May 2007 airfare creeping up in price. When to buy?

[Nik's Mom]

Hi,
I've been watching May 07 fares and they just went up by $10. Doesn't sound like much, but that's $40 for our family. Should we buy now, or hope prices will drop? We have special needs children so can't do connecting flights like SW. Coming out of LAX, it looks like our choices are just AA, Delta, United, and that's it. What should we do? Buy, or hold out.

Edited to add that we can also fly out of Burbank and take a non-stop on Jet Blue, but I know nothing about them.

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

I really don't understand people buying airline tickets nearly a year in advance. Who knows what's going to happen between now and then? And people buying so far in advance just have problems - look at all the complaints here about flight changes!

Sit back and wait until at least early 2007. You won't get the prices for airlines such as Jet Blue (which would be an excellent choice) for next May for a long, long time.

We have special needs children so can't do connecting flights like SW.

FYI - Just because a plane is not non-stop, does not mean that you will have to switch planes at stops.

 

[Nik's Mom]

Yes, I know that you don't always have to change planes. But with 2 special needs children (one of which is autistic) we want the quickest flight possible. That would be a non-stop for us.

I think I will wait to see what Jet Blue has to offer. Hopefully the fares don't sky-rocket. That would put a damper on our budget.

 

[1000th happy haunt]

I have friends who love flying JetBlue. Their planes have DirecTV piped in.

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

Just wait. There is no reason to buy a ticket for a May 2007 flight in July 2006, unless you got an exceptionally good deal. Or you are using frequent flyer miles to travel to a popular destination.

 

[canwegosoon]

at 330days out I get FF miles flights, and start watching other flights. I would do Jet Blue since they have the lowest cost to change tickets - if a sale comes up, or you have to change plans. I would go back through the posts and see when JB had a May sale...good luck.
Having said that...my best price tickets ever were at the 10 month mark.

 

[pppiglet]

Hi Niksmom! We bought ours already for May 2007. We also wanted non-stop and there are not a whole lot available at decent times, so took a chance a got them. We are going Delta out of LAX and AA on the way back. I know they can change, but I'm not going to stress for a whole year about changes and prices. I'm happy with what I got. $397 RT each. Was hoping for a lower price, but most people I've talked to seem to think the prices are just going to keep going up!

 

[Nik's Mom]

I saw the price of $397, then $402, and now it's $410. Just keeps creeping up. I read that Jet Blue has tv's in the back of the seats and my autistic ds would be pretty calm if he has his own t.v., so I may hold out for Jet Blue fares to come out.

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

I read that Jet Blue has tv's in the back of the seats and my autistic ds would be pretty calm if he has his own t.v.

You might want to just buy him a portable dvd player. You can get ones which are pretty inexpensive. The picture won't be that great, but a child probably won't care.

Also, I have flown JetBlue a number of times when the tvs weren't working and they sometimes lose the DirectTv signal. That might be upsetting to an autistic child.