When to buy airfare for summer 2005 to L.A.

[lkohawaii]

Anyone know when the best time is to buy airline tickets for June 2005? We'll be going on the West Coast Disney Cruise. I have a companion flies free coupon so really I pay 1/2 price of the published fare. With rising gas prices I don't know if I should just buy it soon. I have used this coupon before and the published prices don't come down much ( at least not from Hawaii to the West Coast). I'm worried about prices going up. Anyone have any idea. Now is the time I wish I had a crystal ball to consult.

 

[iluvtig2]

is when the fares are posted for sale. Check to see what the 1/2 price coupon is actually for - Oftentimes the 1st ticket must pay regular excursion fare (read "High Price") in order to the get the 50% off.

I have had clients want to use these types of coupons, only to find out it was less expensive to buy the two tickets at the lowest available sale fare.

Just be sure to check what is best for you, before you buy, as most tickets are non-refundable.

Depending on when next summer you are going, you should be able to do you airfare soon! (End of April - Beginning of May is available now)

Have a great time!

iluvtig

 

[lkohawaii]

Thanks for the info. Yes, I have to pay the publised rate. A TA told me that if I was willing to wait for the published rates to come down that i could use the coupon....but the published rates wouldn't drop until about 2 months before departure. I can't wait that long and book so close. I'm a PLANNER. I've never traveled during summer so I didn't know if those rates ever come down. We usually travel in Dec. or Oct. and those rates come down. Thanks for the info though. Yes, in about 3 weeks I can start checking fares. I can't wait!!!!
P.S. My ticket is for second fare to be free...so I don't know if that makes a difference in just buying 2 sale fares.

 

[OLT2004]

The wait for fares and booking is usually 330 days from your travel day.

May I suggest that you use the priority seating calculator on this site to find out when you should be able to book your airfare.

Good Luck on your trip!

 

[lkohawaii]

That's a good idea...i'll do that right now. Duh!!! never thought of that.

 

[beachbunny]

Just a thought, but do you really want to "waste" a companion ticket on a west coast trip? Aloha Airlines has been having really cheap roundtrips (around $275) lately. There's also another airline that just started flying to/from Hawaii (sorry, can't remember the name) - it's also selling deeply discounted tickets. You could then use your companion ticket to fly to WDW - round trip to MCO is now running $600 per person.

 

[lkohawaii]

My mother has a phobia about flying into John Wayne ( she says she values her life - they turn off their engines or something right?) and I just can't get over thinking those Aloha planes are the tiny ones. I know many people have said they fly the bigger ones to the mainland. Anyway, so far I've been lucky and I get the companion flies free tickets everytime I need them. I just pay a $60 fee. Yes, I've thought about using them to go to MCO but I'm using miles to go that far. That trip is in 2007. I didn't know though that HNL to MCO could run only $600. I'll keep that in mind in case United goes Bankrupt before I redem my miles.

 

[beachbunny]

Never heard anything about turning off the engines before landing... Aloha flies Boeing 737-700's to the mainland which isn't small.

And the new airline flies into LAX. Just can't remember the name...

Last thing, if you're spending more than $600 per person to fly to MCO, you're paying too much. Sign up for travelocity fare watcher. Last month, I flew from HNL to MCO for under $300 per person. Fare was $200 per person HNL to anywhere on the west coast and $300 per person to anywhere on the east coast. I believe that fare came up in the beginning of March and was good through June. But you had to book it fast!

 

[lkohawaii]

I didn't know travelocity had such a thing. I checked out the site. That fare finder is neat. How far in advance have you seen fares published. I see a few fares for Dec. is that the farthest out the post fares?

 

[OLT2004]

Howzit, Brah...
Mainland?
Don't you tink you should say United States?
JUST KIDDING!!


Well, my Spam is Burning and my Rice Steamer is acting up - I got to go............

Later.........

 

[beachbunny]

lkohawaii - When you do a fare search on Travelocity, you can pick your timeframe. So even if Travelocity's default is set to six months out, you can still specify a date farther out. I believe you can purchase your airfare from Travelocity 11 months out - but I wouldn't do it because I keep waiting for a good deal.

Here's a tip - check airfares right after the new year. A lot of times, there are huge discounts. I usually book from Jan. through March for travel in May or June.

OLT2004, last time I checked, Hawaii was also a part of the United States so the term mainland is appropriate. Or would you prefer continental U.S.?

 

[ChibiJones]

My mother has a phobia about flying into John Wayne ( she says she values her life - they turn off their engines or something right?)

I grew up in So.Cal. I can assure you that they do not turn the engines off. What they do is called noise abatement. At the head of the runway for take-off, they reve the engines up to full power & then engage them. You do accelerate down the runway a little faster than normal. Once you reach a certain altitude, they bring the engines down a bit. When they do that, the cabin is much quieter, giving the impression that the engines are turned off when in fact they are just not going full throttle.

LAX is much more of a hassle than John Wayne. I could be biased though since my parents are only 15 minutes from John Wayne. And trust me, nothing makes a kid feel more loved than being forgotten on their first trip home from college.

 

[lkohawaii]

Beachbunny-On Travelocity what is the difference between web fares and low fare alert? Maybe I'm going to the wrong tab so I can't find a place to put my departure dates. I'll play around with it more..mybe I'll find it.

chibijones-Thanks for the clarification about John Wayne. We've always flown into LAX. I don't care for it because it's always cold and dreary...maybe if we try John Wayne we'll really like it. But, us "locals" love to go to Vegas so LAX is the connection point between Honolulu and Vegas ( that is if we're going to Disneyland or somewhere other than just Vegas) so maybe it's not so good I find out how much better John Wayne is. Many people though have mentioned it.

OLT 2004- Sorry should be Las Vegas shouldn't it. I'll think of you tonight as I eat my katsu. and Beachbunny...he was just giving me a hard time because he's not home enjoying all the pleasures of our wonderful island. But, mainland I got my point across...LOLOLOL.

 

[HenDuck]

I would check the Hawaiian Airlines website from time to time. Right now, they have a fare sale through December I think.

We just booked round trip tickets for 5 of us from Honolulu to LAX for $263 (which includes tax and fees!)

For some reason, Hawaiian has been having these fare sales off and on for the past few months.

If you can catch it at the right time, you may be able to fly for "cheap".

Plus, their planes are bigger than Aloha Airlines.

Good luck!

 

[beachbunny]

lkohawaii, it's been so long since I signed up for fare alert. You need to sign up to be notified by e-mail when fares drop (the box in the center of the first page - I believe that's the fare alert sign-up). The box on the top left just lets you check fares now for travel any time during the next 11 months.

 

[lkohawaii]

Thanks...I'll try that.

Henduck-Did you get those fares for Peak Season or off season. Unfortunatly because I'm a teacher I can only go when our dear kiddies are out of school which I always thought were considered Peak Season...but you know what I'm learning on this board not to assume things. I guess I will try cheking out Hawaiian and Aloha. In fact I'm going to do it right now.

 

[HenDuck]

Our reservations are for Dec 8th through 15th.

Try the Hawaiian Air website to see the dates. Although I'm not sure they have fares for 2005 yet. But you might want to try them from time to time, say once a month or every couple of weeks.

I also second the idea of farewatcher on Travelocity. It will pick up comparable Hawaiian Air fares too.

Good luck!

 

[lkohawaii]

HenDuck-You lucked out. I went to check around the same time on Hawaiian for this year. The fare was 5 or 6 hundred something. I checked two dates so I can't remember...but it was nowhere near $300 or I'd be going (this year too). Oh, no you know what I just looked at your dates again. You're coming back on the 15th. I checked Dec. 12-24 and those were the rates. I guess the kids are getting out and everyone travels then so fares go up but I'll watch the fares and maybe I'll get lucky. Thanks.

 

[HenDuck]

Yeah, my mother said the fares are good through Dec. 16th. I guess because after that, it starts getting busy.

Keep checking! You will find something! We always do!