playing the airfare game

[jilliemom]

So out of BDL we have SW and JB. Both airlines offer direct flights to MCO. A few months ago I had credit card rewards that were going to expire so I purchased a flight for DH for our April trip. I had to go thru JB since SW flights weren't opened yet for the dates. The flight was $154 thru JB (DH's was free) so I decided I was going to wait to book for DD and I until the fare (hopefully) went down.

So...each day I check & check for 3 weeks now and nothing's changed. In the meantime SW's schedule opened for early April and their flight at the same time is $99! So I wait and wait to see if JB will go down to that & they haven't! It's been 2 weeks. DH wants me & DD to just fly SW and meet him there (flights leave 15 min apart) but DD won't hear of it. The real kicker is since DH had his flight booked I can see the seat assignments and only 5 seats on the whole plane have been reserved!

So...playing the lovely airfare game - so what do you think the odds are that JB will lower their fare?

 

[OrangeCountyCommuter]

The flight was $154 each way or round trip.. because if that was "round trip" and you are waiting for a decrease.....that may never happen.

Seat maps are NOT good indicators of sold vs unsold seats.

And "DD won't hear of it" Is she paying? Perhaps you should explain that if you spend the extra money on airfare what she doesn't get. (Character meals, souviners etc..)

 

[jilliemom]

The flight was $154 each way or round trip.. because if that was "round trip" and you are waiting for a decrease.....that may never happen.

Seat maps are NOT good indicators of sold vs unsold seats.

And "DD won't hear of it" Is she paying? Perhaps you should explain that if you spend the extra money on airfare what she doesn't get. (Character meals, souviners etc..)

$154 is 1-way

DD is scared for us to be flying on a seperate plane than her father - has nothing to do with who's paying

 

[ancestry]

April is school vacation period for many areas. If your schools are also on spring break on or near your dates then it is highly unlikely that the rates will come down.

I

 

[pershing]

DD is scared for us to be flying on a seperate plane than her father

So been there!

I have been watching Jetblue out of bdl also and agree that the airfare probably is not coming down again.

JB has such limited flights to MCO out of bdl, like only 2 direct, that they have no incentive to drop the price.

That being said, I think this is an opportunity to show your child how to manage fears. I have a bi-polar son and an autistic son and have to do it all the time. It's gut wrenching as a parent, however I find their fears actually multiply if I start accommodating them and life gets very restricting.

Just throwing that out there. Please don't flame. The lesson of 'See! Daddy's right there waiting for us in the baggage area just like we said he would be...' can have a lifetime priceless value!

 

[Donna M]

I bought our Jet Blue tickets in the summer (out of Boston) for our April trip and those same seats are now $204 more each! I haven't seen the prices come down! Today I just checked again and the fare difference is now $239.00! I wish we had $99 fares available.

 

[OrangeCountyCommuter]

$154 is 1-way

DD is scared for us to be flying on a seperate plane than her father - has nothing to do with who's paying

Sorry, but it does...

You are paying. She wants the higher priced flight. Explain to her the "cost" and let her see if the "fear" is greater then the "want" You never know. If it's "fly with Daddy and give up X" or "fly only with mommy and get X" then it's not "she won't hear of it" but she understood the consequences of her choices. So she has to "give up' something for the $200 this will cost to get what she wants. Otherwise she's "running the vacation" without paying (as you point out)