SEA to MCO...what's a good price?

[minnie1928]

We've invited our best friends to meet us at WDW in July. They live in Seattle and this is their first flight to WDW from there (they recently moved to Seattle). Right now she's saying Air Alaska is going to cost about $570 roundtrip. She's wondering if she should book now or wait and I'm not sure what to tell her. I'm used to prices for NJ or BWI, which is considerably shorter/cheaper.

So, what do you think...is $570 pretty standard?

 

[voleball]

Depends. The last trip we took in Dec. 2009, the cheapest fair I saw from Alaska Air was $158 one way. The year before, the cheapest I saw was $169 one way. Summer is a busy travel season so I don't know if they do sale, but if they don't fill seats, they may do sale. So, it depends...

(It looks like if they leave on weekdays in July, it's $224 one way.)

 

[akcire]

I am not sure what dates you need. I randomly put in some dates in April on the Southwest site and got $350 from Seattle to MCO. Also remember that includes your baggage.

Just something to consider

 

[voleball]

Just checked SouthWest and their cheapest is $174 one way if you don't mind the 1-stop.

 

[Nicolepa]

Sounds like that is the nonstop flight, which is very pricey. We never pay over $400. I can't say what a good fair is because we usually fly into/ out of different cities and that usually adds $50 or so a ticket.

 

[samshane]

We did non-stop on Alaska in Feb for $340/ticket. I bought the tickets and then stupidly check a couple weeks later and it had dropped to $320/ticket. I was still happy with the $340 and that was nonstop (the $340 included taxes).

We got a deal on the baggage because we had a very kind Alaska employee who found out DH was on his 2 week R&R and waived the fees.

 

[VirataMama4]

I just threw in some dates on Southwest.com and if they flew on a Tuesday, they could actually get tickets for as low as $195 each way including taxes/fees. And SW doesn't charge for the first 2 bags/per person...

 

[minnie1928]

Sorry, I should've mentioned dates. Our reservations are 7/17 to 7/24. They are staying with us in our DVC room and for several reasons, they have to stick to those dates.

I mentioned to her that she might want to consider taking SW on the flight down (1 stop, but doesn't change planes) and that way if the price drops, she could at the least get a credit. The SW flights on the way back all require changing planes and that increases the travel time by several hours.

I'm just unsure if she should book the return flight now or wait...it seems pretty pricey already.

 

[victorandbellasmom]

We flew from SEA-MCO in Aug 2008 and paid $239/person w/taxes and all. Back then, 1 baggage was free and it was a red eye going down to MCO and an evening flight coming back so we were able to utilize all our days and nights in the parks. They were both direct flight and over the weekend too. Those under $200 fares sound great.

 

[eeyoregon]

We average $225 out of Portland, Oregon, which is usally pretty comparable to Seatlle.

Be careful when booking the lower fares on Alaska cuz the flight times are often 10+ hours one-way!!

 

[eeyoregon]

We did non-stop on Alaska in Feb for $340/ticket. I bought the tickets and then stupidly check a couple weeks later and it had dropped to $320/ticket. I was still happy with the $340 and that was nonstop (the $340 included taxes).

This happened to me too BUT I called Alaska Airlines and told them the price dropped $30 per person each way and they gave me credit for a future flight. What was even better is that their "credits" are only issued in increments of $25 so we were give $50 credit vouchers for each person, each way!!! The vouchers were good for 1 year and could be used one at a time if you wanted.

 

[jenlynn0808]

We flew SEA to MCO in October of 2009. Best price we found was around $330/person on American. We did have a stop in Dallas, but for the kids it was a nice stretch and on the way down we were able to find something to eat. Which ended up being a life saver. When we got in to MCO they were having severe weather and we had to wait for over 2 hours to get the luggage, it was past the time ME would pick it up. By the time we got to CB it was after midnight and all the restaurants were closed. You might want to remind your friends to that with the time differences it will seem like a longer day. I think we left SEA around 11 and got in to MCO around 9, but not to our room till after midnight, so what was 10hours for us was really 13 because of the time difference. Coming home I think we left at 8 and were home by 2 gained those hours back.

 

[jpeppers]

I have payed as low as $160 RT and I don't think I've ever paid over $328 RT (Frontier). I did pay more this year but only because I used my companion fare with the Alaska Air Visa ($50, $75 this year). I paid $399 but came to $474 for 2 tickets Non stop, so about $240 per ticket. If you sign up for the Alaska card they give you 25000 miles (enough miles for some flights) and you get a $75 companion fare. Definitely check the fares out of Portland too, Sea is usually cheaper but once in a while you will get lucky. I have flown to Orlando 11 times since 2000 and have used Portland 3 times because it was cheaper. When I'm looking for tickets I usually check Orbitz evert few days and then go to the carrier that has the best rates web site and it is usually a better rate. The Alaska non stop is usually the highest but using the companion fares has worked well for me. Also check rates into Tampa.....not much farther to Disneyworld although I have seldom found better deals there. The old reliable is definitely Southwest but you will have a stop somewhere.