flights price went up today....

[corvair]

We are going in June and I have been checking prices every day for about a month.... today they went up about 15 dollars a person ....... is there a reason they went up today..... will they be higher now until christmas.....do you think they will come back down...... thought maybe prices go up around the holidays.... went up on USair sight and then checked expedia.. the same flight went up there too..... thanks amy

 

[jimmytammy]

One reason the prices went up is because the airlines know people are more laid back during holiday, thinking about vacation. This is common. Prices are on the increase right now anyway. Keep checking, have your dates ready and book when a satisfactory price is available. Good luck.

 

[corvair]

Thanks.... i am hoping in a couple weeks they go back down and then i am going to grap them....amy

 

[bradlam]

That happened to me, too, but our prices went up astronomically. We are going in January and I had been watching the prices since about mid-July. They kept fluctuating up and down a little, the lowest I saw was in early September - $489 RT for 3 of us. The next time I checked it was $595. I could have kicked myself for not buying at the lowest, but our dates weren't absolutely firm (didn't know about husband's work) and I didn't want to take chances. By the time our dates were firm, the prices were $630. So I decided to just hold out a wee bit longer hoping it would get below $600 again. Less than two weeks later, it was at $1070!!! I called the airline and she said it was a supply and demand type of thing. There were only 7 seats left on the plane, so they were charging more. Needless to say, we've changed our dates to a week earlier and I bought tix immediately for the $630.

 

[Jestocost]

It really is a game of chance in many respects. If demand is slack, carriers can come up with bigger and bigger sales as time goes buy. If demand is strong, all of the flights can be sold out and you won't even be able to get a seat at any cost.

Knowing the dynamics of air travel in the city where you are can help too. If you can go out of Philly, for example, hope may be on the way as Southwest Airlines has announced plans to start service from there as early as May 2004. If Orlando is on their schedule, you may very well see a nice drop in fares out of Philly once they start taking reservations. You might want to keep your eyes on their site for info, as they should announce schedules and fares soon. Right now you can book through April, so hopefully June will be up no later than February.

 

[safetymom]

FYI, you can't book any USAirways tickets on Expedia. USAirways has pulled them because Expedia is charging a higher service fee for USAirways tickets.

 

[ktglads]

Airlines also play a nice little game with the fares on certain days of the week. Typically, the fares are higher on Thursdays through Sundays (the times when people would be buying the tickets). Strangely enough, I have watched fares and seen them raise at 4:00 PM EST, when people would be getting home from work and possibly buying the tickets. It is quite weird, but if you play the game along with them, you can get the lowest fare that they are offering.

Also, I know that at least with Delta, that if you buy your tickets and the price goes down that you can get credit back to be used on another flight later on if you call the right department. Granted it doesn't help you with the current trip, but it would help in the future.

 

[JC Butterfly]

To the OP I hope that you have been able to find tickets at a price you are willing to pay!

I have been watching rates for a couple of months too and just decided to buy tickets for my September trip. Does anyone know if other airlines besides Delta will credit you for a future trip if the price does drop? I imagine they are not obligated to do this but was just wondering.


Brenda

 

[wld]

I know NWA will give you a voucher and it is easy to get and easy to use. Just happened to me last year.

 

[disneyeveryyear]

I just got a voucher for $156.00 from AA for my DH's flight in February (mine is on FF miles).