When to book airfare for July trip

[vbarry]

Of course I wish I would have done this weeks ago. Right now we are looking at about $300 round trip whether I fly out of Indy, St. Louis or Chicago. I have been watching bing and they are saying to wait.

Gas prices continue to go up so I am tempted to just buy...I would rather pay $250 but I really do not want to pay $400.

Any thoughts on why they are saying to wait???? Is there some sort of good outlook for summer travel...I cannot imagine that!! Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

 

[Christine9125]

I bought mine for July 30th this past week, they were already up $100, but now are up almost $300 from what I paid on Tuesday.

If you find a price you are willing to pay, buy it, you can always get a credit if they go down, instead of paying the extra if they go up.

 

[mickey2000]

 

[lmf]

Try booking through Orbitz. That way if flight price goes down you get a refund after your trip. Booked my trip for first week in August about two weeks ago and now prices are about $100 more per ticket, with no forecast of dropping gas prices I expect they'll continue to rise.

 

[Luv2Diz]

I don't think waiting for lower airfare is going to be a good thing this year, the way oil and gas prices are going up. I bought airfare for our September trip about 3 weeks ago, and I'm glad I did. Prices are already $150 more than I paid per ticket.

 

[Jessica527]

I would do you best and get online Tuesday mornings around 8am. That is when they typically put deals/sales and new pricing out. Let me know if it works!

 

[OandA]

You should have booked months ago.

We booked our trip for September about 2 months ago. Prices are just going to keep rising. Unless you want to see if any last second bargains come out the day before you fly you should book now.

 

[soarinup]

I say buy it now, 300 is not a bad deal for Chicago to Orlando, so you don't get a huge savings, its better than a huge increase.

 

[Lilo&Stitch]

I may be in the minority but i would wait, 300 RT from chicago to orlando is crazy high, I can't see it going higher no matter what gas prices are

 

[mickey2000]

I may be in the minority but i would wait, 300 RT from chicago to orlando is crazy high, I can't see it going higher no matter what gas prices are

Sure it can go higher!
PHL to MCO SWA non stop for August is $448 another jump tonight !
Gas up 33 cents — second biggest two-week jump ever

 

[vbarry]

Thanks everyone! I may pull the trigger today or first thing in morning. Headlines this morning are all about 30 to 40 cent increase in gas!! I will try orbitz so I can get the lower fare if released. I will let you all know what happens. Hoping for a Tuesday sale!!

 

[M2DD's]

Of course I wish I would have done this weeks ago. Right now we are looking at about $300 round trip whether I fly out of Indy, St. Louis or Chicago. I have been watching bing and they are saying to wait.

Gas prices continue to go up so I am tempted to just buy...I would rather pay $250 but I really do not want to pay $400.

Any thoughts on why they are saying to wait???? Is there some sort of good outlook for summer travel...I cannot imagine that!! Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

This is my family's problem
We are also looking at July dates out of chicago/Illinois and nothing for under 300 close to 350 for our dates. I have looked to fly out of moline, peoria, bloomington, milwaulkee, st.Louis and both chicago airports.

We are going to wait a few wks and see if anything drops. Friends of our are flying out of MDW on southwest in June and there flights today are 92$ each way and then southwest goes up to 165 and higher for July/august so I'm hoping that will drop there fares down.

Worst case senerio is we drive if airfare doesn't come down even with high gas prices is will cost less than the 1200$ for us to fly.

Have you thought about driving? We have driven several times and its not that bad at all. One yr we drove down 3 times in 12 mnths!

 

[Linda T.]

I just booked my disney vacation for July and I am going to wait to see if airfare comes down a little. I too am flying out of St. Louis and hoping Southwest fares for July get a little lower.

 

[francie57]

Thankfully we got our airfare this past Nov. for our trip in Aug. We paid $179 with taxes/fees, round trip from Hartford to MCO on Delta. As of today the same flight is over $100 higher. I don't think there will be a reduction in prices this year since the price of gas just keeps going up.

 

[packofprincesses]

I think the new Southwest schedule comes out tomorrow. I bet the fares will go down a bit tomorrow and Wednesday. I ended up booking my late May tickets last week. From STL it was $145 each way. That same route is up to $201 now.....yikes! I have 6 tickets to buy so I've been holding out. Fortunately we only have to buy one way because were able to book our return with flyer miles.

Good luck!!!!

 

[disneychic2]

I was in the same boat as you, OP and didn't know whether to wait or book. Hated to pay what was shown, and as I watched, it went up slightly. Then someone on the disboards said if you book Airtran through Disney, you get cheaper rates. I tried it and got our rt tickets from Akron to Orlando for just under $200 each! So, give them a call and see what they can do. Good luck!

 

[LaurenT]

Thanks everyone! I may pull the trigger today or first thing in morning. Headlines this morning are all about 30 to 40 cent increase in gas!! I will try orbitz so I can get the lower fare if released. I will let you all know what happens. Hoping for a Tuesday sale!!

Do it today!
Southwest is releasing October in the morning...they will be higher than people expect..this will drive some to the major carriers and that will fill any remaining lower rate seats.

 

[seashoreCM]

IIf you find a price you are willing to pay, buy it, you can always get a credit if they go down, instead of paying the extra if they go up.

The majority of airlines don't give a credit like that any more these days.

I would take the chance waiting for a sale.