MSP Fliers--what do you think of this fare?

[Fargoman2]

For my August 2007 trip, I can get $237 non-stop out of MSP on NWA. I'm thinking of jumping on it, since airfares are bound to jump up after the 1st--plus as we know all too well, MSP seldom offers great fares.

Your thoughts? Have you seen any other trend out of MSP?

 

[blanq]

I think $237 is a bit high, and you likely could do better if you wait. You might want to consider AirTran. They always have at least one daily non-stop flight from/to MSP/MCO (HH terminal) and their regular flights for each leg run $109 per leg, or $237.10 round trip with taxes. AirTran is always running a sale, but usually not as far out as you are considering booking, and you will find most one way sale fares from $79 to $99/leg.

Also, Hobbit travel tends to offer great summer fares from MSP to MCO, but you likely aren't going to score great fares until June or later for August.

 

[zulaya]

Take it. That's a good fare. You might be able to get better, but in August, I'm not sure. If you can live with it, take it.

blanq says it's high. Maybe. Sometimes Airtran runs a sale, but it's not always valid for all days of the week. Also, Airtran is notorious for changing flight times A LOT. Sure, they have a non-stop, but it typically doesn't leave until mid-late morning. Are you okay with that? If so, maybe Airtran is for you.

For NWA, non-stop, if the times are right, $237 may be a little high. And by little, I am talking like $10-$20. Is that a goodly amount if you are travelling with a family? Sure. But if you are happy with the times, the non-stop and can live with the fare, I'd just take it. But you are also talking to someone who will take a fare like this and call it good enough rather than driving myself rabid trying to save another $10-$20.

JMHO.

 

[Fargoman2]

I went ahead and booked it. I agree that it's a little early to book and I could play the waiting game for a (slightly) better fare, but I opted to jump on it for the following reasons:

1. Non-stop (haven't had that luxury in recent trips)
2. Great travel times
3. The waiting game is a bit more risky than it used to be. Lots of chatter out there these days about airline mergers (including NWA/American) that will not be good news for the MSP market. That may not impact for 12-18 months, but who knows?



In short, waiting for a better deal is at least a moderate risk with relatively low reward.

Besides $237 sounds like an incredible bargain compared to flying out of FAR for $525! (Do the math times 5!)



Thanks for your counsel!

 

[kirbsam]

you will be glad that you booked it. i have not seen many northwest fares lower than that lately.

 

[SuperDisneyDad]

You made a great decision jumping on that price. As a very frequent NWA traveler, I can tell you that it doesn't get any lower than that, except for the very rare occasion where they happen to open up 1 or 2 seats at a lower rate for a period of about 30 minutes, and you 'happen' to be checking online during those 30 minutes before anyone else grabs it. I've never gotten that lucky. I paid $253 for our trip next month and thought that was a good deal. NWA to anywhere from MSP is always expensive.
Sometimes Airtran or Sun Country are cheaper (although NWA usually matches them during the times they fly), however, with less flights each day, it can cause a problem in case of flight cancellations, or bad weather. With Sun Country, you sometimes have to wait days to get there or back if a flight is cancelled because they only have a few planes.

 

[scoutsmom99]

I would take that in a hearbeat! The best I have gotten on recent trips has been $205 with taxes non-stop on NWA.

 

[Blue Skies]

For my August 2007 trip, I can get $237 non-stop out of MSP on NWA. I'm thinking of jumping on it, since airfares are bound to jump up after the 1st--plus as we know all too well, MSP seldom offers great fares.

Your thoughts? Have you seen any other trend out of MSP?

That's about what we paid for our August 2007 tickets. I had firm dates I wanted to travel...plus I definitely wanted non-stop flights and a wanted certain flight times. I'm glad I bought my tickets...one less thing to worry about.