To book the flight or not to book the flight?

[bailman]

Just interested in opinions. We are flying out of Philly to Orlando in January. We'll need 5 tickets for our family. Southwest and Airtran both have non-stop flights for $79 each way. Seems like a great deal to me and I'd love to pull the trigger, but we only decided to do this trip a couple days ago with the 7/4 deal so I guess we kind of feel like this is happening so fast. So is this the best we'll get? Less than $1000 round trip seems like a good deal for a family of 5, but do you think we can do better? And Southwest or Airtran?
Thanks!
Carolyn

 

[Brian Noble]

You're kidding, right? Less than $200 round trip---book it. Sure, they might go down a little, but they could also go up a lot.

If either airline flies nonstop, and the other doesn't, I'd take the nonstop flights every time. Otherwise, I'd probably lean to Southwest---fewer nuisance fees, less likely to change flight times, etc.

 

[Bambi222]

Southwest book it right away. Fares may go up any day. Plus, look at both Baggage policies, SW- free 2 bags, not so on other airlines!

Plus, check both cancellation, change fee policies. SWA is the best by far. Lots of hidden costs on other airlines.

 

[Thumper_Man]

DW and I swear by SW. We will usually book our flights with them if available. We love they're one of the only airlines that fly non-stop. Well at least from our area. $79 each way for non-stop flights through SW is a heck of a deal. I would take it now if you can. Also, Airtran charges you the checked baggage fees. $15 for the first bag, $25 for the second and $50 for each bag there after. The first 2 checked bags are free on SW (take it you don't exceed the weight limit). Might want to take these into account if you plan on checking in luggage.

Also, I've downloaded DING from SW and have gotten some good deals on flights this way. If you don't have it, I recommend downloading it. A better deal might come along, but sometimes not likely if the flights sell rather quickly. They offer daily deals.

So as you can tell, my vote is for SW.

 

[ajpa]

Sounds like a good deal!

We are going to PHL-MCO too, and we'd have preferred SW except that the times they have for our dates aren't so good. Plus airtran has the coupons for our dates so for use it's a better deal. But for the same price SW is a better deal because "Bags Fly Free".