Calling all DISers who fly from NJ...

[phyllis1966]

Hi - for my trip to WDW last October, my TA at DU booked the air travel, as well as the reservations, but they no longer provide this service, so I'm booking air travel for the first time! Here's my question - Continental's ticket prices finally came down from $1300/ticket eek: ) to a much more reasonable $267+tax, but since I don't know exactly what we paid for the flight last year, is this reasonable, or should I wait for it to come down a bit more? I'm just afraid to wait too long (the trip is in November this year), but I don't want to pay too much if there's a chance it will go lower. I know that last year we decided in August to go in October, so the tickets were purchased only 2 months in advance and we got the flight times we wanted.

Any advice from some experts? Thanks...

 

[vcasey]

I am a travel agent as well as a personal Disney fan that goes down at least twice a year from the NJ area.

The air fares from this area have gotten weird over the past year and half. It used to be I NEVER paid more than $200 round trip from Newark and if I waited to at least within 6 months they'd run a special. Not anymore. My last 2 trips were booked way in advance at $211 and they just continuely went up. That has been the pattern I've seen lately. If you have $267 and like the times and airport you're using and its for November I say take. I just booked someone to WDW in November and in 2 days I watched the fare jump from $225 up to $430 and one of the jumps was within an hour (ie I called the client at 1pm to quote $385 when they called back to say book it, it had gone up again).

My other suggestions if you are looking to save money is go into Manhatten, JFK & Laquardia seem to be much better priced to Orlando lately. I've also found that Delta and Jet Blue are usually better priced than Continental.

Not sure where you live in NJ but another new option is SouthEast Airlines which is a charter company that offers great rates ($69 each way) but you fly in to Sanford (1/2 hr North of Orlando) and you need to leave from Allentown, PA or Long Island.

If you're in South Jersey check out Spirit Airlines from Atlantic City.

Another tip is to fly midweek, weekend fares are most booked and highest priced.

 

[BillPA]

I don't know if you fly from PHL or North Jersey-NYC but that sounds high. We fly from PHL and generally pay $150-200 a ticket, depending on when and how soon we book the flight.

You need to use some on the WEB search tools to locate a better price, here's a few I check:

http://www.travelocity.com/

http://www.cheaptickets.com/trs/cheaptickets/home/index_01.xsl

http://www.orbitz.com/

Good luck finding a better deal, and have a graet trip.

 

[phyllis1966]

Thanks, folks. I live in central NJ and fly out of Newark airport. It has been suggested to me to try flying out of LaGuardia or JFK, but no one else in my family wants to travel any farther than Newark (most convenient) at 4:30 am.

Also, we are travelling with 7 in total. Most travel sites only allow you to buy for 6 max. Also, the only site where I was able to pick the exact flight times I wanted was Continental's site - the others weren't offering the times we are looking for, esp. the evening flight home.

 

[BillPA]

If you open 2 internet windows at the same time, go to the same site on each,select 4 people on one and 3 on the other, at the same time. You will be able to book more than 6 at a time, but through 2 'windows', make sure both have the seats you want then click 'buy'. If something goes wrong, you have 24 hours to cancel and get a full refund. I have never had a problem getting more than 6 seats this way.

 

[phyllis1966]

BillPA, thanks - I never even thought of that! One more question, though: when you buy these tickets online, how do you try to assure that you all sit fairly close together and get the # of window seats you'd like? We are DH, DD (4) and me, plus my parents and in-laws, so we'd need 3 window seats, one per family.

 

[BillPA]

I use orbitz, travelocity etc to find the best fare then go directly to the airline site, ie US Air, Delta what ever was the best deal. When you book on line, you also get to select the seats BEFORE you committ to buying. So, if the seats aren't available, or where you need them, just cancel out and try another time/day or airline.

"No harm not foul"

Good luck finding what you need at a good price.

This year has been harder than most years to get a good deal, but they are out there, just start early and buy when the price looks good.

Our next trip is 2 week from today out of PHL on US Air at $157 R/T, non-stop, so deals are to be had, but you have to plan early and check often. Also sign up with all the airlines you might use to get their newsletter and specials sent via e-mail. I hit a 'one day' sale on Delta last year R/T for $112.50, but if I didn't have the e-mail set up with Delta, I would not have know about it.