Who thinks Airline prices will go down, help?

[Nothin' But Sun]

Just checked prices again after the increase a few weeks ago. Wow! should have booked then. Anyway to late for that. Does anyone think the prices will go down from where they are now? Should I wait? Cruising Dec 10th. Thanks.

[3redheads]

I don't think they will go down because of the high fuel cost, which I don't expect to go down.

 

Maybe someone else will have better insight.

 

Kim

[srlucado]

There's always a chance that the airfares will go down, but if you got a good fare, don't worry about it.

 

Look at it this way--they're losing money on just about every ticket, so what is their exact incentive to make tickets any cheaper?

 

Airlines are in such terrible financial shape that you've got more to worry about from bankruptcy than fare cuts.

[mared1]

Just checked prices again after the increase a few weeks ago. Wow! should have booked then. Anyway to late for that. Does anyone think the prices will go down from where they are now? Should I wait? Cruising Dec 10th. Thanks.

 

I think it is anybodys guess if they will go down. They may drop some,but I doubt if a lot. There are certain times of the week which are usually cheaper to book - I believe Wednesday and Thursdays - and certain times as well. I think you can sign up for a lower fare alert on most websites that offer air fare.

[Nothin' But Sun]

Well AA is 800 bucks, canadian to fly out of Toronto! And Delta 419.00 whats up with that? Is Delta OK to book with? I have only flown, AA or Canada 3000 (debunked). Do they add more flights if all are full because if I wait until Oct. or Nov. will that be to late?

[FlyingPhotog]

Don't expect prices to drop anytime soon. Most airlines are losing money on every ticket. Be sure to book with an airline that is not in risk of being gone by December.

[NCTarheelsCruiser]

Just checked prices again after the increase a few weeks ago. Wow! should have booked then. Anyway to late for that. Does anyone think the prices will go down from where they are now? Should I wait? Cruising Dec 10th. Thanks.

 

It is unlikley that the overall ticket prices will decrease, unless there is a drop in either fuel prices (which wouldn't change the fare by much) or a large drop in flight loads and to me neither seems likely to happen soon. If you look for a fare and find one that you can live with, I would recommend booking right away.

 

Also, you did not say where you were cruising from, depending on where you are leaving from, check alternate nearby airports for better fares. For example, if you are leaving from Miami, check Ft. Lauderdale or if you have more than one airport that you can leave from near your house try different combinations. Another thing, a lot of people try to get a direct flight or a 1 connection flight, a lot of times if you can spare the time, try to find a flight that has 2 or 3 connections, yes it might be a pain in the rear to actually make all of these connections but if the cost of the flight is a signifcant difference it may be worth it for you. Also, you say that the fares were higher than when you checked them a few weeks ago, that could be true but not necessarily. Sometimes the airlines might have just closed a certain fare level, there are many different fare levels on 1 flight. For example, lets say two weeks ago you saw a $219 fare for your flight (which I will call Fare W). Today you search and the lowest available was $299 (which I will call Fare X). Just because the $219 fare was not showing does not mean that it is sold out. In your case since you are looking months in advance it could be a result of early pick up and the airlines revenue management team has closed out the W Fare because of a lot of pickup on that certain flight. Since they have 8 months to sell out this flight they can afford to close out the lower fare and try to sell the higher fares. If demand slows the W fare could be re-opened.

If you wait to see if that happens you could win and get the lower fare or you could miss out on the W and X fares and end up paying aneven higher fare. That is the choice you have to make. Good luck!

[Nothin' But Sun]

Don't expect prices to drop anytime soon. Most airlines are losing money on every ticket. Be sure to book with an airline that is not in risk of being gone by December.

What Airline would anyone recommend? Now I'm getting nervous. If I book to soon, under they go, or if I wait I pay through the nose!!!Help

[Smooth Sailing]

I have flown on Delta a great many times and never have had a problem - I know about the Bankrupt talk - even if that happens - the flights will still go on. If the $419. fare, itinerary, and flight times are OK with you - book it - But, also remember that December is still quite a ways off - the price for airfare changes very quickly - up - down - all around - If you think you want to wait - just keep checking very often - when you see what you want - jump on it - don't wait - it could be gone in an hour's time. I am really into this kind of stuff - a year or so ago I wanted tickets from San Antonio to San Juan - kept getting $700- $1000. pp for months - I really wanted a Continental flight that had great times and only one stop in Houston - One day I logged onto Continental - about 4 months before our cruise - there was my flight for $499. pp - you just never know - anyways - good luck. They never add more flights if everything is full - no extra planes - I would not wait any later than September.

[ripgrif]

What about Westjet? They fly from Toronto to Ft Lauderdale, I plan on using them to get to my cruise in Jan. Also I have flown with Delta numerous times to Vegas and never had any problems with them. Any time I have flown with AA my flight was delayed.

[ducklite]

You could also drive to a US airport and fly from there--it will save a TON on taxes and give you more flight choices!

They generally don't add flights, there are just so many "slots". And no, I do'nt think the price is going down.

 

Anne

[familycruzer]

My November flight when from $115 to $281. I am glad I booked when I did.

[stuffic]

If you can, click on the "View Seats" option on the website. This will give you an indication of how well a flight is selling. If there are PLENTY (and I mean PLENTY) of seats still available, then there is a chance the price will eventually decrease because they want their planes to be full. However, there is no guarantee...airline prices are so volatile. The best advice I can give is to check fares daily (or at least every other day). You may luck up on a "web fare" or unadvertised low fare. Good luck.

[Dem920]

Most airlines, do not release their cheap seats until 3 months before a flight. They try and get as many people as possible to pay the higher price by booking early. I would wait. That time in December is a very slow travel period. The weeks right after Thanksgiving until December 20th you can usually get really cheap seats. My DH's birthday is December 14th and we try to go away that time of the year because of all the bargain airfares. We are leaving out of San Juan in August and I will wait until May to book. Airfare now is $327, but I'm expecting it to go down to about $275 when they release the cheap seats.

[cruizeblues]

. We are leaving out of San Juan in August and I will wait until May to book. Airfare now is $327, but I'm expecting it to go down to about $275 when they release the cheap seats.

 

Hi Dem, What city are you flying out of? What airline? $327 to SJU is an awesome deal--even for August! We've never paid less than $400 flying out of Syracuse. I've been checking on flights for next Feb. and been getting between $500-1,200 pp:eek: The cheaper flights being at very inconvenient times for our cruise. (like arriving at 8 pm and/or leaving SJU at 8 am) Have checked all airports w/in a three hour drive!

[over the edge]

I am from Canada as well and I can't believe how the prices have risen. Last year (October) I booked airfare with AA for $375 (can) a person from Halifax, Nova Scotia to Miami (return). About a month later the price went down to $277 so I was lucky they were willing to send me a voucher for the difference. I have been checking prices for my next cruise and they are anywhere from $500-$700 to Miami or FLL. Unreal!!

 

I decided to book airfare with my cruise just incase the airfare prices go crazy in the coming months. Although the prices with RCCL are higher, I can continue to look for better rates and cancel my airfare with RCCL anytime before the final payment date. Its kind of a free safety net for me!

 

I also booked the airfare for my Freedom cruise with RCCL which is almost two years away. Heaven knows what airfare will cost then!

 

If anyone sees good deals from Halifax to FLL, let me know. I would really appreciate it! In the meantime, I'm going to try what another poster suggested. Booking 2-3 flights to get to FLL instead of direct, or even flying out of the states! Tks for the tip! :)

[MBeamTX]

I would just add one caution to the suggestion that you price flights with one or two connections instead of direct flights: be sure that you are flying in the day before your cruise if you have several connections. It just multiplies the chances for your flight to be delayed or your luggage misplaced. :eek:

 

Happy cruising,

Susan

[4merlurker]

Most airlines, do not release their cheap seats until 3 months before a flight. They try and get as many people as possible to pay the higher price by booking early. I would wait. That time in December is a very slow travel period. The weeks right after Thanksgiving until December 20th you can usually get really cheap seats. My DH's birthday is December 14th and we try to go away that time of the year because of all the bargain airfares. We are leaving out of San Juan in August and I will wait until May to book. Airfare now is $327, but I'm expecting it to go down to about $275 when they release the cheap seats.

 

I disagree. I always book at least 10 months out and my fares have never been beat!

[over the edge]

MBeamTX, thank you for your suggestion. We definitely will fly in the night before, at the minimum. I'm actually thinking two nights before this time. If you're spending all this money, might as well drag it out as long as you can! :p

[tribefan]

We are going thur this same situation now. Have a group of 24 out of the Toledo OH area going on the Explorer next March. I was able to get group rate on AA for $340 leaving Detroit and coming home to Toledo. I couldn't beat the deal that we just have to put $40 pp down to hold the flights with the payment due 30 prior to flying. Once we return home they will refund us the $40. The nice thing is, since we are booking so far in advance, we will lose nothing if we cancel before Dec 2. So, if prices were to drop, we can just cancel and book the lower fares. The one thing is, you have to have at least 10 to do a group booking and we were able to use 2 tickets from Vegas to Miami in our group. So right now, we have 10 committed reservations.

 

I'm just now sure where the gas prices are going to be during the summer and don't want to get stuck paying an arm and leg for these flights since there are 5 in our family that we are paying for!:eek:

[Brianga]

Book NOW.We booked a flight form kc to Vancouver last September for 820.00 for 2 round trip tickets with America West.Now they are 1100.00.Book now they are going up every week.Long range forcast for Fuel is showing nothing but going up..

[mslaabs]

I just went through a similar experience trying to book a July flight on AA, price jumped $100 in two days. What I did find was that if I took a longer layover in my connecting city, I could save $50 per ticket. I'm connecting in Chicago, arriving there around 9:30am. I was looking at leaving Chicago on a 10:30 flight, however I discovered that if I wait until the 12:30 flight I can save $50. If you have the time to sit around the airport, check the prices on later flights departing the connecting city.

[MattInFLL]

I book a ton of air travel and prices change all the time, up and down.. and these days you can find a bargain a week before or 3 months before... unless you are traveling over a major holiday/vacation period.. or between two cities with limited flights.. be patient.

 

It used to be you could reserve flights with the cruise line and you had up until final payment deadline to take the flights or cancel them.. check that out... and all the while be checking flights on your own.

 

All the major travel web sites have notices you can set up to be alerted on air fare changes for particular routes. You get emails when they go up or down.

 

If you live in the northeast, try to get a cheap flight to NYC and then perhaps switch to Jet Blue to get to Puerto Rico... getting creative can save you money, too.

 

What one of the original posters said is true, with the exception of Thanksgiving, from October to December 15 is one of the slowest travel periods of the year, and there is always a fare sale at that time of year.

[vickie1ok]

I work in the travel industry and it's an absolute crapshoot these days. Add these ridiculous fuel prices to boot, and who knows. I doubt the fuel prices will get reasonable before 2009. (do the math)

 

I would definitely go with Delta at this point. They are generally good to fly on, and every airline company is in danger of bankruptcy these days except Southwest Airlines. Too bad that isn't an option for you. AA is on my s* list these days, but mostly because I hate flying them through DFW. And they bumped me off my connecting flight in O'Hare a few weeks ago even though I made it in time. They put a waitlist on before me. I'm still hot about that.

[Pumbaamd]

We are on the Brilliance in January and could not find any reasonable airfares from DCA to FLL/MIA. I researched one way fares and found a decent Delta rate from DCA to MIA, and then for the trip home Spirit had a good one way price from FLL to DCA. This RT costs $199p.p. The best same airline RT we could find was $400. It takes a little effort, but check out one way fares.