Question for folks who fly JB out of Boston

[NikitaZee]

I haven't flown in 10 years, so I'm not very savvy about airfare prices. Our trip was originally scheduled for Sept 24th - Oct 2nd - Saturday thru Sunday direct flights from Boston to Orlando. The price I got was $368 round-trip, mid-morning flights. Before we booked, we've changed our dates to November 12 - 20, same Saturday-Sunday schedule. My question is - is $368 a good fare considering my travel times, or is that high? When November dates are released, I'd like to have some idea, if possible, on what to expect to pay. Thanks.

 

[Jaime4004]

I haven't flown in 10 years, so I'm not very savvy about airfare prices. Our trip was originally scheduled for Sept 24th - Oct 2nd - Saturday thru Sunday direct flights from Boston to Orlando. The price I got was $368 round-trip, mid-morning flights. Before we booked, we've changed our dates to November 12 - 20, same Saturday-Sunday schedule. My question is - is $368 a good fare considering my travel times, or is that high? When November dates are released, I'd like to have some idea, if possible, on what to expect to pay. Thanks.

That sounds expensive to me... we have flown in October for the past 3 years (though SWA, from Manchester, NH or Boston, whichever is cheaper at the time) and have never paid more than $230 or so RT.
But I know that they're all higher right now. We usually fly in July for the same general price and they are way higher right now than they have been in past years. So we're driving...

 

[Arielle22]

I am actually flying in November the 10th-20th from Boston and want JB.
We also flew the same week in Nov 2010.

I have budgeted around $350 per person. If it comes in lower we will be very happy. Last year we paid around $250 a ticket.

Keep in mind that Thurs 11/10 is a holiday so I don't know if it increases the rates for the weekend.

 

[JennSaint]

Sounds high to me..
Did you only check Jet Blue? Can you fly out of Bradley? I've been checking and lately prices seem cheaper out of Hartford.

 

[goofystitchfan]

We usually fly Delta because their fares are out the earliest. We fly out Nov 5 and we paid $258/PP round trip and direct. The price you have is high.

 

[LeeLee'sMom]

We have flown JB the last 3 years out of Boston..love them and the Direct TV but this year they are coming in way higher than others. We are going Aug 26-Sept 2. We are closer to Providence so we are doing SW.. I found out of Boston for our dates AirTrans was the cheapest

 

[NikitaZee]

Sounds high to me..
Did you only check Jet Blue? Can you fly out of Bradley? I've been checking and lately prices seem cheaper out of Hartford.

Yeah, I'm pretty much set on Jet Blue. I'm a nervous flyer, and believe it or not the idea of Direct TV makes me feel calmer about the whole experience - something to distract me, I guess. Hartford is a little far, but do-able if the price difference is significant. I was hoping for around $250 RT.

 

[ccgirl]

I haven't flown in 10 years, so I'm not very savvy about airfare prices. Our trip was originally scheduled for Sept 24th - Oct 2nd - Saturday thru Sunday direct flights from Boston to Orlando. The price I got was $368 round-trip, mid-morning flights. Before we booked, we've changed our dates to November 12 - 20, same Saturday-Sunday schedule. My question is - is $368 a good fare considering my travel times, or is that high? When November dates are released, I'd like to have some idea, if possible, on what to expect to pay. Thanks.

That is super high. In December we flew from BOS to MCO (Orlando) non - stop direct with AirTran. It was $79 one way. Add on the $6 seat fee and it was $85 one way. It ended up being about $200 round trip with all fees and seat assignments. Each bag was $25 to check. So for 4 people we paid $800 for the fares plus $100 for the bags for a total of $900, or $225 round trip.

ETA: We just bring our portable DVD player and watch movies. Those are super cheap now if you don't already have one, around $50. I have been hearing reports that not all seats with Direct Tv work. My friend just went with her 3 kids and only 1 of their tv's worked.

 

[Mom22Princessz]

I have been hearing reports that not all seats with Direct Tv work. My friend just went with her 3 kids and only 1 of their tv's worked.

This has happened to us twice in MANY years of flying JB. One out of 4 TVs didn't work. JB will credit you $$ if you contact them after the flight and notify them that your TV wasn't working. You have to tell them what seat it was so they can verify and its only helpful if you can use the credit within 1 yr - but something to think about if it happens to you.
FWIW, we love JB and I just purchased our tickets for the fall - a little higher than I wanted, but worth the extra not to stress about seating with little ones like we do with SW.

 

[ccgirl]

This has happened to us twice in MANY years of flying JB. One out of 4 TVs didn't work. JB will credit you $$ if you contact them after the flight and notify them that your TV wasn't working. You have to tell them what seat it was so they can verify and its only helpful if you can use the credit within 1 yr - but something to think about if it happens to you.
FWIW, we love JB and I just purchased our tickets for the fall - a little higher than I wanted, but worth the extra not to stress about seating with little ones like we do with SW.

That's good to know. I just mentioned that because the OP said she was flying JB because the idea of Direct TV's make her calmer and she's a nervous flyer. So, I just wanted to point out that it is possible not all tv's on the plane would be working. If that is her only reason she way want to invest in a portable DVD player and save a lot of money with AirTran.

 

[JennSaint]

I guess I'm more of a bargain shopper and don't need the tv. I just checked your dates and there are much better prices than Jet Blue on other airlines.
Flying out of Bradley would be $239 per person on Delta nonstop and Delta out of Boston was $269 nonstop. For that savings you can do like others said buy a portable dvd player.

 

[NikitaZee]

That's good to know. I just mentioned that because the OP said she was flying JB because the idea of Direct TV's make her calmer and she's a nervous flyer. So, I just wanted to point out that it is possible not all tv's on the plane would be working. If that is her only reason she way want to invest in a portable DVD player and save a lot of money with AirTran.

Thanks. I actually did consider SW, but as PP mentioned I didn't want to worry about getting separated from my children. I don't know much about Air Tran at all. Now that you and a couple of others have pointed out that $368 seems high, I can only hope prices come down when they release Nov fares.

 

[NikitaZee]

I guess I'm more of a bargain shopper and don't need the tv. I just checked your dates and there are much better prices than Jet Blue on other airlines.
Flying out of Bradley would be $239 per person on Delta nonstop and Delta out of Boston was $269 nonstop. For that savings you can do like others said buy a portable dvd player.

Thanks. I have been reading these boards a lot for tips about airfare, and one thing that kept popping up was that Delta frequently changes their flight times, especially when you book this far out. It seems that Jet Blue does this much less. I wanted to make this as stress free as I can, of course if JB's fares turn out to be really high in comparison to everyone else I will definitely look at other options.

 

[nkereina]

I'm going 9/24-10/1 on JetBlue, direct from Buffalo to Orlando. Roundtrip we paid $289 per person and booked this past Monday, so your price seems high. Buffalo is a much smaller airport than Logan so we usually pay slightly more than the bigger cities and major hubs too.

 

[ccgirl]

Thanks. I actually did consider SW, but as PP mentioned I didn't want to worry about getting separated from my children. I don't know much about Air Tran at all. Now that you and a couple of others have pointed out that $368 seems high, I can only hope prices come down when they release Nov fares.

I just noticed the age of your children. I have always been allowed to board with family boarding (between groups A&B) with my children under the age of 4. Even with "C" boarding passes I have never been split up from my children.

I hadn't flown AirTran until 6 months ago. I have flown them twice now and wouldn't hesitate. Their customer service was wonderful and we had an actual seat. They came around twice with snacks and drinks. The TSA at their gates were amazing!!!! So helpful with my kids. Speaking of their gate, you want to eat before you get there because all that is there is a little food stand. The airfare was so much less than others as well. They will give you a credit if their price drops too. I was pleasantly surprised with them. Not sure where in MA you live but sometimes SW is cheaper out of PVD as well.

 

[minster22]

I just booked JB for 9/25 and returning on 10/1 from BOB to MCO and paid $314.00 roundtrip. Yes, I could have got airfare for less but not willing to chance Airtran which only has one nonstop daily from Boston to Orlando, nor willing to go back to flying Delta which yes frequently changes their flight times. No one else had nonstop out of Logan. I love flying JB and if they fares go down I always get a credit to use for my next WDW trip (I do go frequently so this works for me).No one knows what is going to happen with airfare but I am comfortable with what I paid, I have the exact flight times I want on a great airline, it is worth a little more to me.You have to decide what works for you.The $368 is definately on the high end for these flights but I suspect it is due to the flight times you picked and the days you are flying.

 

[MomofCKJ]

I'm about an hour and 20 from Logan and an hour or so from Bradley so I've flown out of both. I just booked JB this week for Oct 4-10 and got $259 out of Bradley. The prices for Logan were higher. I got nonstop flights each way and times I liked (8:20am departing and 1:45pm returning).

I feel like lately when I've been checking the JB prices are always higher out of Logan.

 

[JennSaint]

I'm about an hour and 20 from Logan and an hour or so from Bradley so I've flown out of both. I just booked JB this week for Oct 4-10 and got $259 out of Bradley. The prices for Logan were higher. I got nonstop flights each way and times I liked (8:20am departing and 1:45pm returning).

I feel like lately when I've been checking the JB prices are always higher out of Logan.

It does seem that Bradley has been cheaper lately and for being in central Ma we can utilize BOS, BDL, PVD or even MHT. But we just flew out of Bradley after many flights out of BOS and loved it! So easy to get in and out and also parking was super cheap! So from now on I will always look at BDL first.

 

[ccgirl]

I just booked JB for 9/25 and returning on 10/1 from BOB to MCO and paid $314.00 roundtrip. Yes, I could have got airfare for less but not willing to chance Airtran which only has one nonstop daily from Boston to Orlando, nor willing to go back to flying Delta which yes frequently changes their flight times. No one else had nonstop out of Logan. I love flying JB and if they fares go down I always get a credit to use for my next WDW trip (I do go frequently so this works for me).No one knows what is going to happen with airfare but I am comfortable with what I paid, I have the exact flight times I want on a great airline, it is worth a little more to me.You have to decide what works for you.The $368 is definately on the high end for these flights but I suspect it is due to the flight times you picked and the days you are flying.

Lets face it, unfortunately, we take a chance with any airline. Flight delays, bad weather etc can happen frequently. I have flown that direct BOS to MCO flight twice within the past 6 months and never had a problem. AirTran doesn't release their flights too far in advance to decrease the likelihood of a schedule change. I can see why though you would fly with JB if you have had great experiences with them. I was like that with SW until I could save $200 by giving AirTran a chance. I was really nervous but in the end I'm glad I did.

 

[minster22]

I have to say that even with getting JB points, credits etc a $200 savings would sway me in certain circumstances!!!And by the way, I live on Cape Cod also!!Do you do the bus to Logan??