This is why the airlines bug me so

[Ronda93]

Southwest's fares from Kansas City to Orlando remained around $320 round trip. We have a trip planned in May. With other locations reporting great fares, I figured SWA was using their monopoly for non-stops. Yesterday I bit the bullet and decided that $200 on Delta would do. Granted it's a stop in Atlanta, but to save $120 a head I'd do it.

Today Southwest puts up their internet only fare of $128.

Now I've lost money and time. It'll pass, but I feel taken. Soon, it'll be someone else's turn.

 

[frannn]

I thought only I had dumb luck like that! You can't win if you're impatient and book early, but you also can't win if you wait and prices just go up. I learned the hard way with both scenarios. Our plane fares usually go on sale (during nonpeak times), so one time we waited-I think it was during Pres week in Feb one year. I know, that actually is a holiday, but we procrastinated, since fares were pretty high. We ended up paying 400. per person from NY to Orlando. Never again will I take that chance. I'd rather book when the fares are a little higher than normal to avoid paying a crazy amount later. You took a gamble & Murphy's law got you. I'm willing to bet that if you didn't book, the SW fares would be much higher. I don't know how SW works, but Delta Song has tvs, so maybe that's a small bit of consilation, plus I believe you can pick your seats in advance with Delta. We got a decent airfare with Delta Song for Oct, which I booked even though we prefer Jetblue. Due to our choices & schedules, we will have to pay for 2 additional APs (had we gone even 1.5 weeks earlier we could have used the old), all meals for one DD will now be at adult price, and meals for younger DD will no longer be free. So, our trip will cost about 1000. more than if we had stuck with Sept. Maybe we could both try to save $ on other aspects of our trips!

 

[luvmarypoppins]

I tied to get a good deal on southwest but the week I want, last of april, is spring break here and the flights were gone like that, so we have to move to a further away airport, my only options were southwest highest price that had a late arrival, after 10 pm with a stopover to boot, or we took american, and american was horrible too. I ket shopping around for a few weeks, they were always changing their prices etc. I almost took a flight with a stopover in miami, somehow I got a direct flight for a cheaper price than the one I was originally going to book. They really stick it to us ny'er here. It is whatever the market can bear. My dh likes american because of the extra leg room, he is really tall, then I told him I read where they were putting the seats back in and getting rid of the extra room, the passengers, us, can't win for trying.