ARGH, I can't find good airfare! And I want to start planning....

[IBLarsen]

Now that we have decided to go to DL this summer I want to start planning! We are flexible in our time frame between June or July, so of course I'm trying to book around AP blockout days. My problem is I can't find good airfare from Dallas right now! So I can't really plan anything until I get dates finalized and that will be based off of airfare. So I am waiting to see if/when they offer specials for summer timeframe, before I commit to paying the higher airfare. I'm in limbo..and frustrated!

Ok, I feel better...I know I'm among other obsessive planners who will understand the need to start planning and not wait!

 

[FlameGirl]

What site do you use to check airfare? Bing.com travel has a really cool airfare predictor feature, if you haven't used that before.

Last trip we took to Disney, I checked airefare daily for months...we finally nailed down our flight about a month before we left. You still have plenty of time.

 

[clairabell29]

If you go to mousesavers.com they have a section on how to get good airfare prices. Big thing is 4 months out and again 6-8 weeks out they will be cheapest and certain days are cheaper. They also say sign up for fare watchers because most sales only last a few hour to a couple of days!

 

[Amy and kids]

Sign up at airfarewatchdog.com and put in Dallas to LAX or San Diego, etc and you will get daily e-mails on their best rates available. I booked through an e-mail from them and got tickets from Milwaukee to San Diego for under $200 each. Our total with taxes and insurance for 5 people was $1086!

 

[IBLarsen]

Ohhh...thanks for the tips everyone! A few of those I have not used. I always just check the sites like cheap tickets, orbitz, cheapo air, and the airlines websites. I'll let you know if I find anything good!

 

[Mommy2PrincessAbby]

I use kayak.com, it compares all sites and has a fare watch on it too!

 

[samkj]

What is a good price for that flight? I live in Northern CA, so I'm not sure what prices are good for TX flights.

 

[Mugglemama]

Now that we have decided to go to DL this summer I want to start planning! We are flexible in our time frame between June or July, so of course I'm trying to book around AP blockout days. My problem is I can't find good airfare from Dallas right now! So I can't really plan anything until I get dates finalized and that will be based off of airfare. So I am waiting to see if/when they offer specials for summer timeframe, before I commit to paying the higher airfare. I'm in limbo..and frustrated!

Ok, I feel better...I know I'm among other obsessive planners who will understand the need to start planning and not wait!

have you tried priceline yet? i had to buy a ticket for my daughter (not for DL) to come home from college for spring break, and found a great deal on PL last night.

 

[IBLarsen]

The past couple years flying out of DFW to SNA we can usually find airfare between $200 and $250 max roundtrip. Of course there are a lot of times that airfare is high out of here, but it ususally drops....so I'm waiting for that. I'm also trying to fly out on a Friday, which is higher priced right now.

 

[IBLarsen]

have you tried priceline yet? i had to buy a ticket for my daughter (not for DL) to come home from college for spring break, and found a great deal on PL last night.

I have NOT done priceline...when you book through priceline, do you get to choose flight times, or do you go somewhat 'blind'? We are travelling with young children, so I try to avoid waking them up at 4:00am or flying late at night, to avoid meltdowns and crying on a flight...nothing worse! They are good fliers during normal waking hours

 

[NattysMom]

This is the story of my life right now!! I have been checking kayak and Southwest every day (multiple times a day) for way too long trying to get a good deal for our June trip. I have yapta alerts set up as well. Good luck!

 

[carolinamama]

I'm right there with you!

We're about 4 months out, and the best airfare I can find is $1821 for the four of us from NC to CA. I'm used to paying no more than $550 for the four of us to get to WDW! I know, I know, distance, but I've just never spent that much on airfare.

I use sites like orbitz and expedia to get an idea about prices, then go from there. I also look at flying Southwest, but the airport that they service is 2 hours from here. I don't want to add another 2 hours on a trip that's already going to be 7 - 8 hours. But when we've flown elsewhere, we just search around with the three different airports in our area - one is 30 minutes, one is 90 and the other 2 hours. But being flexible like that has saved us big $$ in the past. Just doesn't work for us this time.

 

[clairabell29]

Don't forget to check the 4 airports you can fly into as well! SNA, LGB, BUR, LAX and possibly ONT

 

[aurorae]

http://www.johnnyjet.com/home.asp

 

[Mugglemama]

I have NOT done priceline...when you book through priceline, do you get to choose flight times, or do you go somewhat 'blind'? We are travelling with young children, so I try to avoid waking them up at 4:00am or flying late at night, to avoid meltdowns and crying on a flight...nothing worse! They are good fliers during normal waking hours

This was my first time using PL, and the way it worked was that there were various times offered, however sometimes that meant the fare changed (but not much in some instances). We were able to book the cheapest flights offered, and my daughter's flight home is at 8:15 am, and her flight back to school is at 5pm. So, they seemed like really reasonable flight times.

Hope that helps!

ETA: I was even able to choose her seating assignment!

 

[carolinamama]

Don't forget to check the 4 airports you can fly into as well! SNA, LGB, BUR, LAX and possibly ONT

I should also add that for whatever reason, flying in to SNA for us is cheaper than flying in to LAX. This is great since we want SNA! My SIL has to travel to OC for business a few times a year, and she almost always gets a better deal at SNA. If you haven't checked, make sure you do!

 

[IBLarsen]

I should also add that for whatever reason, flying in to SNA for us is cheaper than flying in to LAX. This is great since we want SNA! My SIL has to travel to OC for business a few times a year, and she almost always gets a better deal at SNA. If you haven't checked, make sure you do!

I have found the same to be true! We also prefer to fly into SNA but do check the other airports as well and we can usually get at least the same price if not cheaper into SNA. This always suprises me!