Where have the cheap flights out of Buffalo gone?

[tink001969]

Anyone else notice this? We used to be able to fly out of Buffalo (4 of us) for $600. Then $800. Then $1200. Now I'm looking at just over $2000!

Anyone have tips on the best days of the week to purchase tickets?

 

[dsneygirl]

I know $59 each way in the spring of 2010. I miss those days.

 

[minnie56]

Well, if you do the math, that wouldn't even put fuel in the plane now!!

 

[mkmommy]

I am glad that I took all those trips in 2010 and 2011, our best was $450 for 3 of us. If you want weekend flights it is hard to find reasonable flights now.


At least the fares from Toronto have not gone up at the same rate. I remember paying $500 in 2009 and for March break this year I got $500 per person too.

 

[thebigman65]

Part of it was the recession state side, but I think most it now has to do with them catching on in certain markets, that Canadians are crossing the border to take advantage of the flights and they are raising them accordingly.

 

[tgropp]

Well, if you do the math, that wouldn't even put fuel in the plane now!!

Oil was over $100/barrel back then and it is below $100 now. The American economy is on the rebound and businesses know this so they raise prices

 

[dsneygirl]

Well, if you do the math, that wouldn't even put fuel in the plane now!!

I'm not saying it's realistic now. I agree the Buffalo market has caught on, the economy is different. Even at $59 planes had empty seats. The last 5 or 6 flights I have been on were full.

I am glad I took advantage of it as well. 8 trips in 2 years at those prices.

 

[minnie56]

Oil was over $100/barrel back then and it is below $100 now. The American economy is on the rebound and businesses know this so they raise prices

That may well be, but the cost of fuel was not the same as it is now! If my car costs almost $100 to fill..how much would an airplane be?

We all know the cost of a barrel of oil compared to the pump isn't in sync..

 

[torontodisneyfan]

I paid $260 / person on JetBlue (Return and direct) out of Buffalo. You have to book early. I book as soon as the date I need goes on sale. The prices on JetBlue rise as the seats sell and the departure date gets closer.

I never fly out of Toronto anymore...

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

I paid $260 / person on JetBlue (Return and direct) out of Buffalo. You have to book early. I book as soon as the date I need goes on sale. The prices on JetBlue rise as the seats sell and the departure date gets closer.

I never fly out of Toronto anymore...

Our August dates out of Buffalo via Jetblue (non-stop flights) are almost $750 per person (August 17th to 31st).

We booked right when flights were first released (out of Syracuse, though, not Buffalo) and it was still $450 per person. Significantly more than we have paid for our last two August trips. Thankfully, we had $400 in TrueBlue points that we used to offset the cost.

Since booking back in November, our flights have gone up to $686 pp. Unreal! This might be our last time flying from Syracuse.

 

[minnie56]

And I have a few flights I paid $287 for a 2 - I paid $307 for from Toronto..Air Canada and Westjet - taxes incl.

It can be hit and miss ...and winter I never do Buffalo, but finding decent air is more of a challenge these days!

 

[OnceUponATime15]

I keep searching Kayak, Hipmunk & Skyscanner on a daily basis for our August trip. Toronto direct both ways is cheaper right now all service charges & taxes incl. Waiting on Southwest to release their late August dates to see if they will still be a viable option.
By the time you add in the exchange rates & bank or currency exchange charges the cost is no longer worth driving to Buffalo for.
(My $200US pkg deposit to Disney travel 10 days ago came to $224CDN)

When the flight is only 2.5 or so hours direct. I will always choose direct over spending vacation time waiting for connecting flights in an airport. Direct flights out of BUF seem to have a premium on them these days... lol.

We flew WestJet down & Air Canada back 6 weeks ago at a cost of $308 each direct all in. If I can just get those seat sales again for August I will be very, very happy indeed!

 

[robnoxious]

We are heading to Disney at the end of July. I booked direct flights both ways on Jetblue I think two days after they released the calendar to include July/August and got them for $229 each. I'm 99% sure I can't get them for that out of Toronto.

 

[webworm]

Buffalo airport is no longer a secret since 50% of passengers are Canadians. There are many other airports to fly out of where you can find deals especially when living in southern ontario.

 

[mamabear0222]

I booked as soon as the flights came out too. You have to be willing to fly midweek for cheaper rates. My flights were $300pp and now the same flights are $800pp!! I'm glad I didn't wait and booked right away. Whew

Sent from my Samsung S3 using DISBoards

 

[Belle599]

The good prices are still around but not nearly as plentiful and not nearly as good as they used to be. You really have to be flexible now.

I had $93 per person per flight in June 2013 and for Feb 2014 I have $111 (connection - gross but saves $100 off the ticket) and $115.

 

[tink001969]

We only booked our March break trip last week. So I'm kind of stuck with the leftover flights. And it's pretty slim pickin's out there unless I want to pay over $1000 per person.
I think my best option is Southwest $2140 for the 4 of us. No luggage fees!

 

[papertraveller]

If you know your dates, it's always best to book on SWA or JB the day the schedule opens.

That said, you can also find deals by trying a flight into Tampa. We have done this a couple of times. The inbound flights were cheap enough that it offset the price of a one-day car rental (about $50 tops, and you need to watch the coupon deals) and the 90 minutes it took to drive from TPA to Disney. On those trips, we still managed to find more affordable flights that took us direct MCO-BUF.

 

[DevinsMom]

My mom and I are travelling to Orlando from Buffalo April 3 to 11th and I had to fudge around a lot with dates and times but ended up getting flights for 460 all in. Too bad the Cdn dollar isn't great but it still ended up being a lot cheaper than Toronto.

It will be the first time we've flown from Buffalo...so I guess we shall see if it's worth saving the money to spend at Disney lol

 

[Disfanx4]

Southwest just released the first week of August today got tix for $109 pp rest of August through October are slated to open March 3. I find Tuesdays the best day to catch deals