Discouraged by summer airline fares

[2Pirates2Princesses]

I am so discouraged by the summer airline fares, they seem so high! We have to buy plane tickets for six of us so we have a strict budget for what we can spend on plane tickets. I am distressed about this because we cannot purchase our tickets for another few weeks and prices keep going up! Our trip is not until the end of August and fares are still high! Southwest has not released their schedule for the end of August yet, but I am looking at their fares for end of July and early August and they are really high. I hope this isn't an indication of what their late August fares will be like. Airtran has good fares for our arrival day but doesn't show a schedule of available flights for our departure date (which is only six days after the arrival date, ugh!) I am extremely disappointed by what I am finding on Delta' website. Their flight schedules are not that great and have very long layovers and their prices are even higher than Airtran! I don't mind the prospect of driving to WDW from PA. I know with a plan to entertain the kids, make a couple of stops to stretch our legs, and a hotel stop half way to get a few hours sleep we would be o.k., but DH refuses to even consider driving. He says the six hours it takes to drive to grandma's house is our max. I am so discouraged that this may be a major obstacle that keeps us from making this WDW trip happen

 

[jlewisinsyr]

IMO, airfares are still too low, I know that is a disappointment to many, but up until recently, airlines were bleeding money and finally are irking a profit only to be confronted with another major headwind in jet fuel prices, and with summer approaching, oil is only going to continue to skyrocket.

Does this mean airfares won't drop, no, but I think you need to consider your realistic expectations (you didn't post what your target was).

 

[Danibelle]

IMO, airfares are still too low, I know that is a disappointment to many, but up until recently, airlines were bleeding money and finally are irking a profit only to be confronted with another major headwind in jet fuel prices, and with summer approaching, oil is only going to continue to skyrocket.

Does this mean airfares won't drop, no, but I think you need to consider your realistic expectations (you didn't post what your target was).

I would be surprised if airfare doesn't continue to rise. I have noticed a lot of people have gotten really cheap fares but eventually the prices will rise, particularly at spring break and in the summer. It's a business! I believe people will have to accept higher fares and either drive or travel less.

 

[brymolmom]

If you are certain you are going to fly - I would buy the decently-priced Airtran one way ticket NOW.

I, too, was watching diligently for end of August pricing and also found an Airtran for our flight THERE but they hadn't released our return date (obviously we'll be there at the same time!). I waited too long and the $89 one way ticket for the way there has since been bumped up to $119 - which when you consider 4 tickets is hefty. I had thought about just going ahead and buying the one way ticket and then buying either SW or Airtran - whichever turned out to be better for our return flight when released, but I didn't do it and now am regretting that decision. So if you have a good price - TAKE IT NOW even if it is just one way. That's my advice.

That said, what we did do this week and HOPEFULLY will end up working out is sign up for the Southwest Credit Card deal - you get 2 R/T tickets with your first use. I'm not sure yet if I can use one of them to buy one of the kids' tickets or just my own - but even still, getting even one of our tickets for the $59 annual fee price will definitely be worth it and end up staying in our 'usual' budget for airfare which is $800 for all of us. DH also signed up for it - but I think because we both have identical information they didn't approve his right away - so we're still waiting for approval on his (unless they have a one per household limit on this). So MAYBE we'll even get another one of our tickets for the $59 fee. And unless they agree to waive my fee for the 2nd year - I'm just going to cancel before my year is up.

Now I just have to wait and see how it works out when I get my card....hopefully will have it all worked out and ready when they release end of August dates. You should think about it - it was on SW's homepage yesterday.

 

[KelnRon]

Don't know where you are flying from but I bought tickets (9 of them, 6 for my immediate family) for $125 RT on Spirit this morning!! Yesterday they were $54 Tues/Wed and today dropped to $44. Yes, I know they have extra fee's but we don't pay for that ever, and we fly frequently w/ them and have never had to sit apart. Baggage fee's are $20 each way w/ out $9 fare club. We will try to do 3 big suitcases for this trip.

 

[pepe of ohio]

Children
Kids 2 through 15 years old ride half-price every day. Infants under 2 ride free

From the Amtrak site....other deals do come out. We're from northeast Ohio and use Amtrak for our trips to WDW....roughly 450.00 for the 2 of us, round trip.....AAA discount. It's not a 2 hour flight or a 19 hour drive but it's a relaxing way to go and see some of the country. I will not fly, driving was a thing of the past....cost me about the same to drive as the train but on board, there's no stress about the car, gas and other drivers......just a thought...and further out you book, cheaper the fares...

 

[Tonka's Skipper]

Look into the train!.......its a really nice overnight trip, about 20 hours from Phili! You can sleep leaning back in the chair......


Alot of people have been noting air fares are high. I feel the ecomonoy is beter and the number of flights and seats are down, so the Airlines can set higher prices and still fill the planes!

AKK

 

[n2mm]

OP we are also watching airfare for August. We are a party of 6. While the prices are not outrages, they are higher than normal. We haven't even bought our May tickets yet. We'll see sales, but the tough part is that often during sales they only have a limited amount of seats at that price. Be prepared to think outside the box. We often have to break our party size to get the best prices. If there 6 of us flying, we will buy 3 sets of 2 seats to get the lower prices. Since we fly jetblue, it is always possible to get a credit if the price goes down. Train is a good alternative, but not something we would ever do (too long, too many delays in the summer). A 2 hour flight is about all I can handle.

 

[DCbride]

I have been watching SW site too. We are really spoiled by the $150 rt flight so to see $135 each way...ouch. Not sure what we will do this summer either- we are going on a cruise out of Tampa first, then heading to Disney. So this might be the summer of the car.

 

[eliza61]

IMO, airfares are still too low, I know that is a disappointment to many, but up until recently, airlines were bleeding money and finally are irking a profit only to be confronted with another major headwind in jet fuel prices, and with summer approaching, oil is only going to continue to skyrocket.

Does this mean airfares won't drop, no, but I think you need to consider your realistic expectations (you didn't post what your target was).

Jlewis is absolutely correct. I think one problem we (collective we) suffer from is expectations. We simply always assumed that air fares would stay abnormally cheap as they have been. It's impossible. airlines cannot operate like that and we shouldn't want them to.
I'm another vacationer for the end of August. My first choice is to fly and I think I'll be able to do that within my budget.

Op, go on travelocity and search for a flight, it will give you a realistic price range to deal with. If flights are averaging ~200 bucks pp round trip, you can't expect southwest is going to have a lot of flights for 100 dollars rt.

I just heard that prices will go up because any modest profits the airlines were looking to make may be wiped out by the brutual winter weather we're experiencing.

 

[lugnut33]

I'm sure service will be so much better if fares get raised. Right?

 

[wed100105]

I totally understand OP. We booked BMI (Bloomington, IL) nonstop to MCO last July and was able to be right at $200 pp with taxes included. We did pay luggage prices on top of that, but we really shouldn't have had to pay it....my mom just packs entirely too much!

When we returned home, I booked on Airtran the day that flights came out for March for one way. Then I had to wait for WEEKS for them to publish our return flight. I ended up paying for seat assignments this trip since I thought we would have more people to contend with and it was worth the $36 for peace of mind each way. Also, DH is going along this trip and is military so I'm hoping we'll avoid baggage charges this go around. I ended up getting our seats RT for $280 a person. I was expecting $200 a person, so the extra $240 was a little hard to swallow. I've watched rates almost daily now and they have been upwards of $500 one way not including taxes for the same flights! I noticed today that the return flight is down to $154 which is the lowest I've seen it since I paid $145 for them. I am hoping that since it's not full yet, they will drop the price even lower and I can get a credit.

I finally decided that $280 per person to fly out of a small airport with no parking fees, nonstop to Orlando was a fair price. HTH~

 

[2Pirates2Princesses]

I don't think my expectations are unrealistic, I think what is a little tough for me right now is that summer airline fares seem a lot higher than they were last summer (we were considering going to WDW last year and weren't able to make the trip) and we have to purchase airline fare for six people since our 2 year old will need his own ticket. I do understand that it is a business and it follows the pace of the economy, fuel prices, etc. I will look into the suggestion to consider the Amtrak and see if they may be offering any summer travel deals. Maybe DH will consider that since he won't be the one doing the driving

 

[jodifla]

Airline prices are like the stock market...they go up and down each day.

I'm watching some May fares, and they've swung 100 or more within 24 hours. I normally don't buy until about 60 days out. Those tend to be the best deals.

 

[eliza61]

I don't think my expectations are unrealistic, I think what is a little tough for me right now is that summer airline fares seem a lot higher than they were last summer (we were considering going to WDW last year and weren't able to make the trip) and we have to purchase airline fare for six people since our 2 year old will need his own ticket. I do understand that it is a business and it follows the pace of the economy, fuel prices, etc. I will look into the suggestion to consider the Amtrak and see if they may be offering any summer travel deals. Maybe DH will consider that since he won't be the one doing the driving

Airfares have only risen 4.0% on average since 2006 according to the bureau of transportation. Gas, food and employee related cost have all risen in that time too. I believe I read that jet fuel prices have risen 4.5% since October.

One problem is that airlines have been cutting things and charging fees to make up for the difference. The problem they face now is that there is nothing else to cut or fee.

Personally, I wish they would have stopped artifically keeping down the cost of airfares long ago. I think it would have been much better if they had allowed themselves to modestly raise fares to stay operational over the years.

 

[OrangeCountyCommuter]

The news media where I am had a story on airfares just yesterday... Short version.. airlines are raising prices and the price increases are sticking and they are also cutting capacity which means they don't have as many seats that they need to "fire sale" to get passengers in them.

 

[bjscheel]

We have flown our family of four to WDW at a total price of anywhere from $450 to $1250. So I like to find $250/pp or less, but we have never done summer either. Airtran had $100 each way out of Kansas City for a while, and that has gone up. Now I find United for $208 out of Des Moines which would be wonderful since it's 2 hours closer. It's not nonstop but the short drive will make up for it.

I am thinking about jumping on it! Will talk to DH tonight. Don't know how long it will be at that price.

 

[Nebraska_Disney]

I had been following prices for a late March trip and $400 RT was the cheapest I had found ! This is out of Omaha and even looked at Kansas City as an option. The most we had ever paid was in 2009 where it was $235/person on American through Dallas. Back when we started planning this trip I had a lot of miles on United and booked 4 saver tickets using my FF miles. The same seats are prices at over $500 each, so I guess I am getting over $2K out of my miles for this trip.

Sticker shock on tix is hard to take, but I think they are going to stay that way.