Likelihood of airfare dropping by April?

[MickeyMonstersMom]

I've been offered the chance to stay in Florida for the week of 4/16-4/24 for free, if I can get there. Unfortunately, airfare is just too high for me to take advantage of the offer. Friends say prices will drop, but I'm not so optimistic. Any rays of sunshine out there??

 

[Mary Anne]

At this point I would doubt it. Is there a way you can play with your dates either the day before or after, that might help.

 

[princesspumpkin]

When i planned my February travel back in August, fares were also high. Someone on here posted that fares tend to drop between 30-60 days before flight. I booked my air, then checked often to see and you guessed it, right around the 60 day mark, my fare dropped. It has dropped twice since I booked so I got money back on my CC. That would be my suggestion - booke now and keep checking. Even though it's April, it's not Easter so there is a chance.

 

[belleandthebeast]

I booked my flights for April even though the rates are high rate now. I really needed to secure the flight times because we're not real flexible. There's still plenty of availability (which determines the price of each ticket) so if anything, the rates SHOULD go down. Here's hoping. I keep checking to get credit for my flights next December.

 

[Ms. Belle]

That timeframe in school vacation in my town in CT. I booked my airfare on Southwest from Providence; Hartford was really expensive. Check JetBlue from JFK. When all else fails, I can usually get a cheap fare from there.

 

[dpratt68]

That time frame is school vacation in Massachusetts too! I paid an arm and a leg last year that week. Good luck

 

[n2mm]

We have been heading to WDW late April/early May for more than 10 years in a row now and there has been Spring Deals EVERY year. I see no reason for it to be any different this year. Yes rates are high, but that's because they are focusing on holiday fares and winter fares. I would start watching after the new year. It's always a gamble on when to buy. We haven't even thought of getting our airfare for our April 30th trip yet. I do check every couple of weeks to see if anything is dropping yet.

 

[MickeyMonstersMom]

Well, I figure at this point the decision will be made for me: find a deal or not go at all. With that in mind, I can afford (literally!) to wait until the last minute if need be. I did find some lower fares out of Binghamton rather than Syracuse, which is heartening. Thanks, everyone, and best wishes for a wonderful Holiday!

 

[Wish Upon A Star]

We booked our April 2005 airfare for 4/14 - 4/23 at the 330 day mark. I had to wait up till 12 midnight right at the 330 day mark for each way in order to get the cheap price . . .Total cost was $276/pp/rt from BDL - MCO. Considering it is April vacation week, I thought that was pretty good.

Keep checking daily as flights do fluctuate alot it seems. Good luck.

 

[pumpkinboy]

Like my Nutmegger friend, Wish upon a Star, I also booked right at 330 days, staying up until midnight. But in the deal I managed to get two frequent flyer flights for 4/15-4/23, tho I ended up paying full freight for the other two (plus I snagged a FF flight and one discounted flight out of Portland ME for my folks to join us 4/16-4/21).

The problem is that all of us folks in ME, MA, VT much of CT and Upstate NY have that timeframe off for school break. So if you're looking for those exact dates out of Syracuse or Rochester, you can be pretty certain that a goodly number of your children's schoolmates' parents are too. So we have supply that is the same as the previous week, but greatly increased demand. The airlines know this, so they're not gonna discount these flights until they absolutely have to. But that's just good business; tough on our wallets but they have to if they want to stay in business.

Another option might be to drive, I suppose (not an attractive option, but an option nonetheless).

 

[curlyjbs]

If your dates a "little" flexible try Delta - the fare is $123/person.

Good Luck!


curly

 

[pumpkinboy]

I am assuming that the OP's location of "Central NY" would mean that the most convenient airport would be Syracuse. Is that correct? If so, then the best I am getting with a "little" flexibility (SYR-MCO, 1 connection, 1 day before or after target dates) would put the price at about $230 r-t on Delta (about the same on Northwest, but goes via DTW); this itinerary has you flying out on the Sunday and back the following Monday - so missing one day of school (flying back any earlier is $100 more per person). If you can miss two school days, then the afternoon of the 14th also gets you a good fare (~$250 r-t).

Another possibility would be driving to someplace where it's not school vacation that week (PA, NJ, OH, or even Buffalo) then flying from there. Plugging in the specific dates into Orbitz, and selecting airports within 70 miles of MCO (which does not include Tampa, all of 72 miles from MCO), there seem to be decent one-hop fares out (in the $275 range r-t) of Buffalo into Daytona and Melbourne, neither of which is that far away.

Moral of the story, do some research, throw in a little flexibility and you should be able to do it at something approaching affordable (esp since you have a free place to stay).

 

[MickeyMonstersMom]

Yes, I live right between Binghamton and Syracuse. I'm also a teacher, in a district whose contract forbids us from taking off any days surrounding a vacation. I do get jealous when parents inform me about extending school vacations with their children, but I try to remind myself that the summer break makes up for it.

I'm the only driver, so driving down and back would eat up too much of our time. I did find a $256 R/T fare out of Binghamton with US Air that works with our dates - probably the best offer out there. I am *thisclose* to booking and just need to run it by another family member on Christmas Day. Hopefully we'll be able to get that price, if not better, then.

Again, thank you all so much for your input and support!

 

[MickeyMonstersMom]

Hehe, responding to myself here. In case it helps others in the area, I found a $233 pp r/t out of Binghamton with Northwest, so we're heading to Florida! It occurred to me that the free lodging really offsets the cost of the airfare anyway, and the ticket price I went with represents $150 less pp than I had originally found out of Syracuse. Special thanks to those who suggested Binghamton - I flew out of there about 20 years ago, but had forgotten about that airport. Ahhh, this will give me something happy to focus on while shoveling over the next few months.

 

[pumpkinboy]

Congrats! I am glad you were able to make it work with your tight schedule. I can sympathize as my DB is a high school art teacher in Maine and we can never manage to get him to come with us during those cheaper, off-peak times (maybe get him next February, buying airfare cheap at 331 days).
I also think that NWA will be a more likely choice than USAir, more likely to actually fly that is, as NWA is not currently under bankruptcy protection and threatening to evaporate the way USAir is.
I enjoy flying into and out of smaller airports (I am particularly fond of Portland Maine and Albuquerque, tho these are both likely much larger than Binghampton).
And you are right that free lodging does offset the vacation week plane fares somewhat, tho I would think you would want to bring nice presents to your hosts and treat them to some nice restaurant meals, which may eat up some of the savings.

Well done! Enjoy your trip!

(and if you make it to WDW, and see redheaded 7 yr old boy - the real pumpkinboy - in a fancy racing wheelchair, that'll be us)