I'm so confused!

[Aiko]

Hi everyone! I'm in the process of planning our first Disney trip for April 26-May 3 2008. I've already booked one of the family suites at ASMu so I at least know where we are staying.
My problem now is with getting to Disney. We were originally planning on driving my DH now says he'd rather fly to save time and just so we're well rested when we get there.
Now I have no idea of when to book our flights. We would most likely be using either SW or AirTran flying out of Baltimore. I am a complete novice at booking air travel. It's been over 20 years since I've flown so I have no idea of what to do.
What tips do you have to give me?? I do have SW's DING program on my computer so I'll watch that. But should I book flights as soon as they come out or wait until the airlines start advertising lower prices???
I am just so confused I have no idea what to do!!
HELP!!!

 

[Jestocost]

Unfortunately, there's no perfect answer to your dilemma; one that is shared by travellers both experience and not.

The "legacy" carriers--American, USAir, Delta, United, etc.--already have schedules and fares posted for the dates you're travelling. SW won't have anything available until much later in the year. (That means no DINGS for at least 4-5 months and probably longer, so don't get discouraged about that.) I'm not really sure how far out AirTran releases dates.

I always suggest that you go to a site like Expedia or Travelocity that will show you the fares available on multiple airlines (all of the big carriers, plus AirTran and a few others). That gives you a baseline for comparison purposes. Don't book your airfare through one of those sites, however, as they charge a ticketing fee above and beyond what the airlines will charge.

Then, you just have to keep abreast of any sales or when SW or someone releases their dates and fares. It's pretty much a game of chicken from this point on. Fares frequently go down starting about five months ahead of time, but they may not. There's never a guarantee. Know what typical fares are, then use your judgment to determine if a given sale or new offering is a good deal. The less flexible you are as far as schedules, number of stops and other factors go, the fewer your options are too. If you have to go on an exact date at an exact time, you may need to weigh any potential cost savings against the potential that your dates and times might get sold out or not go on sale.

It's also worthwhile to understand the cancellation and rebooking policies of the various airlines. Some charge you a fee that makes it unprofitable for you to rebook unless fares go WAY down. Others, like SWA, don't charge a fee, so you can recognize smaller savings, but you may wind up with credits for future flights vs. cash in your pocket.

Good luck!

 

[bekkiz]

A couple of ways to get started is to look at a couple flights 4 months and 6 months out from now, to start to get a handle on prices.

4 and 6 months can give a pretty good snapshot at the average prices for the particular routes your looking for. (so I guess that would be flights in October and January). Of course, if it's a holiday time or something, that can shift prices up a lot too.

www.kayak.com and www.sidestep.com are good places to start.

Once you get a handle on sort of the average price of that particualr route, then you can start paying more attention to you specific dates. For example, if you look for your dates, and it's less that the "average" you came up with, it might be a good indicator to buy. But it also gives you a benchmark to look for over the next 9 months.

I like southwest for a huge reason--it is SO easy to make changes, esp. if the price drops. All the other airlines get really annoying if you want to make changes. However, Southwest takes a while to release their dates, so it's easy to get anxious. Also, their prices/times/routes aren't always as good as other airlines (but I suppose you could say that about anything!)

Also, www.farecast.com is a great site for tracking how prices are changing.

Good luck and let us know if you want any more help

 

[Aiko]

Thank you for the information. So if I wait until a couple months before our trip I shouldn't have any problems getting a flight?

Like I said this is all new to me, the last time I flew was 20 years ago. That trip was just a short one to visit a friend in NC and was pretty easy to plan.

This trip is different because it's for myself, DH, and our 2 DS 9 and 2. My husband pretty much left all the planning up to me and it's pretty overwhelming.

 

[JanB]

Thank you for the information. So if I wait until a couple months before our trip I shouldn't have any problems getting a flight?

Like I said this is all new to me, the last time I flew was 20 years ago. That trip was just a short one to visit a friend in NC and was pretty easy to plan.

This trip is different because it's for myself, DH, and our 2 DS 9 and 2. My husband pretty much left all the planning up to me and it's pretty overwhelming.

Actually, if you book flights TOO far in advance, then that can turn into a source of frustration for you. You may notice on these boards that people sometimes express frustration with the airline changing their flight times or even cancelling the flight and putting them on a different flight. That obviously can be frustrating when you have spent so much time studying the departure and arrival dates and times -- and then you select your flights and think that's that. But the very nature of the airline business is that there will be some "adjusting" of flight schedules as time goes by -- as they gauge the demand for certain flights -- as other flights are added or deleted from the overall schedule at a certain airport. Those carriers are doing nothing wrong by making those adjustments over time. That's just the way the business has to work. (Now, whether they communicate the changes to their customers in the way that you would like -- that's a topic for another thread.)

If you are really, really nervous about waiting to book -- If you feel the need to book now simply to make sure that you have SOMETHING -- Then you can go ahead and do so. But you need to be prepared to go with the flow if and when your flight times are adjusted. And know that you probably will not get the best price by booking really early -- you might miss out on possible air fare sales that are announced later on. Different airlines might allow you to modify your reservation to get the sale fare, but all do not.

BEKKIS has given you some great advice about beginning to get a feel for what is available to you and what sort of airfares you might expect. You really do have some time before you need to purchase.

 

[Aiko]

Thank you so much! I was afraid I'd have to book this far ahead of time to make sure we get our dates but I didn't want to. Now I know I can relax a little and just keep an eye on things.

 

[WillCAD]

I fly out of BWI when I go to WDW too; I live in Cockeysville MD, so wave as you pass Padonia Road on your way down I-83!

For the last 5 years, I have been flyning nothing but Southwest, for the following reasons:

1) Only SWA and AirTran have non-stops to MCO, so I refuse to even look at any other carriers
2) SWA has twice as many flights to MCO as AirTran
3) AirTran is always within a buck or two of SWA's price, but AirTran charges change fees and SWA doesn't

Now, as to when to book - SWA only releases their flight schedule about 4 months in advance. It will not hurt to book the flights as soon as the schedule is posted! However, I usually wait a while longer, and the price comes down a bit. But SWA doesn't post a huge price at first then drop dramatically later; most of the time, my flights will drop by no more than $40 from the original price to the lowest price offered.

Ding can sometimes give you even better fares ($20-$30 lower, I think) than are posted on SWA's web site, but I don't have Ding installed on my PCs so I just go with the fares on the web site.

Tips for flying SWA out of Baltimore:

1) Early morning and late night flights are less crowded. These can be difficult for you since you have nearly a two-hour drive to get to the airport, but if you can manage it you will be a litle more comfy.
2) Flying mid-week is less crowded, and usually a bit cheaper, so if you can schedule your flights Tue-Thu instead of on the weekend, do it.
3) Check in at the 24-hour mark for both flights to get those A-group boarding passes.
4) Remember to allow extra time for parking in the long-term lot and catching a shuttle-bus to the terminal; it can take as much as 30 minutes from the time you lock your car till the time you get to the terminal.

As your trip draws near, come back on the boards here for the latest tips on easing the way through airport security, what's not allowed on planes, and car rental tips at MCO.

 

[CindeBella]

Hi everyone! I'm in the process of planning our first Disney trip for April 26-May 3 2008. I've already booked one of the family suites at ASMu so I at least know where we are staying.
My problem now is with getting to Disney. We were originally planning on driving my DH now says he'd rather fly to save time and just so we're well rested when we get there.
Now I have no idea of when to book our flights. We would most likely be using either SW or AirTran flying out of Baltimore. I am a complete novice at booking air travel. It's been over 20 years since I've flown so I have no idea of what to do.
What tips do you have to give me?? I do have SW's DING program on my computer so I'll watch that. But should I book flights as soon as they come out or wait until the airlines start advertising lower prices???
I am just so confused I have no idea what to do!!
HELP!!!

I booked our flights via SW for December as soon as they came out. I was told to purchase them right away as they sell out quickly since that is the busiest time of the year. Within a week they were lower and I save over $300 by rebooking them. The $300+ was added to my account for future use. I booked DH and I a trip for F&W Festival with the $$.

IMO, know what the lowest fare you see from your city to MCO. Once you have an idea you can wait for that fare. It's been a few weeks and the same flights are still available so there was no hurry. We fly out on the earliest flight and arrive on the latest flight which usually sells out before the others.