HELP! Airfare price not budging!

[shari2shop]

My sister's family is going to WDW June 10 - June 17. They are flying out of DFW (Dallas) airport. I have been watching the airfare prices for over a month now. None of the prices have changed a penny! On the flights that they want there are only about 10 seats sold. SHOULD I expect a decrease in price sometime in the future? When do they usually begin putting tickets on sale?

Thanks for any advice!

Shari

 

[BelleBeautyandtheBeast]

In my experience - just keep waiting. Airfares may go down for that time as the date approaches. I really can't say when (or even if) they will put fares on sale for your particular time & airports but it is likely that they will. I know that I am usually able to find the best prices on airfare when I book flights 1 - 3 months prior to leaving. My best tip is to keep an eye on fares and check as many sites as you can. As soon as you see w good fare jump on it! Our last trip to FL we booked at the last minute and I kept waiting for fares to go down but they only went up (I was booking 2-3 weeks before we left).

Good luck! I hope you find a great deal soon.

 

[TZMOM]

I'm with you Shari - have been watching fares for the past few months - we're leaving in May - & the prices just don't seem to be moving. Well, they are moving, but not down like I want. Good luck - I'd just wait for a few more weeks/mos. also - hopefully they'll come down a bit.

 

[disneydreamerinny]

TZMOM,
I am leaving in May too so I have been watching the fares daily.
I am not an expert at this having only flown twice in my life so I am sitting on the edge of my seat right now.
It seems like its a waiting game and a game of roullette.
I have it set in my mind to wait until the end of February. If nothing changes by then, then I am going to book.

Then murphys law will take effect Im sure.... It always does in my case.

Good luck to everyone.

 

[shari2shop]

I'm glad to see that others are waiting and looking for fares to drop. I sometimes feel so along in my bargin hunting. I'm glad to see that others understand!

Thanks!

Shari

 

[SNOWBOARDER]

I'm with the minority here....since we always book the accomodations first...we keep an eye on the flights we want, (non-stop, early arrival....late departure), and set a price that we're comfortable with, then we book if it's around that price. We do keep an eye out for a little while, for dropping prices, but I'd rather pay a little extra, to get the flights that we want...No matter what you do...you'll have a blast!!!!

 

[georgiapeach60]

I watched the fares for a good 6 months before our trip. Up and down and up and down but never where I really wanted them. When I finally began to get nervous about waiting I went ahead and booked. The very next week the fares dropped by $300. I called the airline and told them and they gave me the new rate.

 

[Rock'n Robin]

The wait will drive you crazy! The last two years I've booked in late Jan. for our June trips, thinking I'm smart getting airfare for around $200 (each, for 5 people). Then late last Sept. I threw together a trip for just 2 1/2 months later, and found airfare for $135! Granted it was only available for about 2 days, but this time (we go again in July) I'm waiting--if I make a mistake and it only goes up, we'll just drive. So far we're again at about $194 each.
Robin M.

 

[AZKathy]

I am really surprised how high the fares are currently with all that has happened with the airlines. I guess I thought they would lower their rates a little to get people back into vacationing.

I feel fortunate, though. I found a great airfare from Phx to MCO on United through Orbitz for $185/RT. Since we were first time buyers with Orbitz, they waived the service fee. Not as good as our $163/RT last year on Delta, but I can't complain. Much better than the close to $300 figures I have been running into on web sites!

 

[katefromny]

Keep checking....we bought tix from Philly to MCO about 10 months out, for $127 round trip/pp. Expedia offered that rate for about 10 minutes on a Wednesday, when I went back in later that afternoon to check--the flights had gone up to $298. If you find a low fare that meets your travel dates, don't wait--book it! That said, you will probably still be able to find low fares 1-2 months out, but might not get the exact times or non-stop status if you desire it . I'm more of an anal planner, and like to have control over those details, so I usually book several months in advance. I figure what I'm spending on airline tickets, I'm saving on therapy!

Good luck!
Kate



April 2002 - Boardwalk Villas, Wilderness Lodge Villas

 

[Scotch]

I have been feeling really bummed about the current airfare prices. I started planning our first WDW trip last year. We're going in late June. Since last January, I've been checking on airfares periodically, and I felt comfortable waiting to buy the tickets this year because there always seem to be available ~ $200 RT for LAX-MCO. Then after 9/11 the prices dropped and super deals kept appearing to encourage travel. Well, for the last two months I've been shocked to see that the prices for LAX-MCO have increased to minimum of ~$300 range. I check almost every day on all the major travel websites and the airlines own websites. For our dates I can't seem to get below ~$400 for decent times. I know that last year by this time the tickets for late June were out in the ~$200 range. Of course this is not the only route where I've observed a big recent increase in airline prices. I'm trying to plan two other trips for this year and I'm looking at major $$$ for them all. Ugh!

 

[inkkognito]

I have been watching like a hawk for a good airfare for our Memorial Day week trip (we got good rates for our Feb., March and April trips by purchasing a few months ago). They have just come down a little bit but are still quite high compared to what we are used to paying. We're probably going to have to book soon, as we take the Disney cruise and need to either fly out the evening before after work or VERY early the next morning...the strict times limit our choices to a great extent. Just keep looking...so far I've almost always eventually gotten a deal, but it's taken a lot of patience and constant checking on Orbitz.
Barb
Visit the Platinum Castaway Club at: www.castawayclub.com

 

[skeezixspud]

They don't participate in the Big 3 (Orbitz, Travelocity & Expedia) so their flights will not come up on those engines. SWA traditionally offers big sales to Florida in May and September, especially.

A great search engine that will give you EVERY possibility is www.itasoftware.com ... You cannot buy there, it is information only, but they show every airline that flys domestically. If I see something I like, I just copy down the details and go the airline site to buy.

BTW; if things are desperate and NW or Continental are possibilities for you, get an Entertainment Book. Those two airlines offer a 15% discount (or 5% if the flight originates in one of their hubs) on any flight price over a certain limit. I used this trick last year to save about $300 on 3 tickets to London in high season.

 

[n2mm]

IMO--way to early for any good deals. After President's day weekend, maybe there will be some movement. I haven't even thought of purchasing our tickets for our April 20th trip yet and we have another planned for June 8th. I do check travelocity daily to see if there are any rate changes. I have it set up in my personal page.

 

[CarrieAP]

I just started looking this week for our trip 4/26. What a surprise to find that fares dropped yesterday. Syracuse is notorious for high fares, yet I was able to book for $176 each! With 4 of us that is a substantial savings. I did note though that the fares seem much more sensitive to departure times, with great fluctuations depending upon when leaving. I scanned the fares using Travelocity, but once noted that US Air had dropped considerably searched on their site and ended up with this price. That is the lowest I have ever paid. Went in Dec. from Rochester (prior to holidays) where the fares are lower and paid $189 and thought that was decent, so I am quite delighted.

I do have to admit to feeling good that I snagged a great rate for both the hotel (CSR) and the air. As we already have our APs from last year, this trip is ending up quite affordable for a WDW vacation. Even better that we are staying 9 nights, the longest ever! I went from barely giving this trip a thought yet to completely psyched! What fun the planning is; such a nice diversion from the daily grind.

 

[TZMOM]

I've been checking & the same flights/times that I wanted (well, not exactly enthused w/the 6:10 a.m. departure time, but will have a full day at WDW) and the fare for two went back down to $161.50/RT. Purchased the tix - YIPPPPEEE!!!!

So Shari, my advice I guess, is to keep checking the dates/times w/Travelocity & the airline site directly, it eventually paid off for me - hope it does the same for your family!!!

 

[TWOOD]

I'm from the DFW area and have always flown out of DFW since SWA doesn't fly from Dal Love to MCO. We're going in May and by driving to San Antonio, I was able to get SWA for $72 round trip ($30 both ways internet special). DFW has been hovering @ $250 round trip, so the savings are worth driving 4.5 hours. An added bonus is we'll spend 1 night on the fabulous San Antonio Riverwalk before driving home! I found flights out of both Austin & San Antonio to be quite a bit cheaper than flying out of DFW, so maybe that's an option for the original poster's sister's family. Hope this helps!

 

[Syd]

We're comonig from Hawaii, air fare is 550 to 750 rt maybe we'll get good rate at 650 may be? Our last trip b-4 9-11 was 560 rt fyi We're going in May and waiting for airfares to go down.

 

[RobinLyn]

http://www.delta.com/travel/sp_offers/system_013002/index.jsp?LSID=10000066

RobinLyn

 

[Syd]

Thanks RobinLyn!
I will check it out. MAHALO!