When do you book your flights?

[il-gander]

I've been anxiously trying all possible combinations of flights to MCO from home (Illinois) and I'm not impressed with the cost so far. We're cruising Oct. 9, 2004. The flights that work best time-wise are about $240-$280 each. For a family of four, that adds up to a substantial chunk of change I'd rather spend onboard!

I know there is plenty of time left , but what has been your experience on getting the best airfare deal? I know not to book any closer than 21 days prior to the trip, but how far out seems to net the best deals? Is there a particular time of year when airfare seems to go on sale, or is it pretty much random?

Carla

 

[prymsu]

have you checked different airports? Also, have you tried different airlines?

For instance when i book my flights, i just start watching over a few weeks time, and check a couple times of week different airlines and airports. I leave between both Cedar Rapids and Moline airport, so i always check the rates between these two, and sometimes one is cheaper than the other to fly out of. Since i start looking way ahead of time, i can often get airfare for around $200 per person or less.

Hope this gives you ideas.

 

[il-gander]

Yes, I've tried all airports within a 3-hour drive (there's quite a few to choose from - Chicago, Indianapolis, St. Louis, and several other smaller airports). I've tried a departure on Thursday rather than Friday. We flew out of Indianapolis to WDW last June for $140 a person, and I was just hoping we could find something similar for this trip too... I'm just not sure how long I should wait and *hope* that the fares go down and risk losing the flight times we need. Thanks-

Carla

 

[DMS_cruisers04]

Don't get discouraged, we've got a CCL trip booked for Sept. out of San Juan, going rate right now $465 , but I keep seeing specials at around $257, just not for our timeframe yet. So be patient, decide on a price range that is acceptable for you, and good luck!

 

[Pacha]

We usually book through Travelocity and so we have a fare watcher alert set up at thier site ( free to do ), that lets us know when fare goes down. Besides that, for us ( we live in Nebraska ) good fares that we can live with don't usually come out until 3-6 months from our trip.


Pacha

 

[DMS_cruisers04]

Hey Carla, what dates are you traveling?
I did a little snooping for fun and might have found a good price for you. PM me.

 

[il-gander]

Thanks for checking into it for me! We're leaving October 8 and returning October 16. I should have been more specific in my original post - there are some cheaper flights, but none of them work out for various reasons. There is a non-stop Spirit out of O'Hare on the 8th for the same price (edited to add $161), but the return times don't work out. We need to get back as fast as we can directly after the cruise on the 16th.

I think I've checked every possible flight scenario with our time constraints, dates of travel, distance to the airport, parking, etc. all figured in. We will take one of the "less desirable" scenarios to save some cruise bucks if necessary, I just wondered if you all have any experience or tips on how long I should go on waiting and checking, hoping the price will go down.

Carla

 

[tink5697]

We booked ours as soon as it became available on JetBlue, it gets so expensive as time passes!

 

[Serena6010]

we went on our last cruise on 10/18/03 and had a flight from PHX to MCO. I bought our tickets in late July or early Aug.......and got a good deal ($186). I usually book about 2-3 months out.

 

[jrabbit]

With airlines it used to be book early and save big bucks. Now it's wait, wait, wait, wait and get a good rate closer to travel time. I have been looking a airfares for this summers vacation for the last 5 months. They have been in the 350 - 425 per person. Just booked last week for mid june flight - price $225. It seems that the optimal time to book is 3-4 months out. For October dates, I wouldn't get serious about a rate until June/July. FOr us obsessive planners, its hard to wait, but to get a decient fare, you gotta wait.

You should check with Orbitz, Travelocity and Expedia. They will sometimes give you different rates for the same flights. You should also check with the carrier you choose to see if they have a better rate (we did and their rate was actually 100 per person MORE than Orbitz! - frequently you can get a better rate)

 

[il-gander]

Hey, who are you calling an obsessive planner? I resemble that remark! Thanks for the advice, that's what I was hoping to get - hope and validation that by waiting and watching I might actually end up with a cheaper flight and not be stuck with a time I don't like as much!

Carla

 

[ClarabelleCow]

Check with orbitz, travelocity, and expedia, then when you get the flights and times you want., before you book, go directly to the airlines and see if you can book directly with them and get the same prices. The reason - if you keep tracking and the price goes down, they will give you a voucher for the difference, if your flying international, they will credit your card back.

I already booked our flights for our August cruise, my choices are flying out of NYC or Hartford (or would prefer White plains - but you always end up paying a fortune and a half), I could have flown out of Laguardia for about $100.00 less a ticket, but would have to fly in before the cruise, and the return time wasn't unitl 7:00 at night. so we would have needed a hotel, and then something to do on the day after the cruise. In the long run it worked out to be cheaper to spend the extra and fly during the best times. I ended up paying more, flying out of Hartford, and got perfect flights. I'm flying Song (Deltas cheaper airline) and the nice part is they only charge a $25.00 change fee compared to American who charges $100.00 on most flights!

 

[Jestocost]

One of the other keys is that Southwest and some of the other low-fare carriers don't accept reservations as far in advance as the major carriers. Southwest currently only has dates available through August 7, for example, while the major airlines already are booking into January 2005 (331 days out).

Since Southwest flies out of Chicago-Midway, St. Louis and Indianapolis, their fares will be a factor in all three of those markets. All of the airlines are likely to fall back a bit as those fares become available. Out of Indy you also have ATA and I'm sure there are other low-fare carriers out of Chicago.

I'd keep checking every week and hang in there until at least the first or second week of May, when Southwest likely will make your dates available. You also could see what their best fares are running for August and if the major carriers hit close to that level before May, you can book it.

Even if you don't end up booking with a low-fare airline because of schedules or some other reason, you can still benefit from their market impact.

 

[glindamood]

I booked our airfare before booking our cruise! Yes, I know, totally backwards but that would be me !!

 

[HLFDZN]

I am near chicago too....I have been told that airlines change their fares 4 times a day, I also heard Tuesday was a good day to check. I was soo lucky to get the fare we got during spring break. I paid $181 TOTAL ( fees and tax and everything) each for our spring break cruise on Spirit Airlines out of Ohare. Our trip is Friday -Friday. I would say keep looking......EVERY day. They will have sales since that is generally not the busiest time of the year for Florida. I know you can get it under 200.......you just keep checking is all..I go straight to the airline website and like some mentioned....travelocity and orbitz are good too. Good luck!!!! Melissa

 

[Typhoon]

Call me moneybags "NOT" but I booked plane tickets w/ Cruise. The four of us are flying out of Grand Rapids Mi. (25 min away) to go on the 4 day wonder April 25 for about $240 pp. I like the fact that if the plane is late or we have weather issues, Disney will do what it takes to get us on the ship before it sails.

 

[jrabbit]

I thought that DCL charged everyone $450-$500 per person for airfare. If you paid DCL $240, that seems to be a pretty good deal.