Help- getting stressed out about airfares and when to book

[traces7]

I keep missing the good fares. Today the flight I wanted went up $20 per person. So now should I book it at the higher price or hope it goes back down. Actually it went up like $34 total from $350 total round trip for 2 from Chicago to $384. Can I get a better deal? Or should I just take this one? It had really good take off and landing times and was with Air Tran

 

[safetymom]

If the flight times are good for you I would book it. Not sure what the policy is if the prices drop with Air Tran if you already have tickets.

 

[MICKEEP]

If you are looking for opinions.....I would say to find the best price NOW and book it. With the cost of fuel so high I do not think we will see airfares going down only up. We booked our flight for December back in March and I recently did a search to see where the rates were and the roundtrip cost had increased over $40 per ticket from LGA to MCO.

 

[debden]

traces7,When do you plan to travel? We aren't going until the end of September and we are waiting for the tickets to go down to their usual $98 RT.
If you have time I'd wait and see where they go...if your trip is coming up in a month or less I would book as soon as you see something reasonable.
Good Luck,I know how airfare flunctuates and it can drive you crazy!
Debbie

 

[beccasmom]

I agree that if you are going soon, by all means book the fare! If you have some time, you can probably afford to wait. We have an idea of what a good fare is from PHL and usually will not book until we see it. Three months out is the longest we will wait; however, that really depends on your trip date. If you are traveling during holiday season particularly, that would be a gamble (and your fare will not be at its lowest). Unfortunately, all of this means that you must be diligent in searching for fares as often as you can to snag a good deal. It is often worth it, though!

 

[traces7]

I can't get Ding because I have a Mac computer. Thanks for all your advice. I think I'll wait a little, maybe?????

 

[welovedis]

Not sure what the policy is if the prices drop with Air Tran if you already have tickets.

If you buy tickets and then see a lower price, they won't give you an adjustment unless you pay their $50 /ticket change fee. So unless the price drops more than $50/ticket you need to be prepared to pay the current price and stick with it. The are not like other carriers that will credit you for the difference. One big drawback of AirTran.

 

[strmtroopr96]

traces7,When do you plan to travel? We aren't going until the end of September and we are waiting for the tickets to go down to their usual $98 RT.
If you have time I'd wait and see where they go...if your trip is coming up in a month or less I would book as soon as you see something reasonable.
Good Luck,I know how airfare flunctuates and it can drive you crazy!
Debbie

Where in Upstate NY do you fly from? What airline has the $98 fares? We are also Upstate NY and going at the end of September and would LOVE to find great fares like this!! Thanks!! Rebecca

 

[llyolf]

strmtrooper96,
my guess about the $98 rt would be Southwest.... I got $108 r/t for last may from Buffalo to Orlando.... I have not found those prices this year for October...

I am going to do the waiting game... hopefully the force is with me, and I can find the $49/$59 o/w fares of last year....

Later,
Paul

 

[fiveacesmmb]

I booked late Sept. from chicago for 115.00RT, using DING. Can't someone load this on their puter for you?????

 

[DemoBri1]

Since you're going in October, and SW has already posted their schedules for October there's not a big chance that low cost airlines will reduce their fares much. Normally, I've seen a pattern that alot of the non-major airlines (i.e. ATA, AirTran, Spirit, America West, etc.) wait to see what SW is doing. There is a chance, however, with these new "Ding" fares that SW might come up with something for your time period.

It's hard to give an opinion because I know how difficult it is to just "bite the bullet" and grab the tickets. Last year I got burned on ATA. The tickets went down about $25 per about a month and a half after I bought them. I probably should have done something about it, but with the impending pull out of ATA from Midway to Orlando, I didn't see a need to because we probably wouldn't be flying with them to any other destination but Orlando.

We are thinking AirTran as well for this December simply because I can't bare to become a part of the SW Cattle Call, but if the prices are substantially better, I don't see an alternative. I'd hate to think of having to get up an hour earlier to get to O'Hare.

All I can off you is Good Luck and have a great trip!!

Brian

 

[SqueakyMouse]

I've never seen such wildly fluctuating prices. We're looking for a good rate from Nashville to Orlando. Yesterday, Delta's prices fell nearly $100 r/t. Today, they've gone up $50 from yesterday's. Dh is at the airport in Louisville right now. He's going to chat up some of the airline employees to see what they think.

 

[strmtroopr96]

strmtrooper96,
my guess about the $98 rt would be Southwest.... I got $108 r/t for last may from Buffalo to Orlando.... I have not found those prices this year for October...

I am going to do the waiting game... hopefully the force is with me, and I can find the $49/$59 o/w fares of last year....

Later,
Paul

Thanks for the info. We just used Southwest from Albany to MCO in May after getting an $88 each way Ding fare. We bought those tix mid March for a mid May trip. Then a few days later the same tix went down to $49 each way as a regular Internet sale. So now I'm just hoping that a similar sale about 2 months out will come along again.

We prefer to fly out of Albany or Syracuse because we are in the middle of each, with about an hour drive each way. Last September, we flew Airtran out of Rochester (2 hours away) with good fares. I have been looking at Buffalo as well. I figured we could visit my brother if we were to fly out of there, but my family didn't want to make the 3 hour drive. LOL

Guess I'll just keep looking and waiting! Rebecca

 

[debden]

Hi Rebecca, I fly out of Albany,NY and every year around July/August the airfares go down to $98RT ($115 taxes/fees inc.)...
It's been happening for years now and even with the increases I'm still looking for the sale this year too!
I won't buy until they go down.
Debbie

 

[tink2020]

As far as rates changing.....

What if we booked our air transportation through a Disney MYW package? If the airfare goes down, will it show? (Say, if I log onto disneyworld . com and "shop for a new reservation" (with the same info))?

THEN, if this does happen, will Disney change my ressie to the lower package price?

Thanks so much!

 

[strmtroopr96]

Hi Rebecca, I fly out of Albany,NY and every year around July/August the airfares go down to $98RT ($115 taxes/fees inc.)...
It's been happening for years now and even with the increases I'm still looking for the sale this year too!
I won't buy until they go down.
Debbie

Thanks Debden!! I am going to keep an eye out for this. We need 5 tix this time around so these prices sound great! Rebecca

 

[lacy1101]

I've never seen such wildly fluctuating prices. We're looking for a good rate from Nashville to Orlando. Yesterday, Delta's prices fell nearly $100 r/t. Today, they've gone up $50 from yesterday's. Dh is at the airport in Louisville right now. He's going to chat up some of the airline employees to see what they think.

SqueakyMouse - what was the fare from Nashville to Orlando yesterday on Delta? I frequently check Southwest and also get alerts from Travelocity, but don't go directly to Delta's site to check - maybe I should?!?

I'm really holding out for a good fare with Southwest - that $39 one way would be terrific!!

 

[Connor' Dad]

"We are thinking AirTran as well for this December simply because I can't bare to become a part of the SW Cattle Call, but if the prices are substantially better, I don't see an alternative. I'd hate to think of having to get up an hour earlier to get to O'Hare."

SW leaves out of Midway, not O'Hare.

 

[MinnieMe67]

"We are thinking AirTran as well for this December simply because I can't bare to become a part of the SW Cattle Call, but if the prices are substantially better, I don't see an alternative. I'd hate to think of having to get up an hour earlier to get to O'Hare."

SW leaves out of Midway, not O'Hare.

I believe what DemoBri1 is saying that he would like to fly out of Midway rather than get up an extra hour early to travel to O'Hare and that he does not want to fly SWA, so there are not too many non-stop Midway options available for him.