How do you know when airfare is a good deal?

[plumsiren]

I haven't flown anywhere in 7 years (and that was international) so I have absolutely no clue how to tell what a good rate is. Do fares fluctuate regularly? Should I start looking now (10 months out), or wait? Is first class worth it? (My poor father is 6'4.) At what price?

We'd be going EWR (Newark, NJ, part of the NYC metro area) to MCO. Most likely on United, Newark's major carrier and (usually) the only one that does all nonstop flights anyway.

 

[backyardponder]

I haven't flown anywhere in 7 years (and that was international) so I have absolutely no clue how to tell what a good rate is. Do fares fluctuate regularly? Should I start looking now (10 months out), or wait? Is first class worth it? (My poor father is 6'4.) At what price?

We'd be going EWR (Newark, NJ, part of the NYC metro area) to MCO. Most likely on United, Newark's major carrier and (usually) the only one that does all nonstop flights anyway.

I normally recommend folks check out Southwest...but they don't go non-stop EWR - MCO.

I'd book coach on United, then pay the extra fee for an Economy Plus seat. You are normally given that option after you book your coach fare. You'll get a few extra inches of leg room which might help. I sure wouldn't book first class unless money is no object.

As far as a good deal, it is really hard to tell what fares will be. There's lots of web sites which will give you strategies, but there sure isn't a guarantee.

 

[OKW Lover]

I like to use www.kayak.com to monitor flights. You can set up an alert that will send you the price every day. That way you'll get an idea of what is a good price for the dates you are traveling.

 

[rwdavis2]

I'd book coach on United, then pay the extra fee for an Economy Plus seat. You are normally given that option after you book your coach fare. You'll get a few extra inches of leg room which might help. I sure wouldn't book first class unless money is no object.

As far as a good deal, it is really hard to tell what fares will be. There's lots of web sites which will give you strategies, but there sure isn't a guarantee.

This is an excellent idea. Economy plus in an exit row usually has even more leg room than the other economy plus seats. Take a look at seatguru.com for seats on United planes.

 

[plumsiren]

Anyone know what the extra charge is for Economy Plus on United? I didn't see it listed anywhere.

 

[lauti]

Anyone know what the extra charge is for Economy Plus on United? I didn't see it listed anywhere.

Its priced differently based on how long the flight is.

 

[plumsiren]

Its priced differently based on how long the flight is.

Can you give me an example?

 

[mnewcomer]

We got upgrade to economy plus flying home from Florida to California it is worth it for the extra room. My husband is 6'3" I think from know on we will up grade to this.

 

[mom2clr]

FYI Jetblue flies non-stop EWR-MCO.

I'm stalking prices right now for August and although I know $200RT is a rarity, I'm hoping to stay under $750 for 3 of us.

I also recommend going on kayak.com or airfarewatchdog.com and set up alerts.

 

[plumsiren]

FYI Jetblue flies non-stop EWR-MCO.

I'm stalking prices right now for August and although I know $200RT is a rarity, I'm hoping to stay under $750 for 3 of us.

I also recommend going on kayak.com or airfarewatchdog.com and set up alerts.

That's a good threshold to look for. My dates just came up as $258 so that seems reasonable. Last time I flew domestic I don't even know if Newark had Jetblue! I'll look into that.

ETA: Jetblue is currently only booking through early September, which explains why it didn't come up in my initial search.

 

[Aliceacc]

I've been following prices for about 2 months now. I bit the bullet and booked yesterday for our late July/early August trip.

We're flying Jetblue, out of LaGuardia and back to JFK. We're paying $244 per person. Because it's Jetblue, there's no charge for the first (and only, for us) suitcase per person. They also include a free snack and a TV for each person, so we love flying Jetblue. Be sure you include any baggage charges when you compare prices.

In 2012, our trip to WDW cost us $261 per person. So that was the price I was looking to beat.

 

[rwdavis2]

Anyone know what the extra charge is for Economy Plus on United? I didn't see it listed anywhere.

I have paid anywhere from $50-$80 on flights to/from LAX and BWI. I think it depends on demand and the direction.

 

[RysMomma]

FYI Jetblue flies non-stop EWR-MCO.

I'm stalking prices right now for August and although I know $200RT is a rarity, I'm hoping to stay under $750 for 3 of us.

I also recommend going on kayak.com or airfarewatchdog.com and set up alerts.

We're going EWR to MCO in August also and finding cheap flights are EXTREMELY hard at the moment. We're looking at JetBlue. I'm thinking we're going to have to buy soon-I don't really see it coming down much for our travel dates.

 

[plumsiren]

I've been following prices for about 2 months now. I bit the bullet and booked yesterday for our late July/early August trip.

We're flying Jetblue, out of LaGuardia and back to JFK. We're paying $244 per person. Because it's Jetblue, there's no charge for the first (and only, for us) suitcase per person. They also include a free snack and a TV for each person, so we love flying Jetblue. Be sure you include any baggage charges when you compare prices.

In 2012, our trip to WDW cost us $261 per person. So that was the price I was looking to beat.

I wish I could look at LaGuardia and JFK too, but the cost to get to either (not to mention the annoyance) just makes it not worth it.

 

[Aliceacc]

Funny, that's pretty much how I feel about Newark.

But it should at least give you a ballpark number from the metro NYC area.

 

[plumsiren]

Funny, that's pretty much how I feel about Newark.

But it should at least give you a ballpark number from the metro NYC area.

The fact that we live about 6 miles from EWR makes the decision to fly out of there kind of a no-brainer!

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

I have paid anywhere from $50-$80 on flights to/from LAX and BWI. I think it depends on demand and the direction.

The Economy + price depends on the length of the flight and the seat selected. Middle seats are the cheapest, exit row seats the most expensive.

 

[Gracie09]

Frontier flies out of Trenton now. We are keeping an eye on them for our next trip.