So frustrated with United Airlines this morning!

[ChrisMouse]

So....I've been in the "hunt" already for airline tickets for our November trip. Crazy, I know.

But...since this isn't my first tea party to Orlando, I know what I WANT to pay, and I need to watch for it.

The prices so far are freaking me out. Nothing below $300 has shown its face. This morning, I went through my routine of checking, and when I pulled up the fare, it showed $270 (MUCH closer to the lowest I've paid, which is $258), and I decided I'd better go for it. I checked leaving a day earlier, just for kicks and whistles, and the fare went up to $333. I decided to go back to leaving on the Friday, and it was $333 again!!!! No sign of my lovely $270.

I think I'm going to have a very hard time getting a good fare, since we return home the Tuesday before Thanksgiving (a very popular travel day).

I just hate the "game" of waiting it out, trying to get a lower fare, when all the time it could go even HIGHER. It just freaks me out!

Lesson learned? NEXT TIME a good fare shows up, I'm keeping that window OPEN and opening a NEW window to try a different date.

 

[christinec68]

I have had luck getting lower fares when I book the tickets late Wednesday night. A few weeks ago I was pricing tickets from NYC - Tampa and they were all coming in at $300 but I ultimately paid $242 by booking on a Wednesday at 11:30pm.

It may not always work, but worth a shot. Good luck!!

 

[jacksg@l]

If you are in Denver airfarewatchdog.com shows a fare for $258 on Frontier to Orlando, if you will consider something other than UA.

 

[Jutori]

I have had luck getting lower fares when I book the tickets late Wednesday night. A few weeks ago I was pricing tickets from NYC - Tampa and they were all coming in at $300 but I ultimately paid $242 by booking on a Wednesday at 11:30pm.

It may not always work, but worth a shot. Good luck!!

Is there a reason for wed late nite? I think that I heard that around the 3 month mark is where lots of flights are scheduled thus then seats are "released" making for better prices....

 

[tpettie]

I have had luck getting lower fares when I book the tickets late Wednesday night. A few weeks ago I was pricing tickets from NYC - Tampa and they were all coming in at $300 but I ultimately paid $242 by booking on a Wednesday at 11:30pm.

It may not always work, but worth a shot. Good luck!!

Do fare rate really change based on the time of day your Booking at?? I know the date of departure can affect the fare rate. But say if I look wednesday AM will the fares like change in the PM on that same night??

I too have been watching United with not luck I'm only getting fares for Early Dec departing Edmonton AB, Canada to orlando for about $800+taxes/extra fees.

 

[christinec68]

From what I understand, the demand is lower at that time. More people research & purchase tickets on the weekend so the prices bump up a bit. I am not sure how or why it works but I have seen it first hand and if it's convenient to do so it's worth checking. I didn't purchase my tickets that far in advance - maybe 2-3 weeks which is when the prices start to go up.

ETA: I checked fares on Friday - Monday at all different times and they were $300. I checked later Wednesday night and they were $242 - I didn't check all day Wednesday. I happened to receive an email from Expedia and it reminded me to check again and I got a lower fare. I didn't book through expedia so it's not as though I book a ticket on sale.

 

[SweetPeasMom2]

This has happened to me before. A friend of mine and I were booking at the exact same time. She was on her computer, me on mine. I got the lower rate. As soon as she went to check out, it had changed on her. Sometimes there are only X number of tickets at that price and it's whoever gets the paid for first that gets that rate.

 

[ChrisMouse]

I guess I'm going to have to keep thinking my happy thoughts, and say over and over again "I can fly! I can fly! I can fly!" Maybe Tink (aka the airline price fairy) will drop me some Pixie dust!


For my dates, the Frontier rate is well over $300. We LOVE flying Frontier (love the direct tv for the kids) but they only have a couple of flights to Orlando per day, whereas United has about 8-10. I always watch both.

 

[aceys_h0ney]

I watched something on possibly GMA this morning that said to book tickets on a Tuesday, it claims prices were lower then. I don't remember if they said morning or night though. We don't fly but I thought of all you guys here that fly when I saw that. I can't imagine what a horrible waiting game that must be if you have a set budget for air travel.

 

[mariepapa]

I have always heard Tuesdays are the best day to fly. Followed by Wednesdays. If you can do those days and avoid any weekend days you might be pleasantly surprised!

 

[wendy3]

I KNOW!! We're flying to Orlando in August out of Rapid City, SD and the rates on United haven't dropped below $365 for a couple of months. I've been watching flights out of Denver, too, because sometimes it's worth it to drive to Denver and fly from there. I decided to just book them because 1)there are 5 of us flying and I don't want to take a chance on not getting tickets, and 2)after Memorial weekend prices will probably go up. While plane tickets for 5 people are very $$$, driving from SD takes up too much vacation time. I want to spend my vacation AT Disney, not trying to get there Have you checked Alligent Air? You won't get them on Expedia, Orbitz, etc, but they are MUCH cheaper. They don't fly to Orlando from Rapid City so we can't use them, but check Denver. BTW, I did buy our tickets on a Tuesday and we're flying midweek - no price difference. Good Luck!

 

[patink]

I don't know if you want to stick with United, but Southwest will announce their pricing for Nov. - Jan. on June 10th and they usually start with their best prices. Another good thing about Southwest is you can change your flights with NO penalty. If the new flight costs more you just pay the difference. If the new flight costs less you get credit that is good for a year. I have even rebooked the exact same flight when the price went down and used the credit on my next flight.

I don't know how the cost compares for you in Denver, (I fly from Kansas City and the price is always as good as or better than other airlines) and the flexibility and free checked luggage make it the best deal for me.

 

[Janell]

For our Aug trip I too looked at united prices everyday. When it came time to book the seat price had gone up $200!!! So I looked else ware. Found on Continetal website a good price $200 less then united. This was right after the announment that the two arlines had murged. We ended up on a united flight because continental was code sharing. Saved $200 and got on the same fight. You may want to check out continental.

 

[bch044]

yes tuesdays are the cheapest days to fly.

Try this go into your computer and delete your cookies and all that stuff and then go in and look for your flight. They track how many times your IP has looked at flights and for some reason some flights just seem to disappear but reappear after you clean out your cookies.

Also call the airline direct and tell them you had a price and when you went back in to book it, it was gone. alot of times they will offer that price.

And yes airline prices change daily.

I worked for a certain airline for a number of years.

 

[lizerbug]

I'm going in September and got my airline tickets about a month ago, maybe a little more. I normally just use Expedia but when the prices kept staying in the $330 range, I checked Travelocity and Orbitz. Don't ask me why but the prices were lower than they were on Expedia. I think Orbitz was the lowest and I ended up getting my tickets through them and paid $260 per person. I didn't want to spend more than $250 so I'd say I did ok. Even though my flight times aren't what I would have chosen, I'm happy

 

[PrincessArlena'sDad]

This year Tinkerbelle gift wrapped our flights on USAirways

Washington to Orlando: $138/ person round trip (including all taxes/fees)
Depart: 08:35 AM and arrive 10:51 AM

And Going home:
Depart 06:05 PM and arrive 08:16 PM

The perfect times for us

And, they charge NO BAGGAGE FEES for active duty military!!! (up to 3 bags, 100 lbs each!)

I think you should just book it: airline prices tend to go up, not down, as the "cheap seats" sell out.

 

[wendy3]

And yes airline prices change daily.

Not my experience. And maybe it's just because we have to fly out of a smaller airport with limited airlines available, but I checked flights (through Orbitz and the specific airline websites) everyday for the last month or two and the prices never changed. I even checked late at night and super early morning hours, but the price stayed the same. I so envy our Disney friends who live on the east coast and have the option of driving or flying for half of what we pay to fly from the mid-west!

 

[kellybean]

Last year going to Disney we got amazing fares. $117 round trip from Philly to Orlando with Airtran. This year the cheapest we could find was $198 round trip with Southwest (but it kind of makes up for last year since Southwest doesn't charge for bags.)

We are also heading to Chicago in July for a family reunion and so far Southwest has had the best rates I could find for that trip.

If you haven't checked Southwest, I'd give it a go

 

[MamaOdie]

Try checking out a site like kayak.com. It will show you fares on all airlines and from various websites at once so you can see which is the cheapest. I've also heard about airfarewatchdog.com.

Also, what about Priceline? I haven't ever used them but didn't they have the thing where you could "name your own price"?

 

[MESMommy83]

This year Tinkerbelle gift wrapped our flights on USAirways

Washington to Orlando: $138/ person round trip (including all taxes/fees)
Depart: 08:35 AM and arrive 10:51 AM

And Going home:
Depart 06:05 PM and arrive 08:16 PM

The perfect times for us

And, they charge NO BAGGAGE FEES for active duty military!!! (up to 3 bags, 100 lbs each!)

I think you should just book it: airline prices tend to go up, not down, as the "cheap seats" sell out.

WOW I did not know this!!! So.. do we just ask them? or show them our Military cards??? (even if its for leisure??) Thanks!!