October fliers - need your input on airline tix

[zulaya]

My friend just called me and wants to do the Fairytale Package Oct 11-18. She would fly out of MSP. I just checked fares and don't have a clue if this is good for this time of year or not. $250 is cheapest on Midwest Airlines (used to be Midwest Express I believe) but the non-stops are...surprise surprise...way higher. NWA is $414 and Sun Country is $366.

Oddly enough for those dates Air Tran has a non-stop flight on Sat to MCO. For her dates it's $291.

Anyone know what type of price we should be looking for? Have October fare sales been and gone? Or will July bring some lower fares, do you think?

Thanks for any help you can give!

 

[safetymom]

It's hard to say. I would keep watching the prices on several of the sites. When it gets to a price you can live with book the tickets. Check to see if the place you buy will cover the difference if the price goes down with vouchers.

 

[DianeV]

We are going around then from Detroit and I was able to get $131 roundtrip on Delta a while back..it was practically a one day sale.

I would set up with the Travelocity fare watcher as they seem to be pretty good and thats how I found mine.

I think those fares seem high

 

[zulaya]

Yeah, I got in on that same Delta deal for $131 out of MSP. They had that in March AND in May, so maybe if the pattern holds true, July might see a Delta sale if I keep a close eye on it.

 

[hercamore]

My fare watcher from Travelocity quoted $22l to MCO on Sun Country thru Jan. 4. This email came this aft.

herc.

 

[zulaya]

Yeah, that came for me, too , but when I plugged everything in it came up as over $360. Who knows what happens there.

 

[hercamore]

Oct. ll-l8 is sold out.

Oct l0-l7 I'm seeing $234. fee inc. Are their dates flexible?


herc.

 

[sln88]

I got Midwest 10/24-11/3 for 163(all included) out of Milw- direct. But, we had to leave on a fri night and return on a sat or mon morn to get the lower fare.
I checked travelocity daily until I found what I wanted.
keep checking airtran too- their fares go up and down
I think tues/wed is the best day to check for fares, and tehy go up on the weekend.

 

[zulaya]

Don't know that dates are flexible. They are trying to go the week of MEA so the kids only miss 2 days of school.

I'll tell her to keep watch and see what happens.

 

[Beewa]

My experience has been that the price goes up, as availability goes down...call the airline and ask how many seats are left. It it's 2/3's full, grab the airfare ASAP.

 

[Barbruka]

I'm going out of Milwaukee to MCO on the 11th of October and returning the 17th. I found the best fares on Travelocity. Beat Hot Wire and the rest. I got a non stop on Midwest going and a return on Delta, one stop, for $158.

 

[Captain Bram]

I checked Expedia today and you can buy that roundtrip on AirTran for $254, which is clearly a low fare.

Yes, there might be some price slashing, as other posters have pointed out, but there is no way of predicting that will happen for your city pairs and your dates of travel.

I would go with the Expedia fare just because its low, non-stop, and a sure bet!

 

[docsnort]

Our family always flies down during MEA. Just checked our credit card bills from 2002 and saw that we got a fare for MEA week of 178.50 on June 13th last year (one of those 1 day sales from Delta). I have been checking Orbitz several times a day lately hoping the pattern would repeat itself, but of course it didn't! Will just keep checking the various sites in hopes of getting a fare under $200. You have to be patient and watch these boards! Have been seeing some decent fares from AirTran, but am a little leery since they used to be ValuJet.

 

[zulaya]

docsnort - If Delta's pattern holds true for this year, looks like we may see a sale in July as they had a sale in March and May. Hope we both can get a good deal!

 

[schucrew]

The past couple years we have gotten good prices for October trips at the end of June or first of July, on Delta. We are hoping to get a good price again this year, but are locked into using Delta because we have $900 in vouchers (we took a bump last year - what a deal!) for the four of us from Delta.
I have been checking the flights that we want and they are still less than half full, so am hoping Delta lowers their prices in the next couple weeks.