Playing the dreaded airfare game with Delta....

[Blessed_wth_Triplets]

ugh...so what would you do?? Book now...or wait? Will airfare get any better? It hasn't in the past 30 days. Unfortunatley our only option now for nonstop is Delta (not risking the bad reveiws and fees with Spirit unless it as dirt cheap...which it is not...and Airtran doesn't do nonstop anymore...so Delta is our ONLY option!) and it's at $316 round trip for the times we want...and that is for late August. Of course I would hate for it to go up...but at this point airfare is almost the cost of our entire trip...and I'll say up front driving is not an option...so just asking those of you with experience stalking the air prices of Delta...would love some of your wisdom!!

 

[k^2]

Use Bing Travel! You can put in your dates and it will tell you if it thinks the fares are going to go up, down, or stay the same. I find that it's a godsend Good luck!

 

[CapnJacksGirl]

I'm in the exact same boat as you, OP. Late August, only nonstop is Delta, prices at $375 or so per person. We've done layovers for our past three trips and I'd just rather not do it again if I can keep from it. So far, the prices for one-stop trips aren't much better. I'm anxious to see if anyone else posts with advice on Delta...

 

[Karbase8]

I was having similar trouble and I had to book with US airways nonstop from Philly through Disney I think around 250 roundtrip. I love Airtran but it was close to 400 dollars one way! It's really hard with this airfare I feared the same as you it may go up it's so hard to know. I flew Delta once it was so-so but no major issues. It really is frustrating, good luck!!!

 

[CrzyforPiglet]

I think for any airline when you're going to start looking at prices you need to have a price in your head you're comfortable paying and as soon as you see it - book it. There is just no good way to know when or if prices might go down but since gas prices don't appear to be going down I can't imagine airline tickets would either. Good luck!

 

[DebbieB]

ugh...so what would you do?? Book now...or wait? Will airfare get any better? It hasn't in the past 30 days. Unfortunatley our only option now for nonstop is Delta (not risking the bad reveiws and fees with Spirit unless it as dirt cheap...which it is not...and Airtran doesn't do nonstop anymore...so Delta is our ONLY option!) and it's at $316 round trip for the times we want...and that is for late August. Of course I would hate for it to go up...but at this point airfare is almost the cost of our entire trip...and I'll say up front driving is not an option...so just asking those of you with experience stalking the air prices of Delta...would love some of your wisdom!!

What are your dates?

 

[seashoreCM]

Alas, you are one of the persons targeted when Delta discontinued price matching themselves aka refaring several years ago.

Delta (along with most other airlines) felt that getting more money from some folks who needed to commit early was more important compared with encouraging "everybody" to book early and getting more money in the coffers sooner.

Even booking way early for the purpose of getting your choice of flight time has dubious value because many airlines make lots of schedule changes.

 

[Blessed_wth_Triplets]

What are your dates?

Aug 26- sept 1. I know...traveling on expensive days and not flexible....and of course I want the early morning departure and late afternoon return. If it goes to $250 I will book....$300 is just so high...I've paid under $200 rt the past 5 years....those days are gone

 

[lizabu]

It depends where you're coming from. I would put in my departure city and try out different dates to get a feel for what the lowest rates I might see would be. If it's not significantly different I would just book. We paid $200 per person Detroit to Orlando on Delta to give you an idea. I signed up with Trip advisor and had them email me once fares hit $250 or under and then I snapped them up. We bought tickets in Nov for a Jan trip. The downside was that there were 7 of us and the best seating arrangement I could get was 2, 2 & sitting together and 1 (DH) sitting alone and on the way back 3, 2 & 2 sitting together. So you could save money by waiting but there may not be as many options about where to sit if you wait.

 

[DebbieB]

Aug 26- sept 1. I know...traveling on expensive days and not flexible....and of course I want the early morning departure and late afternoon return. If it goes to $250 I will book....$300 is just so high...I've paid under $200 rt the past 5 years....those days are gone

If you take the 10:05am down and the 1:50pm back, it's $271.60. If you book on Delta's website and apply for a Delta American Express, you can get a $50 credit (on the total). That will also give you 1 free bag per person. No fee first year.

Here's a strategy: on my last 2 trips to WDW on Delta, I used miles. I booked the best flights I could for low miles and then both times there were schedule changes and I was able to switch to the flights I really wanted for no extra charge or miles. Since Detroit is a hub, I'm not sure how often they have schedule changes but for me out of PIT with connections, it happens pretty often.

 

[ScottJayhawk]

Heard a news story last week saying years of research showed that 6 weeks out is the best time to purchase airfare tickets.

 

[g-dad66]

I've been tracking airfares for our past 7 trips to WDW, and the lowest fares are usually in the 2-3 months out time frame.

 

[MnMomW3Boys]

I am playing the same game in Minneapolis....we are going to drive if we can't get airfare for around $1500 for a family of 5....it is currently around $1800 and I refuse to pay that much. We can drive for around $800, or if flights are not full the day or two we are leaving we will get buddy passes from my dad and fly stand by....I've been watching airfare for weeks and it has hovered around $350-$415 consistently. Good luck!!

Gone are the days of MSP-MCO for $165.00....

 

[Mickeylivesinseattle]

You are going to hear all kinds of theories about when is the best time to buy air tickets. In reality these are just wild speculation. It comes down to actual, real world, supply & demand on the specific flights you want to buy.
People still are not used to the fact that airlines have reduced capacity the last couple of years. There are less seats flying. I recommend buying the schedule you want within a price range you are comfortable with, especially 90 to 120 days out. Waiting too long in 2012 will most likely mean a higher price later.

 

[Disney Dreamer Mommy]

This is my first time planning a trip to WDW. I am so glad that you were asking the dreaded flight question as I am having problems with it too. We leave Aug. 25th and come back on Aug. 31st. We are hoping to depart out of Detroit.

I have ZERO experience with all of these travel websites. It is quite overwhelming!

 

[connie1042]

I booked Delta out of MSP in Oct. for our May trip. It was 250 a person. Non stop. They have already changed out flight out, so I called and got a better time then I had when we booked. Now I am waiting for the flight home to be changed, so I can leave later. I was comfortable to pay this price, so booked it right away when I saw it.

 

[Scrappy_Tink]

Southwest always seem to have specials throughout the year. It's funny, because I always book through Travelocity, I didn't think Soutwest flew from our area. I didn't know you had to go directly to their website they don't book through Expedia, Travelocity, or any of the other popular booking sites. Just thought id share, in case anyone else didn't know. I don't think I'll book any more than 3 months out any more either...my last few flights I've booked More than 6 months out had been dropped and rebooked to undesirable times and layovers.

 

[3PrinceMom]

This is my first time planning a trip to WDW. I am so glad that you were asking the dreaded flight question as I am having problems with it too. We leave Aug. 25th and come back on Aug. 31st. We are hoping to depart out of Detroit.

I have ZERO experience with all of these travel websites. It is quite overwhelming!

I hear you!! I have drove down the last few years because of the outrageous airline prices! This trip....it was more about time than price. R/T DTW/MCO on Spirit cost 1300 for family of 4. I can drive R/T for less than $600. With the unpredictable weather at this time of the year....I just could not risk driving down. No problems driving when it's warmer.

 

[CarpeLiberum]

Aug 26- sept 1. I know...traveling on expensive days and not flexible....and of course I want the early morning departure and late afternoon return. If it goes to $250 I will book....$300 is just so high...I've paid under $200 rt the past 5 years....those days are gone

Have you tried Kayak.com? They throw together what they call ninja fares, out on one carrier and back on another. I got tix for the same time period (DCA-MCO) for less than 200/each, which was my tipping point. Also, I'm coming back on Jet Blue, with free luggage, so I can check that bag of souvies we will score

 

[JennSaint]

ugh...so what would you do?? Book now...or wait? Will airfare get any better? It hasn't in the past 30 days. Unfortunatley our only option now for nonstop is Delta (not risking the bad reveiws and fees with Spirit unless it as dirt cheap...which it is not...and Airtran doesn't do nonstop anymore...so Delta is our ONLY option!) and it's at $316 round trip for the times we want...and that is for late August. Of course I would hate for it to go up...but at this point airfare is almost the cost of our entire trip...and I'll say up front driving is not an option...so just asking those of you with experience stalking the air prices of Delta...would love some of your wisdom!!

I still think you have more time to wait it out a bit longer. Here's how we have saved money with Delta.
We applied for the Delta American Express. You usually have to spend $500 (I charge my groceries for a few weeks then pay it right off) then you would receive 20,000-30,000 miles in your skymiles account. When you have the Delta American Express they have a feature called "Pay with Miles". Each 10,000 miles is $100.00 off. So if you and another adult you are traveling with each sign up for the card you will end up saving $400-$600 off airfare. Plus with the Delta American Express you don't have to pay baggage fees for first bagged checked. Just don't cancel the American Express until after you have flown.

Also is there anyway you can leave the day before? Fly out in the afternoon or evening on Saturday, August 25 and the flights are $272 for nonstop. Take the extra money and spend it on another night at the hotel.