I consider this pure luck that I happened to check at the right time. This rate was only available for a few hours. I haven't seen anything remotely close to a rate this low since then, and I usually check daily.

I think that USAir and perhaps United have had some sales a few months ago (for ~ $160 RT), but they don't offer non-stop flights, so I don't usually pay much attention to them. The current flight that stops in Atlanta will be the first time we haven't flown direct for at least 5 years. But, I'm not willing to pay hundreds of dollars more just to fly direct.

So, I'd suggest you keep checking Delta several times a day and you might get lucky, but that's not very reassuring (and Delta hasn't had a history of sales in the past 7 months). Or gamble on a Ding, or book SWA and hope you can get a credit because you'll find a Ding or they will have a sale ---- this isn't a great plan if you or a family member/friend can't use the credit within the next year.

Good luck! DH wants to go to Tampa for a weekend in Dec and fares are at least $250, so I've got a similar situation.

Edited to add: If you really want the comfort of a non-stop flight at times of your choosing, the extra $$$ spent can be worth it to your peace of mind (unless it's pinching the pocketbook so much that it creates other worries!). If you choose to book SWA, at least you could be eligible for a credit if/when there is a lower rate (which I'd expect will happen with SWA, especially since you're not travelling at a busy time) ......... and you'll be able to pre-board if you have an infant, so the lack of assigned seats won't be a stressor.

 

[jmpurdy]

I am very willing to book the flight if I can get a credit, but is a credit guaranteed if I catch the decrease? Is this on SW or Delta? Or both? Our son just moved to Portland, OR and the credit would be well used! Thank you for your help!

 

[kda]

I'm sorry -- I just had a reply typed and did something stupid and deleted it so this is a briefer version.

I edited my original response slightly.
The credit would be on SWA. Delta and other airlines have a change fee to rebook, which eats up much or all of the credit, so I never expect to get $$$ back if they have a sale.

Since you're going down on a Mon and returning on a Fri, those days aren't busy (flying in the direction you're going) unless it's a busy season. So, I predict your chances are very good of finding available flights when SWA has a sale --- it's possible you might have to change your flight to get the lower price, but not necessarily. SWA agents are also very helpful in talking you through the rebooking process so you cancel the flight on line, get the credit and then apply it to the new flight you're booking....... it should be done in a particular order to be sure you don't lose the seats at a lower rate..... .I've watched the lower priced fares disappear while I was trying to make a decision, and I missed out!

Finding good rates isn't for the faint of heart!!!!

 

[jmpurdy]

I am understanding this better now...however, I'm having trouble with my 'ding' that I downloaded. It won't connect to southwest.com. It says 'can't make a connection' or something like that.
Now, I will PM you if you want so as not to bore people with 'the process to re-book', but I am very interested in the process if I go ahead and book this thing now. I am not willing to wait too much longer, but I trust your judgement that this is not a busy time. The Marathon is ending, so people are leaving Orlando, not coming in. I know that. I am willing to gamble a bit, however. But i need to get this 'ding' working better. It stays up for awhile, then flashes the 'exclamation' that it isn't online. any advice here?

 

[kda]

I remember reading some posts about Ding problems many months ago but didn't pay any attention to them --- sorry. There's a tech support board on DIS and you might try posting there. Sometimes the Ding fares are only a few dollars less than a sale, but there's also been some $49 one way Dings to Orlando from Hartford (plus tax).

Feel free to PM me. I can try to explain what to do to rebook on SWA, but don't hesitate to call the airline direct. So many people have posted that the agents have talked them through the process. I think someone actually rebooked for me, but that was a few years ago.