Finding Cheap Flights???

[caselaw3]

As we get nearer to the trip - I am trying to find a way to FLY - as opposed to driving 24 hours...but as the flights I am finding more than double what it would cost to drive, I am not able to justify flying....does anyone have any really great tips or websites for getting super cheap flights? I don't have any credit cards that offer that kind of reward so that is out and I can't get any more credit cards at the moment, lol

 

[njmom47]

As we get nearer to the trip - I am trying to find a way to FLY - as opposed to driving 24 hours...but as the flights I am finding more than double what it would cost to drive, I am not able to justify flying....does anyone have any really great tips or websites for getting super cheap flights? I don't have any credit cards that offer that kind of reward so that is out and I can't get any more credit cards at the moment, lol

You can try a site like Kayak (which gives you a suggestion to "wait" or "buy" with a graph showing price trends) or BookingBuddy where you can compare. Enter your info and sign up to be emailed when "your" flight price goes down. Or sign up on a specific airline if you know that's the one you will take. I get emails all the time, although I won't be needing a flight anytime soon. Buy on Tues or Wed (supposedly the cheapest days of the week). Cheap-O Air (and Orbitz) will let you play around with dates as well (+/- 3 days either way, if your dates are somewhat flexible).
There is a lot of info on the Boards about this topic!

 

[msmama]

Another option might be to drive to a different airport where you can find cheaper flights. I assume you're in "upstate" NY (I'm on LI so everything is upstate to me).

You could fly from a NYC airport (though then you have to pay for parking or travel to the city) or maybe even drive part way to philly. Or you could have lots of New England or PA at your disposal (like I said, everything upstate is the same to me).

Last week there were $99 one way flights to Orlando from Long Island on SW. (That's still $200 pp so depending on how many people you have that might still me way more than driving).

 

[caselaw3]

Thanks!!!! There is so much to think about! I am definitely going to look in to Kyak and the other sites!

We are Upstate NY, about an hour and a half north of Albany, on the border of VT So really anywhere is a drive, lol - but it might be worth it to look for other airports

We are a party of 4 and I was kinda hoping to keep the flights to under $1000 - figure driving roundtrip is going to be about $630 but I don't know how much it might cost in sanity, lol

 

[Zim]

Its frustrating for me that the best deals seem to crop up about two months prior to your flight. But the "fly for as little as $69 round trip!" invariably never depart on the days we are set to arrive or leave.

If you have driving days accounted for in your plans currently, maybe you have a little play in your trip dates and could plan for this. Get on the email lists for airlines at your airport who fly to Orlando. Watch for their low fares emails and see if you can't get one of the low fares on a day you could leave and come back reasonably.

I was looking at JetBlues recent email for as low as $69 RT - there was a flight could have done at $83 RT for us if we left two days later than planned. But by now we have all our days set and planned. Although our current JetBlue tickets for two flying from Washington DC is around $450 so I think we did okay. Not great but okay.

 

[HM]

Remember, "time is money" too. Two days up and two days back by car, at least, right. That's a lot more time than several hours in a plane and in airports. Sometimes spending a bit more is worth it when that much time is involved.

 

[bjscheel]

The best thing I can say is to just keep checking obsessively! And I would definitely pay a few hundred more to save us from driving. We can't do long drives! Plus, how many vacation days are you losing to driving?

We're in Iowa, and I check prices out of Des Moines, Omaha, and Kansas City. We've flown out of all three, so there's not one airport that is consistently always cheaper. I check Kayak, but Southwest isn't on it, so you have to check it separately. Flying on Tuesdays is frequently less than other days, but not always. I try to find the best airfare, and then book the rest of the vacation around it. I don't know how flexible your dates are.

Good luck and I hope you get to fly!

 

[KimmiP]

Remember, "time is money" too. Two days up and two days back by car, at least, right. That's a lot more time than several hours in a plane and in airports. Sometimes spending a bit more is worth it when that much time is involved.

I was just going to say this. It comes down to how much is my time worth? Since I live in CT the extra day or two drive istead of a 3 hour plane ride does not justify the $300-500 savings. I'm a goal orientated person and the thought of starting my vacation 2 days after I am supposed to be on vacation is a huge time waster. Plus you are exhausted from the drive.

My advice, try and budget it, you will be so glad you did!

 

[Happyjen27]

I would gladly, gladly, gladly pay an extra $600 and avoid 48 hours of driving.

You could be there in 3 hours by air. It's worth every penny IMO to not have the long drive home looming over my whole vacation like a grey cloud. Then again, I hate car trips. There are some that love car trips and don't mind the drive. Different strokes, different folks.

My tip for cheap airfare is to just keep looking. Cheaptickets.com lets you evaluate ticket prices +/- 3 days to see when the cheapest time to leave and return are. I have also found that if you find a good fare on Kayak or Cheaptickets, booking directly through the airline is a the same price, but in the event of poor weather or other problems, when I'm booked directly with the airline they are easier to deal with than when I've booked through a middleman.

 

[caselaw3]

I would gladly, gladly, gladly pay an extra $600 and avoid 48 hours of driving.

You could be there in 3 hours by air. It's worth every penny IMO to not have the long drive home looming over my whole vacation like a grey cloud. Then again, I hate car trips. There are some that love car trips and don't mind the drive. Different strokes, different folks.

My tip for cheap airfare is to just keep looking. Cheaptickets.com lets you evaluate ticket prices +/- 3 days to see when the cheapest time to leave and return are. I have also found that if you find a good fare on Kayak or Cheaptickets, booking directly through the airline is a the same price, but in the event of poor weather or other problems, when I'm booked directly with the airline they are easier to deal with than when I've booked through a middleman.

Thanks - I am looking now on all those sites - unfortunately it is an extra $1000 at this point to fly and that doesn't include the rental car -

but I have high hopes for possibly finding cheap flights as my dates get closer

 

[angierae]

We booked in July to get $200 pp RT from DTW-MCO (including paying to check one bag there and one bag back).

Happening upon a fare that good is about the only reason we're pulling off a quick trip. Flights are just so much more expensive than they used to be. However, so long as I can still get two flights for cheaper than driving, I'll pay it.

 

[caselaw3]

We booked in July to get $200 pp RT from DTW-MCO (including paying to check one bag there and one bag back).

Happening upon a fare that good is about the only reason we're pulling off a quick trip. Flights are just so much more expensive than they used to be. However, so long as I can still get two flights for cheaper than driving, I'll pay it.

I wouldn't mind paying a bit exta to fly - but $1000 extra is just too much for me ...plus we are breaking the trip down and will stay with my brother in MD on the way down and in Savannah (cuz I wanna see it) and then we will stop somewhere on the way back ...so it might be kinda interesting

 

[APiratesLifeForMe2]

Thanks - I am looking now on all those sites - unfortunately it is an extra $1000 at this point to fly and that doesn't include the rental car - but I have high hopes for possibly finding cheap flights as my dates get closer

Definitely keep checking and maybe it's a myth but I believe the middle of the week in the evenings is the best time to search flights. Also if you use sites that will search across multiple airline carriers they usually won't include southwest (bags fly for free). Check
Southwest website as well if they fly in your area.

Unfortunately I think prices are only going to increase the closer you get to your trip dates. We booked in June for our December trip and prices have more than doubled since then.

 

[caselaw3]

Definitely keep checking and maybe it's a myth but I believe the middle of the week in the evenings is the best time to search flights. Also if you use sites that will search across multiple airline carriers they usually won't include southwest (bags fly for free). Check
Southwest website as well if they fly in your area.

Unfortunately I think prices are only going to increase the closer you get to your trip dates. We booked in June for our December trip and prices have more than doubled since then.

Sadly - I have to agree with u

I think Southwest will be my best bet but finding flights that are worth it may be tough...

 

[diamondpixienc]

I don't know how close you all are from the Concord, NC regional airport or if you could possibly connect there but right now you can fly to Orlando, FL for $39 each way! You can book on Dec. 20 and must fly by Feb. 2014. The airline is Allegiant (don't know if i spelled that right) Also, it's not to MCO but it is in Orlando. The Orlando-Sanford Airport.

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

but I have high hopes for possibly finding cheap flights as my dates get closer

Not going to happen. Prices go up the closer you get to your departure date.

 

[FergieTCat]

Thanks!!!! There is so much to think about! I am definitely going to look in to Kyak and the other sites!

We are Upstate NY, about an hour and a half north of Albany, on the border of VT So really anywhere is a drive, lol - but it might be worth it to look for other airports

We are a party of 4 and I was kinda hoping to keep the flights to under $1000 - figure driving roundtrip is going to be about $630 but I don't know how much it might cost in sanity, lol

She's 1 1/2 NORTH of Albany, which would be about 5 hours outside of New York City, so really driving all the way down here isn't going to help the cause too much. Same for North Carolina.

BTW, OP, is that 24 hours each way for a total of 48 hours RT? Even if was only 24 hours, you should factor in how much your time is worth. Assuming you're stopping, you'd be losing 2 days from you vacation just driving.

My quick research tells me it's cheaper to fly to MCO out of Burlington, VT than Albany, NY. Check and see if it works for you (I looked on Orbitz.)

BTW, SUNY Albany is my alma mater (!!)

 

[Theaberdeenkid]

When we lived in NJ we would take the train or auto train.

 

[crisi]

Frequent flyer miles?

One of the few advantages to having a husband who is spending ANOTHER two weeks in China is that we will be able to fly four down on frequent flyers for the next trip.

 

[kiramay]

We are planning to fly Spirit on a day they have the club sale prices. My family of 5 will fly for ~$1100 rt. By the time I factor in gas and hotels for the drive, it's not a lot more to fly.