Why am I waiting? Airfares

[DisMN]

I don't know why I'm hesitating to just buy my tickets right now. I think I'm waiting for them to drop a few bucks, maybe $25 or so but why? Will the little extra I spend by getting them now really matter anyway?

Not really. I should just buy 'em now. Maybe they're at their cheapest now anyway, right?
Can you see I need someone to just tell me to buy 'em and shut up. LOL


Is anyone else waiting for prices to drop slightly? If so, are we being dumb?


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[hearts8701]

when were you planning on traveling? i have a trip planned for early dec. and i am doing the same thing waiting for what an extra $25????
i'm going to wait one more week i'm setting a date if nothing changes in price i'm buying my tickets!

 

[DisneyMommyMichelle]

i often play the waiting game too! then i realize ooo a whole 6$ was saved or something ridiculous!

 

[susancl]

I'm waiting because the airfares from the Northeast for Feb 07 are sky high. I'm hoping to get $250. Right now they are $350 and up up up. That multiplied by 5 tickets...... Well, you see what I mean.

If it were $25 difference, I would buy them now just to have the peace of mind.

 

[beattyfamily]

I waited because when they were released at 330 days and then when Jetblue released theirs, they were so much higher then last year. Well, now they are SO much higher then when they were released!

I don't know what to do now. I'm still hoping for a Jetblue/Southwest sale I guess.

Right now, for my last week of October, the good times/non-stops are at $377!

This is so stressful and frustrating. I'm used to booking really early so this is killing me. I'm also now worried about space being limited. I don't get why that particular week is SO expensive.

 

[CarolA]

Keep in mind that as beattyfamily points out, that waiting is 2 way street. You have a good chance that the airfare is going to go up $25.

A few things to consider. If you don't have SW figure it has probably gone up around $10 each way from last year. The airlines have been "creeping" up a few dollars at a time and as long as they all go up then it sticks. SW has actually also gone up, but if you can be flexible and get a DING you may not notice.

Also, if you are not flying out of a major airport capacity may very well be down. DL for example has been pullling the big jets out of smaller markets and turning those over to the thier feeder lines so check your plane size. If last year you had a big jet and this year you have a smaller jet, there is a good chance that your fares are going up and that even if you get a sale there may not be any seats on that non-stop to MCO.

Beattyfamily, are you going a school holiday weekend from the MA area. I have a friend that lives there and we have learned.. Book early they only go up! (Good luck, if SW hasn't released for your dates you may have some luck still)

 

[beattyfamily]

Beattyfamily, are you going a school holiday weekend from the MA area. I have a friend that lives there and we have learned.. Book early they only go up! (Good luck, if SW hasn't released for your dates you may have some luck still)

No, its not a school holiday week and that's why I'm surprised its so high (higher then other weeks around my trip).

SW has released thru Dec 10 but when they were released the best flight times were already "unavailable". I've never flown SW before so I'm not sure what to do with them. I did download DING just in case.

I guess I'm hoping that maybe Jetblue will have a sale. $377 is SO high and it went up so fast. When Jetblue opened it was $277 which shocked me but now it doesn't seem so bad!

My DH keeps telling me to wait. That Jetblue will have a sale. I have never been so confused. I almost bought SW last night even though it wasn't the best times but couldn't bring myself to click the purchase button.

 

[DisMN]

I see that I'm not alone!! LOL

We'll be travelling in Jan so I have time yet but yep, I do worry that instead of going down for a quickie sale the prices will instead creep upwards.
I THINK I'm waiting for one of those 6 hour "OOPS-we-didn't-mean-to-price-them-this-low-boo-boo" sales.
Not sure those even exist anymore......I don't think they do actually.

Flying from northern Minnesota on NWA. That's another worry, the whole NWA deal.

Beattyfamily, last week of Oct is always high out of Minnesota too. The last two weeks in Oct are sort of holidays. That second to the last week is MN's MEA week (Thurs/Fri no school) and the last week is Halloween. We've found that both those events keep the ticket prices high.


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[zulaya]

I don't think it's a question of $25 for me. Certainly not $25 total.

I am flying Dec 9-16 ~ not exactly your prime times to fly to MCO. The rates came out over $300 and haven't come down. Right now on NWA, my ideal flight times are $432 per person. On Sun Country, it's a little better, $321 per person.

When you are used to paying like $220, that's a huge jump. Multiply that difference by 4 people and we aren't talking pocket change here. We are talking several hundred dollars more.

The weird thing is that these prices have stuck for literally months. Usually I would start watching at 330 days (in January) and I'd get a price I could live with around March or April. Nothing doing this year.

Honestly, I'd be happy with $250 per person. Realistically, I don't know that will happen. I am really hoping to get under $300. And I will wait. I won't like it. But I will wait.

 

[beattyfamily]

I don't think it's a question of $25 for me. Certainly not $25 total.

I am flying Dec 9-16 ~ not exactly your prime times to fly to MCO. The rates came out over $300 and haven't come down. Right now on NWA, my ideal flight times are $432 per person. On Sun Country, it's a little better, $321 per person.

When you are used to paying like $220, that's a huge jump. Multiply that difference by 4 people and we aren't talking pocket change here. We are talking several hundred dollars more.

The weird thing is that these prices have stuck for literally months. Usually I would start watching at 330 days (in January) and I'd get a price I could live with around March or April. Nothing doing this year.

Honestly, I'd be happy with $250 per person. Realistically, I don't know that will happen. I am really hoping to get under $300. And I will wait. I won't like it. But I will wait.

You sound exactly like me!

 

[DisMN]

zulaya, oh yeah, the prices came out easily 100$ per ticket higher than ever for ours too but my $25 amount is the most discount I'm likely to see...but I totally know what you mean about the prices. They're really up there aren't they and for ALL flights out of Minnesota, so it seems.


Out of curiosity, how often do you folks actually check the prices? I check several times per day but I think it's just out of wishfull thinking. I don't think they actually post discounts willy-nilly. Or do they? LOL


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[ccw]

You sound exactly like me!

Don't forget that with SWA you have more flexibility than with most airlines! If a DING or other low fares comes out after you have already booked, you can get credit for the price drop. I understand the issue with schedules though and actually booked SWA only one way last year when their return times did not suit. Flew Delta back (and ended up with about the same fare SWA offered). Earlier this week I booked Delta round trip for a Nov. trip from RDU to MCo...$117 round trip! SWA was a tiny bit cheaper but I wanted Delta skymiles and the schedule suited me better. Good luck!

 

[kkmcan]

I'm waiting too. We cruise Nov. 12-16th. Here's my choices:

AA $312
SW $360
Continental $216

These are all just airfare then I need to add in taxes and fees.
We've got $550 in AA vouchers so thats why I keep checking there.
SW I figure has got to come down thru dings, sales etc
Continental is the cheapest thru Bestfares.com

This is from Tucson to MCO. Ridiculous prices! I just can't seem to hit the purchase button either right now.

Should I just bite the bullet and book the Continental????

Help!

 

[CarolA]

I'm waiting too. We cruise Nov. 12-16th. Here's my choices:

AA $312
SW $360
Continental $216

These are all just airfare then I need to add in taxes and fees.
We've got $550 in AA vouchers so thats why I keep checking there.
SW I figure has got to come down thru dings, sales etc
Continental is the cheapest thru Bestfares.com

This is from Tucson to MCO. Ridiculous prices! I just can't seem to hit the purchase button either right now.

Should I just bite the bullet and book the Continental????

Help!

I am very hestiant to give purchasing advice, but I think part of your problem is that you are flying over a holiday weekend. SW MIGHT come down (especially on your return) I assume you are flying on 11/11 and that might be a tough day.

If it were me I would jump on the CO airfare and go. I don't think even SW is going to come that much lower unless you got a great DING and with a cruise some of your flexibility is gone. (I mean you can't fly in a day late or so to get a great deal, you will miss the boat!) Of course, the reason I hate to give this advice is that while using the normal laws of supply and demand airfares on a holiday weekend would go up we all know airlines work on some economic model not taught in any school! LOL!

 

[zulaya]

Don't forget that with SWA you have more flexibility than with most airlines! If a DING or other low fares comes out after you have already booked, you can get credit for the price drop. I understand the issue with schedules though and actually booked SWA only one way last year when their return times did not suit. Flew Delta back (and ended up with about the same fare SWA offered). Earlier this week I booked Delta round trip for a Nov. trip from RDU to MCo...$117 round trip! SWA was a tiny bit cheaper but I wanted Delta skymiles and the schedule suited me better. Good luck!

This only works if SWA flies where you are. I am sure for those of you on the east coast, they are everywhere. SWA does not fly out of MSP...the closest they come is Chicago.

 

[hearts8701]

i could fly swa or airtran for a reasonable amount about $176
but i don't like the airport they fly out of
in chicago you have a choice of 2 airports midway which swa& airtran flies out of and o'hare which is minutes from home but the lowest i find is $240
my husband also works at o'hare which will save me plently since parking is free for us our trip is for 2 weeks and its over $20 a day to park at o'hare
i have set a date to purchase our tickets on wednesday unless there even higher!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[hearts8701]

sorry i forgot to mention i really want non stop too LOL
why not ask for everything right
after all i'm going to disneyworld let my magic begin early

 

[pppiglet]

I couldn't play the waiting game. Too stressful. I booked us for May already. LAX-MCO
$397 pp. Looking at a site called Farecompare...it looks like flight prices haven't changed much for months. (and what has changed keeps going up)

 

[monymony3471]

right now we are driving, but if we find a good price, and I'm talking cheap, we'll fly, I have 6 tickets to purschase, so that's a tight budget I'm working with.

 

[dougsmom98]

Honestly, I found that airline prices fluctuated from hour to hour when I was searching for them. It became very labor intensive to try to get flights. Finally we bit the bullet and purchased a few weeks ago for $257 each including taxes from PWM-MCO during Pres. week. My father in law was online at the same time as us, and he went to go hit purchase after we did and there were no more flights available at that price. It had gone up $50. We must have gotten the last 6 at that price. Some days I found mornings had lower prices, some days it was at night. It's hard, especially if you want a direct flight. We've given up on direct flights, we just can't afford them.
Good luck.