Why Are There Such Fluctuations in AirFare?

[BethR]

Don't know if anyone can really answer this, but I am sure that many of you can comiserate.

For the past 6 weeks or longer, I have been watching airfare on USAirways (we have to use them since we are using a couple of FF tickets) from Pittsburgh to Orlando for an August RT. I have not been able to book because we are still unsure if our neice will be joining us or not. In the past 5 days, I have seen the price for the flight that we want go from $175 up to $215 down to $195.

I hope to have this finalized by today or tomorrow before the FF seats disappear. I hope that the rate stays down or goes down even further before then. But who knows?

 

[bigbabyblues]

I don't know why there's such a difference, but I can sympathize. My DH finally got our tickets yesterday, Columbus to MCO was $211 pp on Delta, NW (his preferred airline) was $280-ish per person, and even though he has enough FF miles for 2 adult tickets on NW leaving us only having to buy 1 child ticket and 1 infant ticket, there weren't any seats on the plane. When he checked a couple weeks ago, the fares were different, but I'm not sure what they were exactly. I would think the Delta flight would be more expensive, it's non-stop; the NW one has a layover in Detroit.

Maybe it would have been better for us to drive to Pitt to fly, I never thought of that. Pitt is about a 3 hour drive for us, maybe 3-1/2 hours, and Columbus is about 2-1/2. DH has family in the Pitt area we could have visited, and they don't live too far from the airport......

Sorry to ramble on your thread, but you got me thinking on that one...

Steph

 

[mad4themouse]

BethR,
It's a shame that PIT doesn't have Southwest flying out of it! Once they opened here in PHL, the costs of flying to MCO have plummeted! A little competition has really shaken up US"Scare".

As to why prices are fluctuating so much, I think it's knee-jerk reactions to the cost of fuel. With the OPEC leaders meeting last weekend and promising to step up production, I think there was a little dip in all airfares.

 

[hercamore]

We rarely see under $200 flying out of MN.

So, your price looks pretty good to me!

I was reading an article in our local paper that said 75% of domestic airline seats for top destinations are already sold for July/Aug.

Hard to believe!



herc.

 

[Amberle3]

I was going to post the "If Airlines Sold Paint" joke, but I see it's been posted a few times before. He's a link to the most recent posting:
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=555675&highlight=+airlines++sold++paint

Now the scary thing is, that yes this is pretty much exactly how the airlines sell seats.

 

[BethR]

bignbabyblues, is it worth the 6 o 7 hours round trip to save what you could have flying out of Pittsburgh? I would have to save over $50 a ticket (or more) to make it worth my while.

Mad4themouse, we WISH that SWA would come to Pittsburgh. USAir has had a stranglehold on flights there. And now we are no longer a "Hub City," so there will be less flights and more connecting flights out of here.

herc, I know that that rate probably sounds good to you and others, but we have never paid OVER $200 for a flight, we usually pay around $175 and have paid as little as $148! And from wat you say about airline seats, it looks like I better moe QUICKLY on this!

Amberle3, I have read that before and it is priceless (pun intended ).

 

[KELLY]

We got SouthWest for 350.00 for two out of manchester Nh to MCo. Sorry this doesn't help in your area. I Don't like paying over 200.00 a ticket either that is why we never fly out of Portland ME it is closer but the never have NS and the are always laying over in OH. KELLY

 

[Frannypooh]

I'm paying $1,060.20 for 6 seats on SW airlines for our trip in Oct

that's cheapers than what I paid for 5 two years ago
So glad SW came to phila!!


Fran

 

[ericamanda01]

I have noticed that same thing. I have been watching Northwest which started at $215 each from SEA. Then jumped to $285 then back down to $217. It's driving me crazy. I want to buy the tickets but have to wait. I am hoping that they stay down for the next two weeks.

 

[drgnfly30]

I just need SWA to start booking into November - the only prices I've been able to get from PHL to MCO is $282 a ticket! Too rich for my blood - I'm hoping once they extend their dates I'll be able to get a deal.
Christine

 

[candykisses]

Airfares out of PIT chnge like the weather. We always fly USAir to MCO, but I wish Southwest would come into PIttsburgh.

I've been watching prices for a couple of months and finally booked a couple of weeks ago for $700 for the 4 of us. I'm happy with that rate. Non stop flights both ways.

 

[BethR]

Well, we finally booked our air this morning. We paid $195 for 3 tickets, got 2 FF awards tickets, and got 1 free ticket from a 3 for 1 promotion from last fall, so I can't complain.

Now that we have book airfare, I can actually say "We're going to DISNEY WORLD!!!"

 

[Taja]

Southwest has the best routes out of PHX (Phoenix Sky Harbor), and frequently the best rates. I have a flight voucher (RT) for my September trip, but the fares were running about $215 RT on the better routes (1 stop, no transfers). Other airlines are a bit more and all of the require layovers and transfers.

When I booked my flights for last December, Southwest had an airfare sale (August), so it was $180 round trip. When I discovered in early October that I could extend my trip by 3 days, the airfare was more than double!

It's basically what the market will bear, unless they have a lot of unsold seats near flight time.


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Taja