airfare any seat sales in our future?

[mumofsons]

Anyone know if there is any chance of airfare going down at all? Any inside info on seat sales? The prices for our flights to seattle are very high and hoping I might catch a break on them.

[serene56]

I use a site like yapta to track the flights I am interested in.

 

Last vacation the flights came down about 4 months before but the seat selections were very limited

[FlaGrl4Evr]

I've been keeping my eye on airfares from Indy to Tampa so I can fly down to visit my 81 yr old Mom. I agree, that it seems that in the past few weeks that the fares have gone through-the-roof. My advice, is to keep checking DAILY and especially very early mornings on Tuesdays. Tuesday seems to be a day that some airlines put out their specials. When they do this, there will only be a limited amount of seats so you have to be quick.

 

We normally book our cruises 8-12 months in advance which gives us an opportunity to book airfare the day the flight dates are released by the airlines. AirTran and SW release their flight dates in 3 month blocks; I'm not quite sure how the other airline carriers work. By booking on the very day that the flight dates are released, one can get quite a deal.

 

I wish you luck, just keep checking the airlines daily and perhaps you can come across somewhat of a deal. Don't be hesitant to book something that you can live with price wise. Some airlines will give you a future flight credit if the price comes down.

 

Good luck to you and have a great cruise. :)

 

 

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[mrpayroll]

Because all airlines have cut back on the number of flights, it is getting very hard to get a GREAT deal anymore.

[ToddlerMom]

It's probably too early to book tickets through Southwest for your cruise, right? So I'd at least wait until their seats are for sale before shopping around. Also there are 'rules,' so to speak, for how to get the best prices. I can't remember off the top of my head what they are but you can find them by googling. Basically it's about timing, don't buy too early or too late. Also the best time to price tickets is a tuesday. I would guess you're in the "too early" category right now.

 

But overall, I wouldn't expect any sales in the next year with all of the uncertainty about oil prices and the American bankruptcy.

 

Can you drive to Seattle? Based on the size of your party, the driving versus flying calculation can tip in the favor of driving sometimes, depending on how much your time is worth to you.

[deborahjo]

All the airlines just did a $20 increase for longer flights. It said 1500 miles and longer. They said that this increase would go thru because EVEN SOUTHWEST agreed to it. No sign of it going down.

[FlaGrl4Evr]

It's probably too early to book tickets through Southwest for your cruise, right? So I'd at least wait until their seats are for sale before shopping around. Also there are 'rules,' so to speak, for how to get the best prices. I can't remember off the top of my head what they are but you can find them by googling. Basically it's about timing, don't buy too early or too late. Also the best time to price tickets is a tuesday. I would guess you're in the "too early" category right now.

 

But overall, I wouldn't expect any sales in the next year with all of the uncertainty about oil prices and the American bankruptcy.

 

Can you drive to Seattle? Based on the size of your party, the driving versus flying calculation can tip in the favor of driving sometimes, depending on how much your time is worth to you.

 

 

Just want to comment about buying too early, at least on SW and AirTran. We have purchased our airline tickets, for both past cruises, the very day that the dates were released. We got the best and lowest rates and the prices never did come down any lower. Our first cruse we got a non-stop from Indy to Tampa on SW for $89 pp each way. Last Oct, it was slightly higher due to rate increases, but we still got a deal at $94 pp, each way...non-stop. I literally sat at my computer on the day that they were released.... patiently waiting for the new dates to pop up on their site. It was well worth it.

 

 

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[kelkel2]

Just want to comment about buying too early, at least on SW and AirTran. We have purchased our airline tickets, for both past cruises, the very day that the dates were released. We got the best and lowest rates and the prices never did come down any lower. Our first cruse we got a non-stop from Indy to Tampa on SW for $89 pp each way. Last Oct, it was slightly higher due to rate increases, but we still got a deal at $94 pp, each way...non-stop. I literally sat at my computer on the day that they were released.... patiently waiting for the new dates to pop up on their site. It was well worth it.

 

 

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Do you know how many months out they put these deals out? We are looking to fly from chicago to tampa on southwest next January. I know the dates aren't available yet but do you know when they will be so I can check for these rates as soon as they are released?

[mumofsons]

We are in the southwest so driving is a no go. Southwest and JetBlue have their flights posted. I have three centers that I can fly from Greensboro NC where we live, Raleigh and Charlotte - nothing under $400 per person - right now Southwest is over $600 pp and JetBlue is almost $700. Yikes! We do check daily and I am hoping to pay no more than $400 for each of us. (there are three of us)

[elainesj]

Southwest does it 3 months in advance.

 

I've been watching flights from Detroit to Fort Lauderdale for the last year. The flight prices held steady at about $270-$300 all year long. I was hoping for a deal on Cyber Monday (the yr before I scored an awesome price). Unfortunately, nada this time around. This is for March break...so that is probably a major part of the reason.

 

Starting at end of Dec/beg of Jan, flight prices started climbing higher and higher and higher.

 

The flights I really wanted are $469 as of today. When I checked last weekend, they were about $400. Last night I couldn't handle the pressure anymore and took another set of flights at a bit higher price. The times are not as convenient, but they will work. They were about $300 last weekend and I paid $355 pp last night.

 

I'm still groaning at how much I'm paying for the tix. Last January, I got tix on Delta from Detroit to Orlando for just $150 pp!! Crazy cheap. I try to tell myself this IS March Break.

 

I'll probably kick myself later if flight prices drop...but I think this year at least I'm not holding out for sales. I didn't even see any decent sales for February. Delta IS having sales right now...but only for flying Tuesdays and Wednesdays.

[6rugrats]

We normally book our cruises 8-12 months in advance which gives us an opportunity to book airfare the day the flight dates are released by the airlines. By booking on the very day that the flight dates are released, one can get quite a deal.

 

Or not. You cannot count on the lowest fare price to be available when most airlines release seats for booking, ~331 days before the flight.

 

Also the best time to price tickets is a tuesday.

 

That's like saying if you wear a nice suit and tell the gate agent you are on your honeymoon, you'll get a free upgrade. Just not true.

 

 

All the airlines just did a $20 increase for longer flights. It said 1500 miles and longer. They said that this increase would go thru because EVEN SOUTHWEST agreed to it. No sign of it going down.

 

For all airlines to meet and agree on prices would be in violation of anti-trust laws. This is not true.

[greatam]

Just want to comment about buying too early, at least on SW and AirTran. We have purchased our airline tickets, for both past cruises, the very day that the dates were released. We got the best and lowest rates and the prices never did come down any lower. Our first cruse we got a non-stop from Indy to Tampa on SW for $89 pp each way. Last Oct, it was slightly higher due to rate increases, but we still got a deal at $94 pp, each way...non-stop. I literally sat at my computer on the day that they were released.... patiently waiting for the new dates to pop up on their site. It was well worth it.

 

 

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Someone has been drinking too much Southwest Kool Aid.

 

Very, very often, OTHER airlines offer cheaper prices LONG before WN ever opens up their schedules. WN sets prices by looking at the CHEAPEST price available on the day they open their schedule. Other airlines have been selling seats for about 3 months, so the CHEAPEST of the flights on other airlines have already come and gone.

 

WN will NOT be the cheapest in the future (they haven't been for quite some time except for limited markets). They lost their fuel hedge advantage and their labor costs are some of the highest in the industry. And ALL airlines are raising prices. They have cut capacity and fuel prices are rising quite a bit.

 

With the Iranian problem, expect oil prices to go quite a bit higher rather quickly.

 

Dirt cheap airfare is RAPIDLY becoming a thing of the past.

[kenish]

For all airlines to meet and agree on prices would be in violation of anti-trust laws.

 

A bit OT...there was a problem with airport congestion that the FAA wanted to solve. Competing airlines would all have departures at the same time, causing "rush hours" at many airports and in the ATC system. The FAA wanted to explore ways to de-peak air traffic. They had a series of meetings with major airlines participating. The Justice Dep't had to first give a specific anti-trust exemption for the meetings to take place.

[elainesj]

There are still times when budet airlines can still be cheaper. It all depends on a whole bunch of factors and the only thing you can do is price out every scenario.

 

Case in point - for my upcoming march break trip, for the dates I want to fly, Delta is the cheapest at $355 (OUCH!). I'm pricing for a friend of mine also travelling march Break but needs to leave Friday night and return Sat/Sun. Delta flights on those dates at acceptable times are $500-$600. I found a flight on Spirit (all flights nonstop) for $423 that departs on Friday evening and returns Sunday morning. The best deal possible for her schedule.

 

I continually checked Spirit for us as well (I admit I do much prefer Delta and would fly Delta even if it's $20 more expensive). But for us, Spirit was between $350 and $400 and didn't fly at the times i wanted anyway.

[vwrestler171]

I doubt you'll find flights to Seattle for under $400/pp. I have been looking the other way, from Salt Lake to either FLL or MIA and the cheapest I saw was $432 to FLL, and that was before my flight were released. I would plan on closer to $450-$500/pp

[mumofsons]

I hear ya and have pretty much decided to go ahead and get the tickets I can.

BTW - love the name - I have two wrestlers.

[kenish]

I hear ya and have pretty much decided to go ahead and get the tickets I can.

BTW - love the name - I have two wrestlers.

 

Son wrestled in HS and now in college on a Div 1 team. Good on your two!!

 

One thing to check....California-Seattle is a very competitive market and I've seen some very low fares. Alaska, JetBlue, Virgin America, Southwest, and the usual legacy airlines are all in the fray. You might see if a cheap fare from home to CA, then a second ticket from CA to Seattle is cheaper. Be aware though, splitting the trip into 2 tickets has caveats.

 

You don't say where your home turf is; Alaska has nonstops from MCO (Orlando) to SEA....never needed to check fares, though.

[mumofsons]

Thanks I might try that! We are smack in the middle of Raleigh and Charlotte NC - Go Heels!

first son only wrestled in HS but now helps coach his Middle school team - he is a freshman in college. 2nd son - sophmore in HS missed first part of season d/t football - so his record is thumbs down - he love wrestling but is actually more of a football player. (wrestled 71 last year this year 220) Congrats to your son - my husband would be in wrestling heaven if either of ours went D-1:)

[FlaGrl4Evr]

Someone has been drinking too much Southwest Kool Aid.

 

Very, very often, OTHER airlines offer cheaper prices LONG before WN ever opens up their schedules. WN sets prices by looking at the CHEAPEST price available on the day they open their schedule. Other airlines have been selling seats for about 3 months, so the CHEAPEST of the flights on other airlines have already come and gone.

 

WN will NOT be the cheapest in the future (they haven't been for quite some time except for limited markets). They lost their fuel hedge advantage and their labor costs are some of the highest in the industry. And ALL airlines are raising prices. They have cut capacity and fuel prices are rising quite a bit.

 

With the Iranian problem, expect oil prices to go quite a bit higher rather quickly.

 

Dirt cheap airfare is RAPIDLY becoming a thing of the past.

 

 

Excuse me ....... I think not........

 

My elderly Mother lives in Fla so I fly SW several times per year to Tampa and have ALWAYS received the cheapeast rate anywhere for MY ininerary. Several times in the past, I have ended up with $59 each way. Other times I've paid $79, $84 and even up to $109 depending on the time of year. I couldn't come close to this rate on any other airline.

 

And no....I'm not a SW cheerleader, it just happens to be the airline that has given us the very best rates so far and also only one of two airlines that we can get a direct flight to Tpa from Indy. Perhaps you can get a better deal in your airport on another carrier but I cannont in mine. I do not know about the OP's local airport and if SW would work for her but I was offering her an answer to her question. We are all on this board to receive and offer help to fellow cruisers.

[FlyerTalker]

Multiple misconceptions to be addressed:

All the airlines just did a $20 increase for longer flights. It said 1500 miles and longer. They said that this increase would go thru because EVEN SOUTHWEST agreed to it. No sign of it going down.

And just who was this "It" and "They"?? As mentioned before, what you are alleging is called price-fixing. Prices may be rising, but that's a function of supply and demand combined with market and cost considerations. Fewer available seat miles combined with increased costs = guess what??

nothing under $400 per person - right now Southwest is over $600 pp and JetBlue is almost $700. Yikes! We do check daily and I am hoping to pay no more than $400 for each of us. (there are three of us)

Do you have an acceptable price now? Not an "I am hoping" price, but a realistic one? Also, were you pricing tickets before Southwest released their schedule or did you wait until their availability was released?

The flight prices held steady at about $270-$300 all year long. I was hoping for a deal on Cyber Monday (the yr before I scored an awesome price). Unfortunately, nada this time around. This is for March break...so that is probably a major part of the reason.

Why were you "hoping for a deal"? You had a baseline from your research yet you held out for "better".

 

Starting at end of Dec/beg of Jan, flight prices started climbing higher and higher and higher.

 

The flights I really wanted are $469 as of today. When I checked last weekend, they were about $400. Last night I couldn't handle the pressure anymore and took another set of flights at a bit higher price. The times are not as convenient, but they will work. They were about $300 last weekend and I paid $355 pp last night.

So, you knew the baseline for pricing was in the $300 range, your flights kept going up and you finally bailed into other less-desired flights for an 18% premium over the historic average.

I didn't even see any decent sales for February. Delta IS having sales right now...but only for flying Tuesdays and Wednesdays.

Which is symptomatic of the huge downside to waiting for "sales". Remember that there are two components to an airline ticket "price". The "fare" (which is a specific terminology that is NOT the same as the transaction price) and "inventory availability". It is the two combined that result in the "price" to the consumer. "Sales" may very well have an attractive "fare", but not availability on the dates you wish. Or there is availability but the published fares are not desirable. Chasing that "cheapest price" more often than not results in higher pricing when you are looking for specific dates and/or times.

 

And finally, to the OP: Thought experiment: If there was an upcoming "sale" and the general public knew about it, wouldn't they hold off purchasing to wait for the "sale"? Would that not diminish overall airline revenue because people would not buy at the current price, but would wait for later? Now, if releasing information about an upcoming "sale" would end up hurting overall airline revenue, what airline employee/management would do such a thing?

 

Hopefully that answers your request for "inside info" on upcoming sales. In other words, they are not telegraphed.

[FlyerTalker]

My elderly Mother lives in Fla so I fly SW several times per year to Tampa and have ALWAYS received the cheapeast rate anywhere for MY ininerary. Several times in the past, I have ended up with $59 each way. Other times I've paid $79, $84 and even up to $109 depending on the time of year. I couldn't come close to this rate on any other airline.

Question to clarify the situation: Do you ever research or purchase a ticket IND-TPA at a time BEFORE the Southwest schedule is released?

 

If the answer is "No", then the point made by greatam is in order. WN pricing is often, if not always, contingent on the pricing of legacy carriers AT THE TIME OF THE WN RELEASE. Have you compared 6 month out pricing by DL/UA/AA versus the later pricing on WN?

[vwrestler171]

I hear ya and have pretty much decided to go ahead and get the tickets I can.

BTW - love the name - I have two wrestlers.

 

I used to wrestle in High School and had that username ever since, had a chance to wrestle college, but got hurt before the season and then the school dropped the team. Had a friend wrestle for Boise State and take 2nd at the NCAA Championships last yr, and another friend take 4th for Utah valley

[FlaGrl4Evr]

Question to clarify the situation: Do you ever research or purchase a ticket IND-TPA at a time BEFORE the Southwest schedule is released?

 

If the answer is "No", then the point made by greatam is in order. WN pricing is often, if not always, contingent on the pricing of legacy carriers AT THE TIME OF THE WN RELEASE. Have you compared 6 month out pricing by DL/UA/AA versus the later pricing on WN?

 

 

As I mentioned before, SW and AirTran are the only 2 carriers from Indy that offer non-stop flights. Even if were a few dollars cheaper it would not pan-out for me. Now if it was considerbly lower, I might consider but the rates that I have got by booking when the block of dates come out are really good IMHO and I can't imagine that another carrier would be able to beat it. I usually choose SW over AirTran due to the free bags deal. Sometimes though, AirTran is a little cheaper and the fee for the bags work out; it just depends.

 

Now we are cruising out of Miami in 2013 and I have just started doing some research on flights from Indy. While it is way to early to book, it seems again that SW and AirTran will work into FLL while AA does fly into Miami although not direct. They seem to be our only options for sailing out of Miami. I went on one of the travel sites and did a fake booking but using 2012 dates just so I could find out what airlines fly from Indy to Miami or FLL.

 

I will have to check it out. :)

 

 

 

.

[FlyerTalker]

As I mentioned before, SW and AirTran are the only 2 carriers from Indy that offer non-stop flights. Even if were a few dollars cheaper it would not pan-out for me.

So, it seems as though you put a high premium on the non-stop factor. And, you are only talking about to TPA....every flight that leaves IND is a non-stop to somewhere. ;)

Now if it was considerbly lower, I might consider but the rates that I have got by booking when the block of dates come out are really good IMHO and I can't imagine that another carrier would be able to beat it.

Which still doesn't answer the issue....have you checked other airlines before Southwest releases? The phrase "I can't imagine" leads me to think that you just assume WN or FL is the cheapest and limit your searches there, waiting until schedules are released.

Now we are cruising out of Miami in 2013 and I have just started doing some research on flights from Indy. While it is way to early to book, it seems again that SW and AirTran will work into FLL while AA does fly into Miami although not direct. They seem to be our only options for sailing out of Miami. I went on one of the travel sites and did a fake booking but using 2012 dates just so I could find out what airlines fly from Indy to Miami or FLL.

By 2013, AirTran should be completely integrated into Southwest. You may still have non-stop service into FLL, or it may be connecting service through BWI or ATL. As for flying into MIA, you are not limited to AA - you could also fly DL, UA or US. Ditto into FLL as well.

 

Finally, be careful with the word "direct". See my sig for details.

[FlaGrl4Evr]

So, it seems as though you put a high premium on the non-stop factor. And, you are only talking about to TPA....every flight that leaves IND is a non-stop to somewhere. ;)

Which still doesn't answer the issue....have you checked other airlines before Southwest releases? The phrase "I can't imagine" leads me to think that you just assume WN or FL is the cheapest and limit your searches there, waiting until schedules are released.

By 2013, AirTran should be completely integrated into Southwest. You may still have non-stop service into FLL, or it may be connecting service through BWI or ATL. As for flying into MIA, you are not limited to AA - you could also fly DL, UA or US. Ditto into FLL as well.

 

Finally, be careful with the word "direct". See my sig for details.

 

 

 

I realize that, but if I want to see my mother that lives in Tampa Bay, I have to fly to Tampa. And....I'm not putting a high premium on taking only non-stop flights....The situation is that the non-stops from Indy to Tampa are CHEAPER for the non-stops.

 

As far as the 2013 cruise and flights, I really can't check anything definitive yet but from doing a fake booking using same date but year 2012, again.... SW, AirTran and AA are the lowest. I don't mind doing a non-direct flight but it has to be cheaper. Why would I pay more to have a connecting flight? Different cities are going to give different results so you can't say what is working best for you or another city will work for someone else.

 

It's just going to be a matter of doing some research and staying on top of things.

 

:)