I Wouldn't Wait If I Were You .......

[MERVXTC]

TO GET YOUR AIRPLANE TICKETS NOW.

I JUST GOT MY TICKETS TODAY. WE ARE GOING AUG. 23-30, 2002. THERE'S 5 OF US. I PAID 176.50 ROUNDTRIP. LEAVING OUT OF PHILA.

AND, I HAD TO FIGHT FOR THIS RATE.

THEY DIDN'T HAVE MANY SEATS LEFT AT THE LOWER FARE. THEY DIDN'T HAVE THE DEPARTURE TIME NOR THE RETURN TIME THAT WE WANTED.

SHE WAS GIVING ME A PRICE OF 198.50 ROUNDTRIP. I TOLD HER THAT'S TOO MUCH AND I'M NOT PAYING 200 ROUNDTRIP FOR ORLANDO. i GO TO FLORIDA EVERY YEAR AND HAVE NEVER PAID OVER 175.00 I WAS THERE FOR 1 1/2 HRS.GOING BACK AND FORTH WITH THIS WOMAN. (BY THE WAY I HAD WENT ON THE USAIR WEBSITE AND PRICED THE FLIGHT ALREADY THE PREVIOUS NITE)

I WENT TO THE LOCAL US AIR OFFICE IN PHILADELPHIA. I ASKED HER WHO CAN SHE CALL TO GET ME THE RATE I WANT,SHE MADE A PHONE CALL TO INVENTORY, SHE CALLED IT.

AND GUESS WHAT. THEY GOT ME ON THE DEPARTURE FLIGHT I WANTED THE RETURN I WANTED AND THE PRICE I WANTED.

I KNOW A LOT OF US WAIT TO THE LAST MINUTE TO GET TICKETS, HOPING PRICES IS GOING TO GO DOWN. I ADVISE THIS ONLY IF YOU DON'T MIND LATE NITE DEPARTURES AND EARLY MORNING RETURNS. BECAUSE THAT'S ALL THEY'LL HAVE LEFT AT THE DISCOUNT RATES.

 

[GAIL HAYDEN]

You were very lucky to get an internet fare via a reservations agent. Usually the fare you see on the net is for the net only. Also, very lucky to find one who really cared about the fact that you go every year. Most don't care. Not their monkey.

 

[DolphinBound]

We are leaving out Phila on May 6 (non-stop, direct flight). Got our tickets for $1,000 (4 of us) back in January...I was just checking the site the other day, and the same exact flight numbers are now totaling $5,100 for 4 people. I'm so glad we got the tickets when we did. I can't imagine how the price could increase THAT much! This is US Airways, by the way.

Clarification: By "site", I meant US Airways - not the DIS Boards.

 

[dtuleya]

I bought my tickets about three weeks ago on USAir and I'm glad I did because the price just keeps going up and up. The four of us (me, DH, DS 14 & DS 9) will be going from BWI to MCO from 11/22-29 (day after Thanksgiving) for $800. I know some have gotten cheaper seats, but I got the exact flight times I wanted (leave BWI at 6:00 AM and depart MCO at 4:35 PM). This way we get to enjoy our arriving and departing days at WDW! I noticed when booking my seats that some of the connecting flights were really filling up, so that made me more sure of my choice to book early rather than wait for fares to go down.

PS - I found the best rate for my flight on Expedia.com.....USAir's web site wanted $50 more per person....go figure.

 

[MERVXTC]

THIS IS SO TRUE, THAT'S WHY I WANTED TO TELL PEOPLE NOT TO WAIT TILL THE LAST MINUTE TO GET YOUR PLANE TICKETS.

AND YES I WAS LUCKY TO GET THE SAME RATE I SAW ON THE INTERNET. THE US AIR PERSON TOLD ME SHE DIDN'T HAVE THAT RATE.

BUT, I BEAT THIS WOMAN DOWN.

I JUST REFUSED TO PAY 200 DOLLARS P/P ROUNDTRIP TO GO TO FLORIDA. NOT FROM PHILA. ANYWAY.

GOOD LUCK ALL

 

[GAIL HAYDEN]

I hope you are happy that "you beat this woman down". That type of bravado is what makes people leave public service/retail.
But, I am glad that you bullied her into having to break the rules just for you. What a guy you are.

 

[mickey2001]

Phila - MCO for June/July RT at $164.50 each! includes tax.
I do like the USAIR online web site. When I wasn't happy with the shown fare I was given an option of searching for the lowest price. A map of June and July was shown to me with the days in green that were offered at the lowest fare. I added 2 days onto my stay and magic! There was the lower fare! Look for this option next time.

 

[helenk]

I just got my tickets for our trip in December $164.50 round trip from Phila, I got the times I wanted, arrive in Orlando at 10:43am so there is a full day for us in WDW and leaving at 6:05pm, this gives us a few hours in the park before we have to leave.
I was thrilled with this price since it is the week before christmas I was afraid the cost would be high. Last year I paid 236.00 per ticket!

 

[Rock'n Robin]

I paid $197 for our July tickets. Last week they were $213, today they are $466! I noticed when I checked last week that there were only 4 seats left on the Covington-Orlando leg of the trip! (We are going Toledo-Covington-Orlando).
Robin M.

 

[puffkin]

We are flying June 1st on USAir and paid $317 (including tax) for the two of us. We like to fly out very early and return very late (depart at 6:10 am and return at 9:15 pm). We took a chance and bought our tickets in February. I am so glad we did. I just priced this flight and other similar flights out of Philly and they would now cost us $488 total. Sometimes, it is worth it to take a chance and pay a few extra dollars for the times and dates you want. In this case the gamble paid off for us.

Now that I type this, watch the fares come down dramatically in the next few days

 

[MommaluvsDis]

Bought my tix 2 months ago. Paid $652.50 round trip from Alex, LA to Orlando for the 3 of us. NOW, the same tix are $1245.!!! Why the huge increase? It's still about 30 days before we leave.

 

[ctgirlluvsmickey]

I bought tickets from Delta online for 184.00 for october and they are now up to 231.00..when I bought the tickets, I was gonna wait but I'm so glad I didn't.

 

[QuickGold]

I'm not sure if anyone else has noticed, but Spirit Air's prices drop a bit in the final 2 weeks before the trip. When theres less than a week(like 4 days or less) then the prices go up, but only by $10 or so.

 

[safetymom]

Gayle, I agree with you. That is not the way you get what you want from the airlines. They bent the rules for this poster. I have the feeling if the rules were bent for the person in line in front of this poster they would have complained. The poster should be thrilled, not have the beat down attitude!

Airline tickets vary in price. That is just how they all operate. I don't think that an airline cares if you went 1 time or 100 times unless you are preferred frequent flyer with them and maybe then they might want to help out.

A note to the Poster: Typing in caps is considered SHOUTING. So please use your shift key and not type in all caps. Thank you.

 

[ncligs]

We bought our seats for Presidents week(Feb 14-19 2003). We have US AIR, direct, non-stop ,Pittsburgh to Orlando with great times (leaving pittsburgh at 9:30 am on Friday) and returning to Pittsburgh at 2:30 pm. We paid $250 each ticket, that isn't to bad for a holiday weekend and non-stop flights. Had been checking for 2 months and the lowest from Pittsburgh was $350 before I jumped on the $250 fare. For us, i don't think the prices would have gone much lower, especially for non- stop.

P.S. These were booked on US AIR website

 

[Talky_Tina]

Hi! Some of you mentioned you booked departing flights for later in the day.
I like that idea. I am wondering what you are doing with your luggage in the
meantime. Will the hotel store it for you? Thanks!

 

[puffkin]

Talky_Tina-

We love leaving late in the day and enjoying one last day of the magic. When we check out, we just take our luggage to the luggage storage area and they hold it for us all day. We pick it up before when we get back from the parks. By arriving early and leaving late, we add two extra days to our touring.

 

[Gillian]

In case anyone is wondering how to find the best fares on USAir, choose "my dates are FLEXIBLE" on their website & they will give you a list of the available fares for your route. You can pick the one that matches your dates & then it will show you when the fares are available. Sometimes it's just one leg or time that prevents you from getting the best deal. Even if you can't change things, at least you know WHY you aren't getting the best price.

As far as the original poster's advice of booking ASAP, it can depend on when you fly. We usually travel in september & there has always been a Fall fare sale sometime over the summer. I've purchased tickets in the Spring & watched fares go down several times before september. Now I wait a while. And in between sales the fares are quite a bit higher so it depends on when you hit it.

Something to keep in mind is that US Air will give you a voucher for future travel if your rate goes down. If you call & you can get a cheaper seat on your current flights they will usually refund you the difference as a voucher. You can apply the vocuher to travel on us air within a year (I think). It can't hurt to ask (nicely) for one, even if you're not sure you'll use it. You never know!

 

[4nana]

Thanx for that encouraging info Gillian...
We have a group of 16 flying BWI/MCO week before Xmas and I am
a little concerned. The prices seem to be going up, up, up and when
I call the different airlines to ck prices for a group, they act like the prices
will not come down before then and like the planes are already full and
it's only May. Is this possible 7 mos out ????

 

[Gillian]

4nana, that is a holiday time, so it is possible that the flights are getting full. Maybe you could post asking people from your area what to expect for that time of year. People may suggest that you buy tickets now & ask for vouchers if the prices go down.

BWI has southwest, right? They don't fly from NJ, so I don't know how they work exactly, but that might be your best route. People on the DIS know how to get good fare from them (on their website?). It looks like they are only booking through oct 25 for now.

Just keep an eye on the prices. Check the websites, sign up for the notification services (Travelocity's farewatcher) & if you see the prices go down, book it! Good luck!