What's the deal with airfare, does it go up before...

[Blondie]

It drops again?

I've been checking Southwest, Airtran, Delta and Independence Air and I've noticed an increase in fares over the last week. What was once $79 each way on SW, Airtran and Independence is now $84. Delta never dropped that low to begin with. I have been checking other airlines, but none of them are as low as $79 each way.

I wish I had booked the RT fare of $122.60 on Independence out of Dulles to Orlando back on Feb. 8th when I saw it! I could kick myself!

Anyone know what the trend is? I'm looking for airfare the first week of May.

I refuse to pay $79 each way, we'll drive if we have to.

 

[NancyIL]

I also noticed increased airfares on AirTran, Delta and American. I'll just wait for a sale, I suppose.

 

[wdisneelvr]

The cheapest fares go first. The longer you wait and the closer to the dates you are looking for go up. Also, it's probably still spring break time.

 

[Brendita]

Gas prices have gone up that has something to do with the increases.
If you see prices that are in your budget.
Grap them if they go done you can request a refund for the difference.
If they go up you are locked in at the lower fare.

 

[CarolA]

Sorry, but I think $79 each way is a bargin! The problem witht the really low sales is that people begin to thing that is the norm. Indepedence did a "fire sale" to get cash when they were in trouble so they were willing to take a loss just to bring in some money to pay the bills. They have gotten some restructing of thier debt so they may not be that chas strapped anytime soon.

The closer you get the less likely that there will be a sale that covers your period and even if it is there is less chance you will get the flights you want. The airlines are holding those seats for people like me who fly on business and will pay the full fares.

 

[Blondie]

We got spoiled with the low fares we had in the last two or so years, so $79 seems like a rip off!

Like I said, we'll drive if we have to.

 

[agnes!]

It drops again?

I've been checking Southwest, Airtran, Delta and Independence Air and I've noticed an increase in fares over the last week. What was once $79 each way on SW, Airtran and Independence is now $84. Delta never dropped that low to begin with. I have been checking other airlines, but none of them are as low as $79 each way.

I wish I had booked the RT fare of $122.60 on Independence out of Dulles to Orlando back on Feb. 8th when I saw it! I could kick myself!

Anyone know what the trend is? I'm looking for airfare the first week of May.

I refuse to pay $79 each way, we'll drive if we have to.

Blondie -

It looks like there are a few of us DIS'ers in the same boat, trying to get from BWI/IAD/DCA to MCO for a cheap/reasonable fare this spring. (I'm trying to travel 4/14-4/18.) If I find out about any particularly good fares, I'll post them here on the Transportation Board.
MouseSavers says that a good time of the week to try to find fair fares is Tuesday/Wednesday...I'm going to be haunting the web the middle of this week!

agnes!
PS - I would love to be able to pay *only* $79 each way, I wouldn't care *which* Washington area airport I had to fly out of. (DCA is my preference because it's only about 15 minutes from my house.) $122 sounds absolutely dreamy...*sigh*.

 

[Dopey & Grumpy]

I just booked our air fares for WDW the end of May. I kept watching them and they did go up a little but the biggest problem I was running into was getting a good flight getting home. Getting there was easy. I checked 5 different airlines this morning and the rates were all about the same but they didn't have any flights for the day we are coming back. I finally booked with Air Tran for $182.60 round trip each. We're coming home a littler earlier than I wanted to but the other option was getting into Pittsburgh after midnight and with a 4 and 6 year old, that was something we were not looking forward to. Even if the fares do go down, I'm happy with what I got.

 

[Blondie]

Agnes, I'll be watching and waiting! If I find anything that looks reasonable, I'll send you a PM!

When I found the $122 fare out of Dulles to Orlando, it was a Tuesday night! Oh how I wish I had booked those flights! Usually when I find something that cheap, I book it immediately, but for some reason I didn't. Live and learn....the hard way! It had one change of planes going to Orlando, but coming back it was direct/non-stop.

We haven't driven to WDW since April of 2001. Airfares had come down so much (after 9/11) that it was almost cheaper to fly down! But it seems like that will no longer be the case, at least not for now anyway.

From where we are in Virginia, it takes us roughly 12 hours to drive, door to door. We only stop briefly for bathroom breaks and to refuel.

Good luck to all those in search of low fares!

 

[Blondie]

Dopey & Grumpy, your dog is adorable!

 

[Dopey & Grumpy]

Dopey & Grumpy, your dog is adorable!

Thank you Blondie. She's about 14 weeks old and a mix breed so we're not sure how big she's going to get. We also have her brother who's twice the size she is. By the paws, we're thinking they're going to be huge. I'm hoping to get a good picture of them together but so far he's not too cooperative.

 

[David in Manassas]

I too have been watching those prices from Washington DC to Orlando also like a hawk. I could kick myself when I didn't take the 79 each way on Independence a couple of weeks ago, but I was waiting to see how their financing turned out since our trip is not till the very end of July. I've seen the prices go up and down in the same day!. My Delta flight that I had priced went up 10 bucks in an hour..doesn't seem like much X 5 in a family though.......sigh...he who hesitates....it is so true.....

I'll be looking on Tuesday!

BTW...Southwest has this new piece of software you can download that automatically alerts you when they put a sale price in their computer. Check it out at their web site.

I refuse to drive to BWI or fly Southwest but..for those that do..it sounds like it is worth it...

David

 

[Blondie]

I found a great RT fare out of Washington on United (Ted) for a total of $151 last night for the early May dates that I need. That rate included taxes and security fees! It was non-stop to Orlando! So keep checking those dates!

 

[David in Manassas]

I can't beliefve how often prices are changing in the same day. When I left work, a flight on Independence was 99.00 each way....when I got home from work, the return flight was up to $170.00. I really wanted to try Independence..The Delta flight that I was looking at yesterday was now 20 bucks cheaper today. So I decided to bite the bullet and stop playing air fare roulette and just by the darn tickets. When you have to buy for 6...20 bucks per ticket less adds up!. I would up for my flight in late July August paying $188 a person, which is about 79 bucks each way before all the taxes and government fees. Although we have to change in Atlanta (yuck), as I recall when we flew Delta last, these planes have inflight entertainment for free (not at your seat like Jet Blue). It should help to pass the hours.

Sooo..if your looking for a flight out of Dulles to MCO..take a look at Delta...

David

 

[DebbieB]

It's all a game. I've been checking flights for May 7 to 13. Air Tran at one time was $150 roundtrip. I decided to wait awhile, I got $135 in December. It went up to $201 then $246! Yikes! Last night I checked and it dropped back to $201, I bought the tickets, especially after seeing that USAir dropped 2 of their 3 morning flights. Then there was an ad in the morning paper for Air Tran advertising a sale. I thought I blew it! I went on and it was back to $246!