Did I wait too long to book a flight?

[randumb0]

I'm flying to Central America over the summer and prices are going in the wrong direction!!

 

[Silvarra]

Sometimes the prices go down the closer you get to your flight date. Airlines want to fill every seat possible, so they'll reduce prices on unbooked seating. That said, sometimes there aren't any seats left, so you might miss out. Just keep checking.

 

[AndreaDM]

Personally, I think once restrictions start dropping, flights are going to start to fill up like crazy thus increasing prices. For example, we are going to St. Thomas at the end of March, it's been booked for months. Just yesterday they announced they would no longer require testing for vaccinated guests, so there are probably folks who were on the fence who will now jump at the chance to go. The current TSA mask mandate ends March 18. Could it be renewed? Very likely. But, in the event it doesn't, there will probably be people who hate wearing masks who will book flights. (NOT a debate, just stating the current mandate and my experience with folks I know)

 

[Dakota731]

We found with our two trips last year and the two this year that the prices never got lower the closer to our dates we were. I checked and checked, but prices are much higher now than they ever were for our destinations.

 

[SandyinMonterey]

It has been my experience, the longer you wait...the more you pay. As the plane fills up and the date(s) get closer, what seats are left I will have to open my wallet a little bit more.

 

[focusondisney]

Gas & fuel prices are going higher every day. The airlines always pass that on in higher prices or “fuel surcharges”. I would be shocked if fuel goes down by the summer.

 

[EilonwyWanderer]

Download the Hopper app. It tracks flights for you and will tell you if prices are (historically) known to rise or fall at certain times. It's not ALWAYS perfect, what with the volatile times we live in, but it does give you a sense of things.

 

[lovesmurfs]

If you haven't already, try using an incognito window when you're researching prices. If an airline senses a lot of interest in particular days/flights, the algorithm makes the prices go up.

 

[Dakota731]

I just checked the flight prices for our summer trip and what we paid $287 for last month (and I thought that was high!) is now $1096! With record gas prices and high inflation this year, I don’t think they will be going down any time soon.

 

[gottalovepluto]

Considering what’s happened over the last week I sincerely hope OP got those flights booked!

 

[cats mom]

I'm flying to Central America over the summer and prices are going in the wrong direction!!

I hope you got those flights booked!

I just checked our Costa Rica trip, booked around the time you originally posted.

Our flight there is now more than double what we paid.
Our flight back is showing completely sold out, so we couldn't even book that flight now.
Coming back a day earlier (weekday instead of weekend) would be more than double what we paid.

I'm finding many hotels are booked up as well. I think travel demand for spring and summer is strong.

 

[randumb0]

I hope you got those flights booked!

I just checked our Costa Rica trip, booked around the time you originally posted.

Our flight there is now more than double what we paid.
Our flight back is showing completely sold out, so we couldn't even book that flight now.
Coming back a day earlier (weekday instead of weekend) would be more than double what we paid.

I'm finding many hotels are booked up as well. I think travel demand for spring and summer is strong.

Thankfully I went ahead and booked. You are right the airline tickets are more expensive now then when I booked

 

[cccory]

The prices are going up, since fuel prices are up. Book as soon as you can.

 

[nycdisneygal]

OMG still trying to figure out our plans since now I think we will stay in the US but oh my flights anywhere domestic are abou t1K each. Thats over 5K just for flights. In the US!!!

 

[randumb0]

OMG still trying to figure out our plans since now I think we will stay in the US but oh my flights anywhere domestic are abou t1K each. Thats over 5K just for flights. In the US!!!

1k for a domestic? Where are you looking to fly?

 

[nycdisneygal]

1k for a domestic? Where are you looking to fly?

denver or salt lake or there abouts. but looking at premium economy (or equivalent). orlando is about 800 for my dates. original plan has been copenhagen which is over 2K and also dont plan to travel there at this point.

eta: playing a bit with dates and seeing stuff in the 650 plus range. better at least!!

 

[kydisneyfans]

Had been struggling to find reasonable flights to Florida this month. Took a $278 RT Flight out of 2 different airports grudgingly. Issues came up last week that forced me to change dates by 3 days. Rebooked less than 2 weeks out, the flights dropped to $117 RT in and out from the same airport, both flights are nonstop now, and times are better. In this case, the last minute change worked out. In this environment, book what you think is good. Rebook if you can without penalty if the price drops.

 

[Hopscotch]

Had been struggling to find reasonable flights to Florida this month. Took a $278 RT Flight out of 2 different airports grudgingly. Issues came up last week that forced me to change dates by 3 days. Rebooked less than 2 weeks out, the flights dropped to $117 RT in and out from the same airport, both flights are nonstop now, and times are better. In this case, the last minute change worked out. In this environment, book what you think is good. Rebook if you can without penalty if the price drops.

Where are you flying from? Thats a great rate!

 

[kydisneyfans]

Where are you flying from? Thats a great rate!

Louisville-that's the first time I've paid over $100 RT to Florida in the past 5 trips on either SW of Delta. I live near Lexington so both CVG and SDF are roughly an hour away.

 

[Darcy03231]

DD's MIL lives in Tampa and wants to come to her baby shower in June. She looked into flights and it was going to be close to $800 roundtrip from Tampa to Boston. I think the most I've ever paid to go anywhere in Florida is $300 r/t will the bulk of the flights being between $200-$250. Luckily I have a lot of frequent flyer miles and was able to use those to get her a ticket, otherwise she wouldn't have been able to come.