Need Air Fare advice

[darlaya]

Greetings fellow Disney Lovers

I am beginning to plan our family trip in April. Much to my surprise, airfare is between $250-$450 per person to travel from manchester, NH to Orlando.

Usually, we travel with Southwest.

I am looking for advice on whether to wait patiently and see if airfares will drop between now and April or is this how the airlines are trying to recoup some lost profits. I don't want to disappoint us all, but if I can't book cheaper airfare I am not sure we will be travelling this April. Our travel dates would be 4/22-4/29. Any advice from you is greatly appreciated.

Denise
Gilford, NH

 

[dougsmom98]

Can you play with your dates a bit? If you travel the 2/24-5/1 you can fly US air for $218. It does have one stop though. Have you tried allegiant air? They fly out of Pease Airport in Portsmouth, NH and you have to fly into Sanford/Orlando? They have free parking and good prices. They are having a deal right now that if you purchase a air/hotel package the second person flies free. You have to book bt 1/28 and complete travel by 9/30. Offer not available 2/15-20 or 4/12-24. Good luck.

 

[fran99999]

I have seen Ding fares from SW from NH to MCO a few times. Do you have Ding? I almost took the last one except I would have had to drive over an hour. I live south of boston. Keep watching SW. I think i read some people have gotten credit when SW prices go lower.

 

[mommyintn]

We are in TN and were wanting to fly to Orlando but the rates for airfare didn't seem to be going down so we choose to drive (I know impossible from NH). But one reason rates went up recently was Independence Airline a low fare airline went out of business. I checked airfare the day after they closed for business and some fares were double. Don't lose hope though, I'd just keep checking for promo fares and I'm sure you'll find a good deal or get some great advice here!

 

[Tinkim]

Greetings fellow Disney Lovers

I am beginning to plan our family trip in April. Much to my surprise, airfare is between $250-$450 per person to travel from manchester, NH to Orlando.

Usually, we travel with Southwest.

I am looking for advice on whether to wait patiently and see if airfares will drop between now and April or is this how the airlines are trying to recoup some lost profits. I don't want to disappoint us all, but if I can't book cheaper airfare I am not sure we will be travelling this April. Our travel dates would be 4/22-4/29. Any advice from you is greatly appreciated.

Denise
Gilford, NH

Hi Denise. I'm in NH too! Only about 1/2 hour away from you. We have flown to Orlando several times in the past few years and have taken a different airline each time. I usually start looking for airfare REALLY early though because we usually travel in late Feb/early March and it seems to be at a premium the closer you get. Have you signed up for Travelocity? If you go to their website you can put in the airports you are flying and they will e-mail you with updates. You can set a certain price like if it goes below $200 to e-mail. I usually have pretty good luck with this. I have flown US Air, Southwest, and will be flying Delta this Feb. so it seems no one airline always has the best price. I sometimes have trouble with Southwest because they don't release their schedule until about 2 months ahead of time and I hate waiting that long. Try Travelocity and check the Transportation board here often. Another DISer was responsible for my last ticket purchase. I got Delta tickets for $128 per person R/T. Just keep checking and I think you will be able to snag a better price. If Boston is an option for you they have a lot more flights available and are sometimes less than MHT. Good luck!

 

[AMcaptured]

I hate to say it but it is almost to late to get a good air fare from the Norhteast to Florida for that time period of April. Easter is late this year and I believe many schools in the North are taking their spring breaks then. I know our area is. The best fares were probably to be had about 3 or 4 months ago or shortly after SW made those dates available.

 

[MyGoofy26]

I have never ever been failed by waiting til anywhere from 6-10 weeks before departure date. Around week 8 (give or take, which is why at 10 weeks I start really watching) it seems that fares bottom out in a last ditch effort for airlines to fill up seats. I've been able to match if not beat any fare to any destination that I'd seen at any point.

Using this approach we got RT to Orlando from Pittsburgh in December for $81 nonstop. Last year we got round trip to Rome from Pittsburgh with just one layover (best you can do from PIT) EASTER WEEK (yes, Easter week into Rome) for $390 round trip including all taxes and fees.

Obviously can't make any guarantees. . . but after years of booking my family's trips and a lot of roadtripping with friends. . . this has never failed me. You just have to be diligent. Once you hit that week 10, week 9 and ESPECIALLY week 8 - you need to be checking fares daily, if not a few times a day and jump when you catch a drop.

 

[stacieps]

Hi - another from NH here (Laconia). I've been checking airfares for a few months and ended up booking April vacation week the day SW released their dates (pd about $220). I think $250 might be the best you're going to find for that week. Our return flight (Sun 4/30) appears to be soldout on SW. I had been checking fares from Boston and they were running $225-$250 so I booked SW to at least save the trip to BOS. We're going a couple of days prior to school vaca (Thurs 4/20) and even those flights have sold out of the "cheaper" fares.

Good Luck!

 

[Teacher03]

I have never ever been failed by waiting til anywhere from 6-10 weeks before departure date. Around week 8 (give or take, which is why at 10 weeks I start really watching) it seems that fares bottom out in a last ditch effort for airlines to fill up seats. I've been able to match if not beat any fare to any destination that I'd seen at any point.

Using this approach we got RT to Orlando from Pittsburgh in December for $81 nonstop. Last year we got round trip to Rome from Pittsburgh with just one layover (best you can do from PIT) EASTER WEEK (yes, Easter week into Rome) for $390 round trip including all taxes and fees.

Obviously can't make any guarantees. . . but after years of booking my family's trips and a lot of roadtripping with friends. . . this has never failed me. You just have to be diligent. Once you hit that week 10, week 9 and ESPECIALLY week 8 - you need to be checking fares daily, if not a few times a day and jump when you catch a drop.

I am so glad to hear this! We will be flying out of Pittsburgh in June. We usually do not fly, so I am not sure what to do. My daughter's friend is still up in the air whether she can go or not, so I am not ready to book yet.

 

[darlaya]

Thank you All. This information is very helpful. I am definitely going to sign up for Ding and Delta! Here's hoping I can get a good fare and see you in Disney

Denise

 

[HappyGilmore]

You might want to checkthe rates to fly into Tampa Interantional. It is only about 1 hour drive to Disney World from there. Are you are planning to rent a car (rental car may be cheaper as well)? The airlines tickets may end up costing a bit less. If you were not planning to rent a car the cost of the rental for 2 days (to get to Orlando and back) may run less combined with the TPA airfare that what is would cost you to go to Orlando. You could even check with an airport limo company as that could run cheaper than a rental car but I doubt it. Anyway good luck.

 

[darlaya]

You might want to checkthe rates to fly into Tampa Interantional. It is only about 1 hour drive to Disney World from there. Are you are planning to rent a car (rental car may be cheaper as well)? The airlines tickets may end up costing a bit less. If you were not planning to rent a car the cost of the rental for 2 days (to get to Orlando and back) may run less combined with the TPA airfare that what is would cost you to go to Orlando. You could even check with an airport limo company as that could run cheaper than a rental car but I doubt it. Anyway good luck.

Thanks. I didn't even think about flying into Tampa. I will put this on my list of things to check out. We will be renting a car as we are staying at our timeshare...Liki Tiki. Great advice.

Thank you.
Denise

 

[westjones]

I have never ever been failed by waiting til anywhere from 6-10 weeks before departure date.

I hope this works out. I would be nervous about waiting. This past year it seems like things have changed a lot regarding travel to Florida. For example, there use to be general room discounts at WDW throughout the year (I would watch on Mousesavers for them and book right after they came out). In the past year, they haven't had the general public discounts (I did use the AAA discount, but it wasn't as good as what I had gotten in the past).

Ticket prices at WDW and food prices keep going up more and more.

We bought into DVC a few years ago, and BOY have those point prices gone up! I wouldn't buy at the current rates!

Airfare was NEVER a problem for us in the past, then this year, it was crazy! We finally got decent airfare (not good, but acceptable--but nothing like what we have gotten in the past). But it wasn't looking good for March and we had decided to drive (found our airfare at 5:00 in the morning on a Thursday when I just happen to get up early, three hours later the price was back up).

So I wish you luck! But I don't think this year is the same as past years. It seems like more and more people are deciding to go to Disney, and as demand goes up, price goes up.

DJ

 

[kdtwiss]

I would second that - try a couple things - try Boston instead of Manchester, try Tampa instead of MCO - (last year we saved enough doing this to pay entirely for our rental car plus some) also try flying in late the night before - sometimes a day will make a huge difference in the price. If you fly in late you could get a super cheapo motel for a night (or sleep in the car even) and save $$. Also if you shoot for one day later leaving and leave super early you can just drive to the airport late at night after DTD is closed and snooze a bit in the airport. We did that last time also, not just to save $$, but to suck every last minute out of our Disney vaca!! I would feel nervous waiting too much longer. I would look at the flights that you are interested in and see how many available seats there are. If it is getting tight - I would feel REALLY nervous, if pretty empty less so!
Good luck!

 

[gottaluvdis]

Hi - another from NH here (Laconia). I've been checking airfares for a few months and ended up booking April vacation week the day SW released their dates (pd about $220). I think $250 might be the best you're going to find for that week. Our return flight (Sun 4/30) appears to be soldout on SW. I had been checking fares from Boston and they were running $225-$250 so I booked SW to at least save the trip to BOS. We're going a couple of days prior to school vaca (Thurs 4/20) and even those flights have sold out of the "cheaper" fares.

Good Luck!

I totally agree with the above statement. I'm also from NH and fly MHT-MCO (as well as MHT-TPA) several times a year with at least one of those times during school vacation. Unfortunately there will be no deals to be had during that week in April since most of the state is on break that week. Flights to anywhere in Florida will be pricey, if not sold out completely. I would book immediately and not wait - vacation week will not suddenly open up with seats. I've been on many a return trip from MCO to MHT that have been overbooked and they're begging people to give up seats in MCO (and this is usually on the following Monday). I typically book Monday-Monday to try to avoid most of the common flying days during school break week. We're going for Feb. break and I've been watching the fares since I booked (the day SW released the fares a few months ago for a little over $200 apiece). The fares since have risen to around $350 apiece, and our return flight looks completely sold out. School vacation week is one of those times when you don't want to wait for DING fares or wait to book because the fare will only increase or flights will be sold out. I can't speak for other airlines since we pretty much only fly SW for it's convenience (direct flights) and prices.

 

[Nite0wl71]

We are flying from Chicago during Spring Break which is April 10th-17th. I couldn't find any flights out and the ones I did were $260 and up. We were going to drive then decided to try for Thursday. DD has a half day and is off on Friday, we got flights on ATA for $164 RT.