They tend to go through these cycles. It'll be up into the high 700's, then it'll drop to the 400's. It baffles me really. I know people will book when they are that high (especially if they don't know better), but if the airline industries are really having problems, why wouldn't they keep flight prices affordable for everyone? I wouldn't stress. I haven't paid over $500 for any flight to Orlando in over 10 years. The most expensive flight I took was in 1999 when the flight was $750. I go every year - I watch the prices like a hawk. I've gone return for $349 before (that includes taxes). I am incredibly flexible with my times though. If you are going during busy times, you may not be so lucky. Be careful though with airlines too. Don't forget to add on checked bag prices. Sometimes this can add on to the price significantly.
For example - when we went last year, we went on Westjet. At first, they didn't look like the best price, but once we added on the price of checked bags with the other airline, West jet, since they don't charge for the first checked bag, was less.
Another time, I booked with Air Canada (direct through the AC website). It ended up being on one of their partner airlines (United - whom I don't recommend flying with - worst airline EVER!). I didn't realize at the time that it was with United since I had booked it directly on the AC website. Long story short, with our 2 bags each (we were going for 3 weeks), it was an extra $60 each - in USD.
We just flew a few of months ago with Continental to Orlando. We booked our flight 5 months in advance, and the cost was $398 total. We flew on a Tuesday and flew back the following Thursday. We had to pay for bags, but even with our $35 for our bag, it was still significantly cheaper than any other airline and I thought Continental was a great airline. You can actually prepay your bags online with check in with Continental and save 10%.
Anyways, keep looking. They should go down. And when you find a price that you are comfortable with, book.
