JetBlue r/t fare nearly $100 more than it was 12 days ago!

[Miffy]

Wow. I waited to book my December flights and now it looks like I shouldn't have since I checked yesterday and the r/t fare was almost $100 more than it was when I checked on June 12th.

Is there any hope the fare will go down? I mean, December. And not Christmas.

I put an alert on Google Flights, but I'm getting nervous, especially since the current fare is not just $100 more than it was 12 days ago, it's more than I usually pay for this route (SYR-MCO).

Anyone who has some insight, I'd appreciate it! Thanks.

 

[EACarlson]

It is not unusual for flight prices to go up on the weekends. If it doesn't come back down by tomorrow, then I'd say you waited too long. JB isn't as bad about this as Delta or United where I would watch it change every Friday afternoon and come back down on Monday.

 

[tinkerhon]

Check between tmw (tues nite) and Weds… that’s when fares are normally amended — my flt was $149, and I waited it out and ended up getting same flight for $59

 

[Miffy]

Thanks, @EACarlson and @tinkerhon!
I just looked at the calendar and saw that the last time I checked the fares it was a Wednesday. Now I'll be checking every day and will report back with the final results.
Weirdly, the EMS seats were $10 less than they were 12 days ago, but that hardly made up for the difference in fares.

 

[0FF TO NEVERLAND]

December prices are usually cheaper late July into August. Too early to book those IMO

I also had a flight booked for a flight a few months away, that dropped by 1/2 yesterday. Canceled and rebooked

I also usually book with points since anytime it drops, I can just cancel and rebook without being stuck in a travel credit account

 

[Miffy]

December prices are usually cheaper late July into August. Too early to book those IMO

I also had a flight booked for a flight a few months away, that dropped by 1/2 yesterday. Canceled and rebooked

I also usually book with points since anytime it drops, I can just cancel and rebook without being stuck in a travel credit account

Unfortunately, I don't have enough points for this flight, so I can't do that, but I don't really mind the travel bank--usually--since it's good for the next MCO trip.

Do you know why the prices are higher now than they might be in a month? Or this just one of those inexplicable airline things?

 

[0FF TO NEVERLAND]

Unfortunately, I don't have enough points for this flight, so I can't do that, but I don't really mind the travel bank--usually--since it's good for the next MCO trip.

Do you know why the prices are higher now than they might be in a month? Or this just one of those inexplicable airline things?

Probably cause a lot of people just don't book flights that far out for domestic flights unless during holiday. If you click the seat chart, and see most seats are not booked yet, that would be a reason why it hasn't dropped. 4 months is usually the sweet spot.

 

[Miffy]

Probably cause a lot of people just don't book flights that far out for domestic flights unless during holiday. If you click the seat chart, and see most seats are not booked yet, that would be a reason why it hasn't dropped. 4 months is usually the sweet spot.

That is so so helpful, @0FF TO NEVERLAND!
And, yes, there are many empty seats on both flights.

 

[reddog21]

I was looking at SW fare's about a month ago for August and business class went from 300 per ticket to almost 700 a ticket over night. It has since come back down but not at the $300 it started at.

 

[EACarlson]

Do you know why the prices are higher now than they might be in a month? Or this just one of those inexplicable airline things?

As a general rule, the further out people book their flights the less price sensitive they are going to be. If you have something you have to be at, you're not going to take the risk of the flight being sold out. Up until about two weeks before the flight, then prices usually just go up as it's not people that can change their dates or where they need to be, business travelers. There are a number of algorithms that determine what the price is going to be at any given time. If they see strong demand early, they are going to keep the prices high to see if they can get more money for those seats, if no one is buying, then prices will come down to entice travelers. If you don't care about where on the plane you sit, you may want to wait and see if the price goes down. The downside of that is that you may end up paying more for a middle seat than you could have. My advice is always to purchase as soon as you see a price that you are comfortable with.

 

[Miffy]

As a general rule, the further out people book their flights the less price sensitive they are going to be. If you have something you have to be at, you're not going to take the risk of the flight being sold out. Up until about two weeks before the flight, then prices usually just go up as it's not people that can change their dates or where they need to be, business travelers. There are a number of algorithms that determine what the price is going to be at any given time. If they see strong demand early, they are going to keep the prices high to see if they can get more money for those seats, if no one is buying, then prices will come down to entice travelers. If you don't care about where on the plane you sit, you may want to wait and see if the price goes down. The downside of that is that you may end up paying more for a middle seat than you could have. My advice is always to purchase as soon as you see a price that you are comfortable with.

That's exactly what I intend to do. When the price goes back down--or close to it--to what I saw a couple of weeks ago, I'm going to book. If it goes down again, and it's significant, then I'll cancel and rebook. I'm going to book two one-way fares instead of a round trip, which should also give me more flexibility if I want to do watch for future price drops.

And thanks so much for all your good info, @EACarlson. Much appreciated.

 

[_19disnA]

There are only a limited number of the lowest prices seats on any airplane. Once those are sold, the fare jumps to the next higher category. Price competition among airlines also makes a difference. If your airport has limited service and you are flying to a popular destination, there is less incentive for any airline to offer lower priced fares. MCO is probably one of the more popular destinations year-round due to Disney/Universal and Florida in general having warmer weather then locations up north.

 

[Miffy]

BTW, the price on one of the flights has already come down a little from what it was over the weekend.

 

[EACarlson]

There are only a limited number of the lowest prices seats on any airplane. Once those are sold, the fare jumps to the next higher category. Price competition among airlines also makes a difference. If your airport has limited service and you are flying to a popular destination, there is less incentive for any airline to offer lower priced fares. MCO is probably one of the more popular destinations year-round due to Disney/Universal and Florida in general having warmer weather then locations up north.

That's the way it used to work before computers and real time data. Now the airlines can manipulate how many tickets are in each bucket at any time. We see this all the time with SW, sometimes flights will release without any WGA fares, but a few days later some will show up. The airline has to file their fare rules and prices with the DOT, but they don't have to have any tickets available in all of the fare buckets.

 

[Miffy]

Wednesday (6/26/24) report:

The inbound fare has decreased, although not to where it was on 6/12. But I could book it with points, since I have enough to cover this leg of the trip, but I cannot decide what to do about the outbound flight, since it remains $55 higher than it was on 6/12.

I do not like being indecisive! I will post back when I've finally purchased this . . . so I can forget about it!

 

[Miffy]

December prices are usually cheaper late July into August. Too early to book those IMO

I also had a flight booked for a flight a few months away, that dropped by 1/2 yesterday. Canceled and rebooked

I also usually book with points since anytime it drops, I can just cancel and rebook without being stuck in a travel credit account

@0FF TO NEVERLAND: I'm thinking of booking the inbound flight with points--I just saw that I have enough--but if I purchase an EMS seat as well and end up canceling and rebooking if the price drops, will the EMS seat charges end up in the travel bank? And, if so, can I just turn around and use this money when I rebook?

 

[kylenne]

@0FF TO NEVERLAND: I'm thinking of booking the inbound flight with points--I just saw that I have enough--but if I purchase an EMS seat as well and end up canceling and rebooking if the price drops, will the EMS seat charges end up in the travel bank? And, if so, can I just turn around and use this money when I rebook?

Yep, EMS fees always go back to your travel bank when you cancel. Travel bank funds can't be used to purchase extras, just put towards flights.

 

[Miffy]

Yep, EMS fees always go back to your travel bank when you cancel. Travel bank funds can't be used to purchase extras, just put towards flights.

OK. That's good to know. Thanks, @kylenne!

I've decided to wait and see. I've got the Google Flights page up and am checking it every day. And trying not to kick myself for not booking it on the 12th or 13th, when the fare was the lowest.

 

[WannaGoDW]

I believe the Even More Space charges do not go into your travel bank. They amount is returned to the original form of payment.

 

[focusondisney]

I believe the Even More Space charges do not go into your travel bank. They amount is returned to the original form of payment.

This is correct. Seat & luggage fees are refundable to form of payment.