Texas Fliers Unite!

[GoofItUp]

I've been searching for airfare for a month, reading the transportation boards, pulling my hair out, and searching again. I thought there's bound to be a few more Texas fliers doing the same thing. I thought it might be beneficial to find out what airfares/airlines people are booking, how far in advance, if you've seen the price go up or down since booking, etc. Or at least we can console and support one another through what is the WORST part of vacation planning IMO!

We are between Austin & DFW so we can fly either of those or anywhere in between without too much hassle. We are planning on going 5/27-6/5. That encompasses Memorial Day weekend and marks most Tx schools year end, so I'm thinking we're not going to get a steal of a deal on this trip. So far, my options are:

1. $276 for 2 pax out of Waco + $309 for the 3rd person (AA). Not great times and a long layover @ DFW coming back.
2. $250/person on SW out of Austin. Ok times, but not great. Direct flights.
3. $215/person out of DFW. Good times going, LATE flight coming back to get the 1 daily non-stop.

Even though Waco is my preferred airport (easy easy easy to get in/out of, no parking charge) by the time you add the $ for checked bags and multiply the extras out over 3 people, it's pretty pricey. So I'm leaning towards option 2 - Austin's airport is easier to get in/around, not addl for checked bags, BUT with 2 little ones (one in a seat, one lap child) I don't love not being able to pick out my seat ahead of time. I really don't like driving to DFW and the late flight back is a downer, but the fare is better and I can pick my seats ahead of time.

How about anybody else??

 

[aubriee]

3. $215/person out of DFW. Good times going, LATE flight coming back to get the 1 daily non-stop.

So I'm leaning towards option 2 - Austin's airport is easier to get in/around, not addl for checked bags, BUT with 2 little ones (one in a seat, one lap child) I don't love not being able to pick out my seat ahead of time. I really don't like driving to DFW and the late flight back is a downer, but the fare is better and I can pick my seats ahead of time.

How about anybody else??

I fly out of DFW and because I fly to WDW several times a year, I am very familiar with Air Tran flights 916 and 917, which are the two flights I usually take. It sounds like those are the ones you are talking about. For our trip this past Dec we waited until they went on sale and got them for $198.00. For my upcoming May trip I noticed they dropped a couple of months ago to $188.00. I meant to grab them, but for some reason got distracted and found the next day they started going up again. I decided to wait. Just last week they finally dropped again on the Jan 6th to $186.40 so I grabbed them. The next day they started going up again and appears to have peaked at $215.00. Flying Air Tran several times a year, I've found that they have a tendency to drop their fares early Wednesday mornings about midnight-1:00am. Since I work night shift it's always easy for me to check. I just checked again out of curiosity and notice those same flights are $209.00. I think I'd wait a few weeks and just continue checking them. I'm still waiting for flights for my upcoming Oct and Dec trips. When they get below $200.00 I'll probably grab them.

Don't forget when you get ready to book to go through kayak.com. It wil take you directly back to the Air Tran website, but for some reason will allow you to pick your seats without having to pay the $6.00 seat fee.

As far as that late arrival time, don't count on it. In the last couple of years flight 917's arrival time has changed every single time I've booked it. Sometimes it gets in around 7:55pm, usually (probably 80% of the times) I've gotten in about 9:15pm, and sometimes it gets in around 10:00pm. I just live about an hour away from DFW so we usually use the Park & Fly over on I 635 and Royal Lane, but there are quite a few Park and Stay hotels close to DFW. If your flight has a late arrival time you might want to check into one of those. I believe they are very reasonable.

 

[GoofItUp]

Thanks for the response. I was beginning to think maybe I was the only one from Texas going to WDW! (HA!) I'll keep an eye on the AirTran flights....since you have the flight numbers memorized it certainly looks like you know what you're talking about! Keeping my fingers crossed for dropping fares and early arrivals on that return flight!

 

[Ted in Halifax]

I need to be in Abilene in June ... anything through DFW is killing me.

 

[jamstew]

I'm just north of Austin, and in all my Disney trips I've found SW to have the best fares. I love that you can make changes without penalty if the price goes down. I usually book as soon as the fare for my dates come out, and I think I've changed to a lower fare 2-3 times out of 6 trips.

 

[LIFERBABE]

Im another 916/917 Girl!!

Love those nonstops!!

Our next trip is over Spring Break. March 10-17th. Just booked 916 last Wednesday for $74 each DFW to MCO 1 way.
The return is pricing out at $97 each and I am going to wait til next Wednesday to see if the price drops any before buying.

Airtran is allowing me to use my credits for the return and I have enough for a 2-1 ways so I only have to pay for 2 RT's instead of 3

We fly carryon only but I am also Elite status so my bags are included.

I would prefer a later nonstop flight but I will do anything to avoid Atlanta and the price cant be beat!

Before I discovered Airtran, I never thought I could find decent air out of DFW and relied on SWA. SWA does not offer nonstops and I dont like going to DAL when DFW is about 20 min. away.
Im also hoping Airtran releases some coupons in the near future for our summer and fall trips

 

[latexscooter]

Hi, I'm going 5/25-6/2 and thought I'd throw my suggestion in the ring. I guess you could call my suggestion option 4 because it's nothing anything you mentioned previously. Have you thought about flying out of San Antonio? I have friends who live in the Temple area and get up there in a couple hours. I know you got the little ones so dependent on how much it's worth it to you maybe my suggestions worth it. I just check rates for your dates out of SAT and AirTran has flights (with 1 connection) going for $200.80 each with taxes, etc. included. Southwest has a direct for $287.40 with taxes and fees included - which is a little ridiculous. The long term parking at SAT is pretty cheap (about $5 a day) and because the airport is relatively small it's not a hassle.

We're flying on points from work so we booked awhile back and are not flying direct. But when you have free airfare a connection doesn't seem so bad.

Good luck.

 

[disneyag]

Have you checked Jetblue out of AUS?