When a flight says "Only 3 at this price"

[CalDisneyMomof2]

I want to book a flight for 6 people through American Airlines. What exactly does it mean when there's only 3 at that price? What are the odds that I buy those 3 tickets and they open up more at that price later on?

There's also the option to "upgrade" and pay $29 more to get a free bag and priority boarding-it too, says only 3 left. And it comes out cheaper than if I were to try to book 6 at a time. Is there only 3 tickets ALL together at these prices or does each category have 3 tickets left?

So it's $213 with 3 seats left. $242 with a checked bag with 3 seats left OR $252 no checked bag if I want to book all 6 right now.

 

[smitch425]

It means there are 3 fares left at that price, and once those are gone, the price is higher. They may or may not have that price at another time. No way to know.

 

[jec6613]

It means there are 3 fares left at that price, and once those are gone, the price is higher. They may or may not have that price at another time. No way to know.

Specifically, there are three left at that fare level (usually Q fares). If you buy all six at once, three will purchase at that lower price, and three at the next higher price (usually N or O fares). The chances of additional Q inventory opening up are effectively zero, unless someone cancels. Since the cancellation fee for Q fares is usually more than the fare itself, people rarely do.

Now, that is not to say that N or O fares may not later drop to nearly the same price as the Q fares are now, but it does happen (although rarely), and it's happened less with the merger going through as the pool of flights is much larger.

The $29 extra is an additional optional fare, so you'll have fare code Q with a numeric fare basis (confused yet? ... don't worry, almost everybody is), and by changing the fare basis you get more or fewer features.

TL;DR: if you want to book now, you can still book 6 at a time, but three will be at the shown price and three at a slightly higher price. If you select it and then click next, you'll get the proper total for all six combined.

 

[jec6613]

I should also probably mention, looking at your location, that LAX-MIA is a very business heavy route for AA and there's a lot of traffic booked 2-3 months out, so the typical, "Time to buy," rules don't fully apply. It's essentially the Disney Express, connecting Burbank and Anaheim to Lake Buena Vista.

 

[CalDisneyMomof2]

I should also probably mention, looking at your location, that LAX-MIA is a very business heavy route for AA and there's a lot of traffic booked 2-3 months out, so the typical, "Time to buy," rules don't fully apply. It's essentially the Disney Express, connecting Burbank and Anaheim to Lake Buena Vista.

Do you mean MCO?

I'm still 6 months out (November 5th departure for November 6th arrival). We booked our return with Virgin for the exact time and flight we wanted for $184. I'm hoping MAYBE prices will go down a little when Southwest releases their schedule, however it might not make a difference since they don't compete with other airlines that do red eyes since they don't offer them.

I don't know- I'm just stumped on what to do.

 

[jec6613]

Yes, I did mean MCO.

If you're not flexible on times, book early, if you are, then you can afford to wait to book.