Flight help please

[karen4546]

Help please! I am in Louisiana and I could fly out of local airport or New Orleans, Dallas (Love Field), or Little Rock My trip is Dec. 16-21,2018 -when do the discounted flights get released or when should i start looking if i am going to fly Southwest? I need to buy tickets for 6 adults and 3 kids - I would love to keep it under $250 each or my husband is going to make us drive He said he will drive the 4-5 hrs to fly if i could keep it under $250 PLUS my grandson is obsessed with space and really wants to fly in the clouds (he is 4)-please let me know when i should check? and/or if it is possible to get a flight for that price?? and any other info. i may need. Also, if i fly locally it is not non stop and the airlines are Delta, AA, and United. If i could get a local flight it would be best - i just don't know when to book it. In the past it has just been DH and me so the extra cost was negligible but buy 9 tickets is a bigger expense. TIA

 

[FCDub]

Unfortunately, there's no "best time" to check. Trying to predict flight prices is like trying to predict what the lotto numbers will be. Have you been checking now?

 

[sponica]

Honestly with those dates (especially the 21st) it's going to be the "highest I can comfortably" pay fare....the 21st is going to be a heavy travel day.

I'd be looking now and when I found a price point I liked I'd pull the trigger...

 

[Shelly F - Ohio]

With 9 people you qualify for group booking discount. So call SWA and see that the pricing will be.
The best time to book SWA tickets is the day the booking window opens for the date you want to fly. Which would have been a few months ago

 

[JimMIA]

Don't know where you are in Louisiana, but what about Houston? Is that too far of a drive?

In addition to Orlando, you might also check flying into Sanford or Tampa. You might find lower fares to those airports.

 

[NotUrsula]

I am assuming that you'll want to fly into MCO so that you can use DME for that many passengers rather than renting vehicles?

The PP is correct; you are eligible for SWA group rates with 9 people; it's worth it to call. Also, if anyone in the party is over age 65, SWA also offers Senior Fare discounts.

I just looked at SWA's fare calendar; right now you can go from New Orleans to MCO on those dates for $300 pp r/t, but it's $50 cheaper per person if you fly down on Saturday the 15th instead. With that many people, it would probably be worth it. (Remember that the cost of a hotel night or rental car day is divided by 4 or 5 people; the cost of an airline ticket is per each.) DAL (SWA flies out of Love Field rather than DWI) is a bit pricier, at $313, and there is no price break for flying Saturday. However, I know either of those airports to get SWA is likely to be a bit of a long drive for you; if you are already driving 5 hours to the airport, why stop there?

For all airlines other than SWA, you can use Google Flights to set alerts when a fare goes below a certain level. If I were you I'd set it with several different scenarios including Saturday travel, because there may be a price break there. Also, do NOT overlook flying out of Alexandria; I've often gotten deals at that airport near holidays (I go to visit family) because of Fort Polk; Delta and American fly more often there in the holiday seasons to serve military personnel.

 

[dakotix]

We routinely fly Southwest. The best time to look is Tues-Thursday. That is when you'll find the best deals. If you see anything under $120 grab them. Another tip is to open a Southwest credit card to get the 40,000 bonus points. You can use those to buy tickets. 40,000 points will get you around 3-5 tickets one-way.

 

[JustCallMeMommy]

If you could fly out the night before (12/15) or the day after (12/17), you could get $228/pp rt on Southwest from New Orleans. I've come in a day early and stayed in a cheap hotel (found on Priceline) the first night to maximize my time and dollars.

 

[SaintsManiac]

Where in Louisiana are you? VIA airlines is doing $99 flights from Baton Rouge to Orlando, but only on certain days.