Why is airfare so high?!?

[MegEliz]

If you have young children that cannot spend 9 hours travel with 4 hours layover... non-stop direct flights are not really optional. I would not risk of non-stop flights by waiting to 3 months before departure to book. It's about supply and demand... if there is a lot of demands, there will be no seat sale to get rid of the leftover seats at 3 months. In my experience, direct flights to Florida in Christmas season almost always sell out.

Well that's just it. In the past it didn't really matter what flight we took or how long our layovers were because it was just the two of us. But now with a 6 and 4 year old I want things to be a bit more convenient. Our flight leaves Seattle at 7:35am and so we are just driving down there that morning because if we booked a flight out of Vancouver we would still be leaving on an early flight and would have to leave the house around 230-3am anyhow. There are 8 of us traveling together in our van, so it will be fun.
I'm really looking foward to a direct flight, even with the drive to Seattle and from Tampa to Orlando. There is just something super annoying about boarding and de-boarding planes with multiple flights - not fun.
We are renting a car for our whole stay anyhow, so driving from Tampa to Orlando isn't a big deal.

 

[morrik5]

My only wish is that ME didn't need to pick us up 4 hours early to go to the airport. If you have a morning flight it could mean you're being picked up at an ungodly hour.

 

[Pumpkin1172]

I paid $200 CAD for what I would say is a 2 star motel in Banff which probably goes for $300 in summer.

Banff and Jasper are the most outrageously priced places EVER!!!! You can stay in Camrose or Hinton for quite a bit cheaper. But they can charge those prices because all the foreign people who travel there are willing to pay. ( I love Jasper soooo much better than Banff ) Airfare is not different. All us crazy canucks wanting to get out of our cold weather and put on the flip flops. I know my feet tingle in the winter when I think of sun, sand and flip flops!!!!

 

[Pumpkin1172]

I'm watching flights for either beginning of March or late February...for a DW trip. We don't want the boys to miss too much school...and we must be the only school district in Canada that doesn't have a March Break!!!!! Hoping to be able to snag a good deal to convince the hubby we can afford it. The best I've found going to Edmonton to Orlando ( not direct ) is 489.00 Which is pretty good. But not for the dates I'm really needing. Still looking and waiting

 

[Cdn Mickey]

Currently watching flights for September and they are still over $500-$600.
Which is crazy as we normally can grab around $400.
Flying out of Buffalo is not an option for our group, so patiently waiting.

 

[Best_Vacation_EVER!]

If you have young children that cannot spend 9 hours travel with 4 hours layover... non-stop direct flights are not really optional. I would not risk of non-stop flights by waiting to 3 months before departure to book. It's about supply and demand... if there is a lot of demands, there will be no seat sale to get rid of the leftover seats at 3 months. In my experience, direct flights to Florida in Christmas season almost always sell out.

Definitely agree with all your points --- with kids direct flights may be a key requirement and we've found that the best prices for these flights are found early... When flying in busy times we book early and know we may have to pay a bit more.

 

[quandrea]

My only wish is that ME didn't need to pick us up 4 hours early to go to the airport. If you have a morning flight it could mean you're being picked up at an ungodly hour.

To deal with this we sometimes get a car service for the ride back to the airport. I feel it's money well spent. I have also cashed in a free day on a car rental before for this ride back too. An extra hour, hour and a half sleep makes a difference at that time of day.

 

[pangyal]

We always give ME the flight information for a domestic (within the US flight) so that they pick us up only three hours before.

 

[morrik5]

Definitely agree with all your points --- with kids direct flights may be a key requirement and we've found that the best prices for these flights are found early... When flying in busy times we book early and know we may have to pay a bit more.

Bit the bullet and paid a lot more than I thought I would for the flight times I wanted but at least they're booked and I'll accept if they go down in price but 10 months away, I bet they'll only climb.

 

[LindyWebb]

I am heading out at Christmas time and the prices from TO were insane. Booked SW out of BUF the morning they were resleased and it was less than 1/2 the cost! Direct and great times too. I haven't flown from TO to FL in years. Prices are just insane.

 

[MoreTravels]

I am heading out at Christmas time and the prices from TO were insane. Booked SW out of BUF the morning they were resleased and it was less than 1/2 the cost! Direct and great times too. I haven't flown from TO to FL in years. Prices are just insane.

It is... most flights out of Toronto is $700 one way during Christmas holiday, which makes $1450 round trip per person?! For a family of 4, you are looking at $5700 just on the airfare alone

 

[Frozen2014]

Are you going university reading week? They are always off in February.
I agree though...flight prices have gotten ridiculous. And if a family of 4, you really feel it. We're flying to California and direct flights were nuts. Then eventually it came down and we jumped (cheap at 2k). In 2019 we'll be flying to Florida for March break to catch a cruise and I'm quite scared of the cost.

 

[cdnusagurl]

I just booked our flights today and somehow I literally got a steal of a deal. In fact, I was speechless on the phone with the lady booking our flight, haha. I got two flights for $731CAD round trip for my husband and I from Grande Prairie, AB to Orlando. Airline credit cards are where it's at.

 

[bcwife76]

I just booked our flights today and somehow I literally got a steal of a deal. In fact, I was speechless on the phone with the lady booking our flight, haha. I got two flights for $731CAD round trip for my husband and I from Grande Prairie, AB to Orlando. Airline credit cards are where it's at.

Excellent deal!! Which airline credit card do you have? I'm looking at getting another card for travel rewards as none of the cards I have now have any sort of rewards program (except my World Elite PC mastercard).

 

[cdnusagurl]

Excellent deal!! Which airline credit card do you have? I'm looking at getting another card for travel rewards as none of the cards I have now have any sort of rewards program (except my World Elite PC mastercard).

I used the Westjet Elite Mastercard. Best travel credit card I've ever gotten. Even if I didn't have Westjet dollars, the $99 companion voucher makes it so worth it.

 

[bcwife76]

I used the Westjet Elite Mastercard. Best travel credit card I've ever gotten. Even if I didn't have Westjet dollars, the $99 companion voucher makes it so worth it.

Does that one have the $99 annual fee? That's why I didn't really look into is, as the annual fee basically wipes out the companion fare.

 

[grantclaire]

When I signed for my WJ CC, they gave me a bonus of $250.00 in WestJet $ which helps to make up for the annual fee, also the free bags saves you money as well.

 

[MoreTravels]

Even with $99 annual fee and $99 fare and 125 taxes, a ticket of $325 is still cheaper than full price at $1000 roundtrip to Disney. You would save $700... without spending anything on the credit card. And if you do spend on the card, you get 1.5% back too, which further subsidizes the annual fee.

So the fee does not "wipe out" saving... you would still be $700 ahead.

 

[cjbcam]

Does that one have the $99 annual fee? That's why I didn't really look into is, as the annual fee basically wipes out the companion fare.

We just received our Westjet world elite master card. I'm not sure what you mean by the $99 annual fee wipes out the companion fare? It actually means the companion fare is more like $198, when you add companion fare plus annual fee. But when you take the $250 sign up bonus and the free bags it ends up being a pretty big savings. However even with those savings it's still cheaper for us to drive down to the states and fly from there. We will probably use our companion fare to fly to Ireland just my husband and I.

 

[cdnusagurl]

Does that one have the $99 annual fee? That's why I didn't really look into is, as the annual fee basically wipes out the companion fare.

Yep it does. However one flight from here is like 1000 per person. So even withough the Westjet dollars we are coming out at least 600 or so dollars ahead when you factor in taxes. Not to mention the free checked bags which save us another $100 and basically pays for the annual fee with one trip.