Help! Flights are so expensive!

[disneyfamof4]

We went to WDW is September and our flights were about $170 roundtrip per person. We are looking to go again this year and right now flights are about $300 per person! I am guessing this is due to rising gas prices? Driving is not an option. Any tips on finding cheaper flights? Thanks

 

[Marionnette]

We went to WDW is September and our flights were about $170 roundtrip per person. We are looking to go again this year and right now flights are about $300 per person! I am guessing this is due to rising gas prices? Driving is not an option. Any tips on finding cheaper flights? Thanks

Unrest in the Middle East combined with the lack of domestic drilling and refining is sending prices up. I saw this morning that airfare jumped $10/ticket overnight at 5 airlines.

The old advice is still the best:

• Be flexible with your dates.
• Choose to fly "off" hours.
• Search for fewer people than there are in your party to see if there are some cheaper seats available for 1, 2 or 3 passengers.
• Choose a different airport to depart from or arrive at.
• Keep the number of checked bags to a minimum.
• Don't choose the premium seats when making your seat selection.
• Don't hesitate to book when you see the right price.

 

[nchulka]

Sign up for a Southwest credit card. You get 50,000 points after your first purchase. I just bought something for like a buck. The 50,000 points were enough for me to purchase 5 roundtrip tickets (10 flights total). I have about 1,000 points left. The only "catch" is a 99.00 annual fee that will show up on your first bill. I'm canceling the card before it hits again next year. So basically it cost 99 bucks for 5 roundtrip tickets. Of course the price in points differs depending on where you are flying from. You and your husband can both sign up and then you'd have 100,000 points. That should get you plenty of free flights. Southwest also has no baggage fees, so free flights truly are free

 

[FINFAN]

I feel your pain. We need to get from Chicago to Sarasota in May for DD college graduation...looking at $158 each way p person right now. Total we will need 7 flights. Worst part is we have do a quick turnaround to get DS back for his finals before HE graduates 2 weeks later so we can't even get a mini vaca out of it after spending close to $2000 on A/F, rental car/hotel. My head is spinning just thinking about it.

 

[hffmnheidi]

We're in the other boat. A girlfriend of mine is treating me to a mini trip for my birthday and we were able to get tickets going down for a reasonable price, but tickets coming home are outrageous-almost triple the ticket price going down. We are searching all the airlines, but no price change in over a month.

 

[eaj1228]

In the same boat. I am going to Disney in October. For my trip last November I was able to get $218 roundtrip per person from Seattle to Orlando with a layover in Dallas. This year my lowest fare is $499 per person with a layover. With fuel going up we are thinking about purchasing a nonstop flight at $526 per person. Since we will be spending so much anyway we might as well make the flight experience and not worry about making a connection.

So painful looking at expedia. A few weeks ago the fares were like $380. I wish I would have jumped then.

 

[dislal]

If you book 6 weeks out on a tuesday or Wednesday you can usually find a good deal

 

[arthur06]

we went on a Cruise in December 2010 and flew airtran for $79 each way. went back in April 2011 and it was about $119 each way. went in September 2011 and it was $139 each way.

I have not been able to find any great deals lately either. It's getting to the point of making driving and 10 day trips more of an option.

 

[GOOFY4DONALD]

I am about to make all of you feel good. In 2009 I loved the fact that we paid 489pp. Right now we are at 689pp. If we can't get out of here closer to 500pp we might have to forget this year.

 

[RangerPooh]

I'm envious of those of you who have fares under $300 each. When we were looking the tickets were well over $300 each for Spokane to WDW. I sure miss the days a decade ago when airfare tickets were low. Use to fly to Orlando for about $200 each.

As a previous poster mentioned, try a card that allows you to rack up frequent flyer miles through purchases. It takes some planning but is doable.

 

[mcraige]

I just checked airfare for our dates, and noticed that Continental and United both were $50 PP RT less than American, tho they both had a stop-over. Hopefully, as it gets closer and Southwest and Spirit release their prices, they will come down a bit more.

 

[angierae]

We just paid over $500pp for our spring break flights, so I feel your pain.

 

[HeyIt'sMe]

My MIL wanted to take DD (14) to Florida for her Spring Break in April and stay with a family member. The flight would cost $500+ per person so the trip isn't going to happen.

 

[Pakey]

For our Aulani vacation in September we are driving 3 hours to a different airport to save $300 per person on airfare. I looked at all airports within a 5 hour drive radius.

Going Tuesday to Tuesday rather than flying on weekend saved us another $40 per ticket.

 

[2Pirates2Princesses]

I feel your pain OP. Airline fare isn't cheap, but I think it is going to continue to get higher than what we've experienced these past few years. Driving isn't an option for our family either. My DH feels it would be too exhausting and would take too much time away from our trip to drive 17 hours to get to WDW because we aren't brave enough to drive straight through (would have to stop overnight somewhere). So if we don't fly, we don't go. Spending all that money on airline fare for six people two years in a row isn't going to happen for us so we are hoping to make it back to WDW next year or 2014. I would recommend trying Kayak.com to check fares; also the suggestion of being flexible with your dates and choosing off times to fly are good ones.

 

[Lisa71]

Try Priceline and name your own price...yes you cannot choose when you leave and arrive, but you could opt for an overnight flight possibly, or add a day and still save money. We did this to Kauai last year. We live in CA and flights were over $1000!!!! It was crazy, they are usually 300-500...I bid $299, it was refused but an option of $547 each was offered. I took it and it was United direct flight. We upgraded to economy plus (hubby is 6 ft 6)..and still saved a ton. We have used them before and once got into Ohio at midnight, but saved $800.

 

[Lisa71]

Try Priceline and name your own price...yes you cannot choose when you leave and arrive, but you could opt for an overnight flight possibly, or add a day and still save money. We did this to Kauai last year. We live in CA and flights were over $1000!!!! It was crazy, they are usually 300-500...I bid $299, it was refused but an option of $547 each was offered. I took it and it was United direct flight. We upgraded to economy plus (hubby is 6 ft 6)..and still saved a ton. Good luck!

 

[AnninIowa]

I would live to find a $300 flight. From my town in Iowa, plane tickets are running close to $700 per person! :-(

 

[mermaidwannabe]

I am about to make all of you feel good. In 2009 I loved the fact that we paid 489pp. Right now we are at 689pp. If we can't get out of here closer to 500pp we might have to forget this year.

Yes, we Montanans pay through the roof! We are hoping to get around $500pp for our trip too and if it doesn't happen, we will drive to DL instead of flying to DW.

I've heard looking on a Tuesday afternoon will have the most updated flight changes for the week (for price) and flying on a Tues, Wed, or Thurs will usually get you cheaper fares. Good luck OP. Who knows what's going to happen with these prices. Maybe there will be enough people not buying that prices will come down - it's a crapshoot.

 

[arthur06]

I would live to find a $300 flight. From my town in Iowa, plane tickets are running close to $700 per person! :-(

We live in Iowa also, and we tend to fly out of Minneapolis or Des Moines and have never paid nearly that much. I know our local airport would cost a ton, and would connect in Minneapolis, so I don't even look into that.