Is there any hope???

[bumbershoot]

Are you using kayak.com? They show all airlines except for SW, and it's a quick way to check things out.

Also, I don't know if airlines other than SW do this, but I know with SW if they have 3 seats at a lower fare but you put in 4 people, yoiu won't get that lower fare offered to you. So try for a lower number, b/c even if you got half of the fares at a lower rate, the total is lower, and that's better than it being higher. (I'm master of the obvious, LOL)

 

[buzz5985]

OP - there's a lot of information, here...to break it down as simply as possible:

• Forget Logan (BOS), instead, focus on the smaller airports in your region such as Manchester, NH, Providence, RI, and Hartford, CT.
  
• Be flexible - Tampa is a good alternate (and a heckuva lot less congested than the mammoth MCO).
  
• Forget the "legacy" carriers (AA, Delta, etc.) and stick with Southwest.
  
• Speaking of Southwest, if you haven't downloaded "Ding!" yet, you may want to do so ASAP (for deeply-discounted, unpublished fares).

I'm at WDW now and I flew Delta down. I made my reservations little over a month ago and paid $185 round trip. 7 am flight direct flight down. and I have a 11 am direct flight home. Last November I flew AirTran out of Logan for $165 round trip. So you can't just forget the "legacy" airlines.

Southwest for the same flights would have cost $119 each way, plus fees. I used carryons with Air Tran and Delta so didn't pay any baggage fees.

 

[goofy4tink]

Right now you can book SWA from PVD to MCO 6/26-7/8 non-stop each way (3:40pm going down, 8:25pm coming back) for $312.40 for the first 4 people (rates go up when entering 5, so the 5th would be priced higher than the 4).

You can also get the $312.40 for 6/27-7/8 (5:15pm going down, 8:25pm coming back).

Not cheap, but better than the $400 you said you were seeing.

Excellent advice about looking for two separate reservations. Sometimes you can get part of the group airfare for a cheaper rate but then have to pay a higher rate for the rest of the group..there are only so many seats available at each fare.

 

[emmabelle]

Did you check out Spirit Airlines out of Logan? I just got an email from them saying to use code 24OFF for additional savings, it's worth looking at. I've never flown them, so I don't know much about them.

 

[shelby2001]

Jet Blue has a flight on 6/26 leaving at 6:15 in the morning w/1 stop in Washington and then flight home on 7/8 direct leaving at 3:50 for $250 per person and 1st checked bag is free you might want to check them out. Hope it helps.
Shelby