When to book Airlines?

[nlenguyen]

When it comes to a Disneyworld vacation, planning when to go is the problem. I tend to book hotels months out in advance and then wait to book my airfare.

What are some tips about booking your plane tickets? When have you seen the most discounts and deals on flights? I know booking a year out will not give you the most savings. What are some of your thoughts?

 

[Nebraska_Disney]

I am the opposite. I'd rather book the airlines as cheap as possible and then adjust my trip around that. For 4 adults traveling, I have had my airline price be $750 and I have had it be $1500, so I'd rather get the best flights and adjust around that.

 

[StageTek]

I fly one airline so my research is limited. I check prices often - from LAX to MCO about once a month. There doesn't seem to be any rhyme or reason to prices or discounts. I look at the airline's website and several of the metasearch engines like Expedia.

On May 1 I decided to go to The World in September so I checked once a week. Every week the price changed. Dropping by $5 to $12, jumping up by $30 to $45(!) then dropping again. On May 13 it was $175 per seat each way. On June 10 it was $92. Today (15th) it was $115.

I'm planning to go Sept. 2021so I'll start checking as soon as they offer flights.

Nebraska has the best solution if vacation dates are flexible. Do you use Expedia (or the like) to find deals, Nebraska?

 

[Nebraska_Disney]

Nebraska has the best solution if vacation dates are flexible. Do you use Expedia (or the like) to find deals, Nebraska?

Yes, I tend to fly United for work and Southwest for family trips, but I have used Expedia (and similar) to do searches prior to purchasing. One trip to MCO, I was almost able to pull the strings on a Southwest flight when I plugged in the dates into Expedia and they came back with some Delta options which were better, cheaper, and a direct flight coming home ! It pays to be flexible if you can and it pays to keep looking. Once you get a feel for the routes you are interested it, it makes it much easier to see a price and jump on it and not worrying if it will change a ton. Using points on Southwest makes this really easy to do, but a person needs to have an idea of what price range they are looking for. Like you, I start looking as soon as the routes open up.

 

[nlenguyen]

Thanks for all the advice. I know that airfare is very random. My family flies Southwest for all of our trips because of the luggage included in the price. I think they tend to book within a narrower window than most other airlines.

 

[StageTek]

Do you book direct or through a third-party website?

I think they tend to book within a narrower window than most other airlines.

Do you find it's cheaper the closer you get to you flight days?

 

[keishashadow]

The past travel best-price strategies may not hold up when it comes to airfare due to CV-19.

Start watching whatever dates, when you find a fare that’s in your budget it book it. If SWA you can always reprice for a credit.

If travel is soon many airlines have special CV travel plan accommodations.

As for booking onsite at WDW, currently not taking new reservations. No indication when that policy will be adjusted. I’d wait until able to book a place holder reservation, then pin down airfare.

 

[rwdavis2]

Book directly with the airline and not through a third party like Expedia.

 

[sam_gordon]

Start watching whatever dates, when you find a fare that’s in your budget it book it. If SWA you can always reprice for a credit.

/thread.

 

[JM23457]

Do you book direct or through a third-party website?

Never book flights through a 3rd party website. Their change/cancellation policies are invariably less flexible than the airlines' policies, and their customer service is often based overseas.

Use them to find cheap flights if you like, but book those flights directly through the airlines. The prices will be the same.

 

[nlenguyen]

Wow, I never knew that with 3rd party sites. We always have booked through SWA website. I will keep that in mind

 

[rwdavis2]

Wow, I never knew that with 3rd party sites. We always have booked through SWA website. I will keep that in mind

Also about 3rd party sites, if smething goes wrong you have the airline and 3rd party web site poiting fingers at each other.

 

[Karin1984]

Now is not the most objective time to look for trends in air fare. Due to the crisis the fares are all over the place.
I prefer to book via the airline directly for reasons mentioned already. But on occasion I book via 3rd parties. But the good thing about these 3rd party websites is that they have a fare tracker. Informing you when the prices go down or up. Skyscanner is the one I use most of the time.

 

[JM23457]

Wow, I never knew that with 3rd party sites.

Yes, take it from those of us who have already been burned.

 

[StageTek]

I often book through 3rd party sites (Expedia and Travelosity) and never had an issue. Especially when you bundle you can get really good deals. I've had to cancel once and rebook twice. No problems.

 

[gharter]

We book either early, if there are not a lot of seats left or when the prices drop.
We only have 1 small airport in town, so no options there. Or, we can drive 60 -120 minutes to one of 2 other airports, but still not a lot of options for us. YMMV.

 

[nlenguyen]

Does anyone know if Magical express is still working between the resorts and the airport?

 

[Disneyfan754321]

If you fly sprit and if you book at the airport you save 20 a ticket on fees. I am following this because I was tempted to buy when airfares were so low during April... but i worried that we couldnt go. Our trip is not till October. Today American says it will be 450 RT it was 115 three weeks ago.

 

[JM23457]

A lot of airlines are waiving change fees for flights booked in June. So if you plan to fly within the next year, booking now might be worthwhile.

 

[mikehn]

Generally, I let airfare drive the train. But sometimes its a combination of airfare and rental car. Hotel rates are the least volatile from my experience.