How to get the best price for airfare?

[momof3lovebugs]

Hello all....haven't flown since before 9/11 so it's been sometime. I am shocked at how much airfare is from Los Angeles to MCO. The lowest I see is 318.00. That is nuts.
So my question is how are you finding the best airfare deals? Do you book pkgs or seperately. This planning is killing me. I am finding myself on the computer all dang day trying to plan a simple family vacation. Who knew it would be so much work!
It's taking some of the disney magic away that things are so ridiculous and that disney sometimes sends pins and sometimes not. Why can't they just offer the same thing to everyone?

 

[eliza61]

Hello all....haven't flown since before 9/11 so it's been sometime. I am shocked at how much airfare is from Los Angeles to MCO. The lowest I see is 318.00. That is nuts.
So my question is how are you finding the best airfare deals? Do you book pkgs or seperately. This planning is killing me. I am finding myself on the computer all dang day trying to plan a simple family vacation. Who knew it would be so much work!
It's taking some of the disney magic away that things are so ridiculous and that disney sometimes sends pins and sometimes not. Why can't they just offer the same thing to everyone?

It can be really frustrating mom. First, I want you to really accept the fact that finding the best prices on travelling is going to require planning skills that would make Gen. McArthur on D-Day proud. Airlines are struggling because of the recession (as is every one) so some have cut back the number of flights.
Disney is offering a few deals but once again it's going to require a bit of leg work (and maybe a notepad or two) to crunch some numbers.

1) Sign up at kayak.com and tripadvisor.com for fare finders. These sights will watch fares for you and give u an email alert when fares go down.

2) sign up for mousesavers email. and watch the codes and rates discussions on these boards. Check with AAA and your travel agent.

 

[momof3lovebugs]

It can be really frustrating mom. First, I want you to really accept the fact that finding the best prices on travelling is going to require planning skills that would make Gen. McArthur on D-Day proud. Airlines are struggling because of the recession (as is every one) so some have cut back the number of flights.
Disney is offering a few deals but once again it's going to require a bit of leg work (and maybe a notepad or two) to crunch some numbers.

1) Sign up at kayak.com and tripadvisor.com for fare finders. These sights will watch fares for you and give u an email alert when fares go down.

2) sign up for mousesavers email. and watch the codes and rates discussions on these boards. Check with AAA and your travel agent.

Okay, I had to lol at this b/c I feel like I am like a field general here looking for the best path to wdw! I will sign up at these places....more online time Thanks for the tips! I have a whole journal set aside and have already filled up 3 pages!
heather

 

[taitai]

Also, it might be time to level set your expectations. $318 to fly across country is actually not bad. How much, in both time and money, would it cost you to drive? Take the train? The bus? Flying, even at $318 is a bargain.

 

[Brian Noble]

$320 to fly more than 2,200 miles isn't nuts. In fact, I think it's a pretty decent deal.

 

[jamstew]

Absolutely reasonable IMO. It costs me $200-$250 to fly from Austin Texas--about half the distance give or take.

 

[momof3lovebugs]

I guess I need to clarify...that was the lowest airfare and it was not a nonstop but one where we'd be spending over 10 hours at the airport, transferring and finally arriving. That is a lot to ask of two kids, imo. Maybe I have unrealistic expectations b/c I haven't flown since before 9/11....

 

[Brian Noble]

Especially over the last year or so, airfares have risen quite a bit. Still the airlines are losing money, even mighty Southwest. It's simply more expensive to fly now---and airlines have cut "leisure routes" faster than business routes because they are less profitable. That means our trips to Mousetown are even more expensive, because there is lower supply.

To put this in a bit more context: I consider $320 an acceptable (but not great) price for direct flights from Detroit in the winter, let alone LA.

Start with farecast.com and check several of your nearby airports---that will give you a sense of whether prices are expected to go up or down. I generally am willing to pay extra for direct flights, but to fit into a budget you may need to make a connection.

 

[eliza61]

I guess I need to clarify...that was the lowest airfare and it was not a nonstop but one where we'd be spending over 10 hours at the airport, transferring and finally arriving. That is a lot to ask of two kids, imo. Maybe I have unrealistic expectations b/c I haven't flown since before 9/11....

Not so much unrealistic, just the industry has changed in the last 10 years.

Is there a bigger airport within driving distance? I live right outside Philly and even though they have a fairly large international airport, some times I will drive up to Newark to catch a flight because the fare is lower or I have more options for travelling times.

Direct flights are always more expensive.

 

[momof3lovebugs]

Not so much unrealistic, just the industry has changed in the last 10 years.

Is there a bigger airport within driving distance? I live right outside Philly and even though they have a fairly large international airport, some times I will drive up to Newark to catch a flight because the fare is lower or I have more options for travelling times.

Direct flights are always more expensive.

Eliza I had to chuckle at this b/c those were fares from LAX (los angeles int'l) I guess I will just book the room portion for now and hope airfare goes down.....thanks for all the help! I guess being busy raising children and not going anywhere other than where our travel trailer takes us has given us some blinders as far as the rest of the traveling world. Ah well....now to find a flight that won't take all day!

 

[uva185]

I am shocked at how much airfare is from Los Angeles to MCO. The lowest I see is 318.00. That is nuts.

Are you kidding me?? You think it is nuts to pay $318 to fly over 5,000 miles roundtrip!?!

$318 is a VERY reasonable fare to fly across the country!

 

[Darcy03231]

I fly cross country fairly often (Boston to LAX). $318/pp is a good fare.

 

[PrincessKsMom]

Not so much unrealistic, just the industry has changed in the last 10 years.

Is there a bigger airport within driving distance? I live right outside Philly and even though they have a fairly large international airport, some times I will drive up to Newark to catch a flight because the fare is lower or I have more options for travelling times.

Direct flights are always more expensive.[/QUOTE]

I always assumed this too. But for me, from Newark to Orlando, it's less, at least $100-$150 less. Can't imagine why they would charge me more to be inconvienced, but that's the way it works, at least with Continental. I'll take the direct, less expensive route every time.

 

[Eric95403]

Just be persistant. Look every day, maybe a few times a day. This time around I used Kayak. I have checked every day for the past couple of months. Tedious...

Thought I had an airfare from SFO to TPA a couple weeks back, fell thru. Today I got a r/t from SFO/MCO for $224 on Delta for our July/August trip!!!! Thought it was another bogus fare, but I was quite surprised to get fare.

I seldom pay more than $250 r/t from the Bay Area to the East Coast. Just have to be at the right place at the right time and if you check often enough, you're bound to find a gem.

 

[momof3lovebugs]

Just be persistant. Look every day, maybe a few times a day. This time around I used Kayak. I have checked every day for the past couple of months. Tedious...

Thought I had an airfare from SFO to TPA a couple weeks back, fell thru. Today I got a r/t from SFO/MCO for $224 on Delta for our July/August trip!!!! Thought it was another bogus fare, but I was quite surprised to get fare.

I seldom pay more than $250 r/t from the Bay Area to the East Coast. Just have to be at the right place at the right time and if you check often enough, you're bound to find a gem.

That is what I was thinking would be the price....I am hoping they drop a little btwn now and then.
If I book myself and they go down (with a little pixie dust!) then can you get a refund from the airline for the difference?

 

[Eric95403]

That is what I was thinking would be the price....I am hoping they drop a little btwn now and then.
If I book myself and they go down (with a little pixie dust!) then can you get a refund from the airline for the difference?

Found this on WikiHow...it says it was last updated on 12/09:

Buy tickets on an airline that will refund the difference if a fare goes down. Let’s say you’ve done your best to find the lowest fare, and then the day after purchase your non-refundable fare goes down $100. Sure, if you ask for it you can get a refund for the difference, providing of course that you don't change the times or dates of your flights (and the only thing that changed was the price); but it’s a little-known fact that some airlines will charge you a “service” or “administrative” fee as high as $100 for domestic fares or from $200-$300 on international ones, wiping out any savings. United, however, will give you the entire fare difference without extracting a fee, as will JetBlue as long as you accept the reimbursement in the form of a voucher good for future travel. Northwest charges just $25, for both domestic and international fares. American and Delta extract the $100-$300 fees; Southwest gives you cash back without charging a fee. Even on these less generous airlines, however, we’ve heard of plenty of instances where a polite entreaty will get you a full fare difference refund without the penalties, so it’s worth a try.

Good luck. Like I said, I started searching months ago. Saw many back in early November for $250 and was kicking myself for not jumping on them. Now they're all in the $350+ range. Got lucky today, but if you just keep looking, a great fare will pop up. Try looking at Tampa for an alternative. It's an hour away (haven't driven it, based on Google Maps) and fares seemed to be cheaper. Was diligent w/ Tampa before this MCO popped up (kind of gave up on flying into MCO honestly). Good luck.

 

[jessica29]

I find my airfare first .I just use hotwire and call it a day. THey have flexible date search. Then I plan my trip around the airfare. I saved 150.00 per ticket by doing this and deviating from the exact day I wanted to leave.

 

[MinnieVanMom]

Yesterday the cost of my flight went down and with 3 of us flying we saved $377.70.

We are now $200 RT SLC to MCO so it is nearly cross county, try SWA and sign up for Ding.

 

[Virtucomp]

Found this on WikiHow...it says it was last updated on 12/09:

Good luck. Like I said, I started searching months ago. Saw many back in early November for $250 and was kicking myself for not jumping on them. Now they're all in the $350+ range. Got lucky today, but if you just keep looking, a great fare will pop up. Try looking at Tampa for an alternative. It's an hour away (haven't driven it, based on Google Maps) and fares seemed to be cheaper. Was diligent w/ Tampa before this MCO popped up (kind of gave up on flying into MCO honestly). Good luck.

The last time we flew to FL for a WDW trip we went into Tampa instead of MCO because there were better fares. We were already planning on renting a car to visit family while down there so it was not an added cost. If you were not planning on spending the money on a rental you probably won't save the money at Tampa.

The ride from Tampa to WDW was not bad since the highways are straight and usually 75MPH. The only tricky part was driving back into Tampa to get the flight. There is a lot of highways coming together at one point so the traffic gets backed up getting to the airport.

 

[Dowellfam]

I agree that 318 rt is way too high. I have flown twice from Seattle to MCO for 99 one way- and we've just booked the same deal again for April/May trip. KEEP LOOKING! I like using travelocity and SW. In addition- I have to admit that Disney had VERY competitive airfare- just play around with your dates. Seems Tues/Wed departures and arrivals seem to keep the airfare at it's lowest. GOOD LUCK! It's hard work, check and double check EVERY SINGLE DAY! You'll be glad you did!