Song Pricing Hits Sour Note - $352 R/T Hartford to Florida

[Poly Pal]

Song has not even started flying from Hartford yet and I already am unhappy with them.

The lowest RT fare I was able to get from Hartford to Tampa was $352. This was booking 331 days in advance doing the whole waiting until midnight and calling for reservations and the flights are EMPTY except for my family's seat assignments (note that all Song flight seat charts block out the 3 seats in row 1, the 12 seats that are in the 2 rows added to what was First Class on the Delta 757 and 4 seats that appear to be in an exit row).

Even the very nice Delta rep at the Delta Medallion Special Member Services number was surprised at the fares being so high so far in advance. She even tried alternate dates and airports in Florida.

So much for Song's "low fares" competing with other "discount" carriers.

 

[TreeOfLife]

I booked ours for our Dec trip back in January this year. We used Skymiles award tickets but back then the fares were at around $250 ea. Now, the same trip was switched over to Song and the exact non-stop schedule is at around $450 ea. The representative told me the prices were going to keep going up.

Still, your booking the earliest deal will be the best you'll find. Your fares for the same schedule may not come down over $5 or $10, and for a few days.

You may want to consider their Skymiles credit card. At least you earn double or triple miles with your purchase and may get a free ticket sooner. Also the Platinum Skymiles card has an annual fee of $125, but you get a free companion ticket each time you buy one. So it may not be a bad deal to pay $125 for your second ticket which would otherwise be over $300...

Consider all your options

 

[minster22]

PolyPal......did you buy a ticket or are you going to wait? I have been keeping track of the prices since their website opened, I want to leave on 4/25/04 and return on 5/13/04. When the early April fares came out almost all of the were $ 205 or $215 roundtrip and now it seems as though they raised all their fares!!! And like you said the whole plane is empty!!! There is another thread on this board and someone suggested that as summer progresses and Song gets fully up and running they will lower their prices. I am starting to drive myself crazy ( and I am going to get a bad reputation on this board for whining) with worry about this. But I am like you, wanting to get good seats at a good price on a nonstop and do asap. I have emailed Song 2X already about getting rid of their early am flight out of Logan and now they want us to pay 282.50 for a one way ticket....wow!!

 

[Poly Pal]

TreeofLife, I am not going to use my Skymiles for a "cheap" ticket to Florida. I'm banking those for first class to Hawaii. I already have the Platinum Skymiles card from Amex. Unfortunately the certificate comes out in January and is only good for a year. By next January I expect that the April vacation flights will be close to sold out with no reward seats left anyway. You are correct about the double miles, though.

Minster22, I too e-mailed Song (at 12:30 a.m. this morning!) and I did get a reply. "Our web site says that our pricing depends on timing and not all fares will be available on all flights - yada, yada, yada." I e-mailed back and told Song "shame on you for making a big splash about low fares and then not offering them even to those who book as soon as the flights open for reservations 331 days in advance." I think there will be a backlash to this deceptive practice which does not bode well for the survivability of Song as a replacement of Delta Express.

I have until midnight tonight to buy the tickets. My wife and I are not 100% in agreement over what to do. She is leaning toward waiting for Southwest since the $352 is almost $100 more than we have ever paid to fly to Florida and more than double what we paid on Delta Express just 2 years ago. Our summer beach vacation on the Cape (N. Eastham) is looking more and more economical!

 

[GoldenOldie]

Originally posted by Poly Pal
...She is leaning toward waiting for Southwest since the $352 is almost $100 more than we have ever paid to fly to Florida and more than double what we paid on Delta Express just 2 years ago. ...

I remember when that was the cheapest fare to Florida from the Northeast in the pre-airline deregulation days. That was the reason that People's Express and New York Air (then) and Southwest (now) made such a splash by offering lower fares and fewer amentities.

As everything in the Great Mandela, it appears to have once again come full circle.

 

[Jcricket Fan]

I agree on this! I also emailed Song several weeks ago to say that their "low cost flight" advertising really wasn't and that I will be heading to Southwest if Song's pricing doesn't come down. I received a standard reply telling me to check for other times & days for different pricing....the cost is the same for any of the days I look at. I always have taken the same flight to FL. on Delta for years but now as Song the price has doubled.

I really loved the nonstop early morning flight but it is getting very hard to swallow the cost. I guess Southwest will be getting another customer.

Colleen

 

[alexturner74]

As far as Hartford to Tampa flights, I think the problem here is that it may be too early to book at a decent fare. Please correct me if I'm wrong here, but I think Southwest is the only other carrier with non-stop flights but you can only book their flights 6 months out. So, Song doesn't have another low cost carrier to really compete with for those flights until Southwest puts them onsale. Otherwise, right now, Song is the only non-stop flight you can book, and they look competitive with your other options at this point (major carriers with 1 or 2 stops). Wait until Southwest puts their flights onsale, and you'll probably see Song's fares go down to compete. You're not always going to get the lowest fare for a flight 331 days out and completely empty.

The other option to waiting would be to book now and get credits back whenever the fares go down. But then you usually have to use them within 12 months and that could be trouble if you don't fly that much.

 

[Lewisc]

Song has the cheapest non-stop flights for the period you're looking at (since they have the only non-stop flights available for booking). I suspect when SW releases their schedule you'll see lower fares on SOME flights.

I think the days of sub $200 fares on the early am non-stop flights may be over. Face it, airlines can't make money if the plane is filled with people paying under $130 RT. People who want to book early and get the choice flights will probably no longer get the deep discounted fares we're used to.

 

[Aisling]

I truly don't understand being upset about high air fares so far in advance. I would bet that the prices go down then up then down etc., especially if you're looking at flights a whole year in advance. So much can, and does, happen in a years time, or even 6 months out. Just keep watching and grab the fare when it goes down.
I have been booking my fares online for 4 years in a row, starting a year out, and have never paid more than $200, because when the fare is $300 at 7 months out, I wait and at 3 months out I get it for $155 or whatever.
I'm flying Song this July, at peak 4th of July week. When I started looking, the fares were outrageous, then I got it for $155, now it's $355.
I'm certainly no airline expert, but from being obsessed with fare watching, I've learned that if you check everyday, the fares always go down at some point.

 

[doubletrouble_vb]

I have to agree with Aisling...I wouldn't commit to airfare until 6 months out at worst and that if its only high season ticket I'm looking for.

 

[dbkelly]

I am also having a nightmare trying to book Song out of Logan. If you are planning to go during a holiday or school vacation, then I would not wait for Song's prices to go down. I think the theory of supply and demand will play a big role. I would, however, wait for Southwest. I think Southwest will continue to do what they are doing, but I also think that their flights will go extremely fast.

I debated as to whether I should wait for Southwest or book a flight that was not non-stop. I decided to book a flight that was not non-stop, because the price was very low ($105 one way) and it only added 2 hours to our travel time. My girls have a very tough time with their ears, so I am still dreading the connection. According to the Delta representative, they no longer have stand-by, but instead you can call 3 hours before a scheduled non-stop and confirm yourself on the flight, if there is room. There are 2 non-stops that I could call before we leave, so I am hoping that I might get on one.

Best of Luck

D. B. Kelly

 

[erikthewise]

This is consistent with what Delta is doing in our market -- charging a very high price for the security and peace of mind that comes with purchasing well in advance.

Don't pay their price. Wait for them to come down, or buy somewhere else that doesn't charge such a premium for advance tickets.