Why is it that Jetblue fares for July & August out of NY have gone up?

[floridacrazy]

Hi everyone. I booked my family July vacation out of NY to Orlando back in January and thought what I paid was a high rate compared to a year ago. I know the rates aren't going to go down, but I usually look to see if by a miracle they do. I paid $283.96 per person including taxes and fees and today the same flight costs $365.00 per person. How much higher will Jetblue's rates go?

The only thing I have noticed is that the fares keep going up. Are more people travelling this year?

 

[goofy4tink]

As they sell seats, they raise fares. Why? Because they can! It's a case of supply and demand.

 

[dis_guy]

In spite of what we think about their prices, airlines operate on very thin margins so they really do need to get as much for each seat as the average traveller will pay. Not like retail, where the store marks up the price 100% for a pair of shoes.

 

[kandb]

We got our flights for $89 direct on JetBlue for 8/26 from NY to MCO. I grabbed them when I saw them. We planned on returning on 9/6 or 9/7 (labor day weekend) and the flights were
very high to return. I checked everyday. I was also checking Tampa. I booked return tickets on a direct flight from Tampa for $109 (1 passenger) and $149 (4 passengers), it leaves mid-
day, so I was happy. We are going to spend a few days in Orlando after our Polynesian stay, so we will rent a car for 3 days (I got a car already for $115). I jumped at the flight out of Tampa because I was not confident the flights returning from Orlando were going to go down.

 

[merina888]

Sunday is historically the worst day to buy airline tickets. The prices tend to be higher on Sundays. I find if I wait a day or two, they are slightly lower.

 

[Yellowjj]

Supply and Demand basically. Mergers means less competition between the surviving airlines, therefore creating full flights. As the flight sells out, fares go higher. Fridays and Sundays are the worst days to travel money wise. That is when every business traveler is commuting. Ticket prices will reflect that.

 

[jakeybake]

I always buy the airfare for our August trip in January. Over the years I have come to the realization that the flight cost in January is usually as good as it will get and if it moves at all it goes up. It always seems to be the way.

Another twist is that we always book the 8:00 am flight out of Boston Logan. There has always been a 6:00 am flight but that is just too early for us. This year the had the usual 6:00 and 8:00 flights but about a month after booking the 8:00 we noticed that they cancelled the 6:00, which has never happened in the 10 years we have been going. Further proof that booking your flight as early as possible is super important. As soon as that 6:00 am flight was cancelled our 8:00 flight filled up. If we had played the waiting game we would not only of had to pay more but ran the risk of having a full flight and not being able to book the departure time we wanted.

Jay