Florida to Anchorage 2014 Question?

[Hogladyrider]

Already looking at flights end of July from Florida to Anchorage, is it "safe" to book via an online agency like Priceline, etc ILO direct thru the airlines?

 

I do not fly often and I have found what I feel is a good price, FL to LA to ANC for $369 one way however it is thru Priceline and I have never used this service.

 

Thanks in advance.

[nana541]

Wow! I am from Anchorage and have lots of family living just minutes from the Anchorage Airport..... I have to say I have never ever seen such a price!! What airline is this with?

I go up several times a year from Oregon flying Alaska Airlines and pay that or close to it IF I'm lucky for just one way.... And that's out of Oregon and not Florida.

If this is for real I'd jump on it!

 

PS when we need to get to Florida we usually take a Redeye out of Seattle arriving in Miami at about 7:30am

[6rugrats]

I go up several times a year from Oregon flying Alaska Airlines and pay that or close to it IF I'm lucky for just one way.... And that's out of Oregon and not Florida.

 

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I do not fly often and I have found what I feel is a good price, FL to LA to ANC for $369 one way however it is thru Priceline and I have never used this service.

 

Difficult to comment on price, as you don't give your departure airport or travel dates. I see one way prices, FLL-ANC on Alaska Air the last week of July as low as $267. But, with the price you found, I am guessing you are flying from MIA and the price you found was for AA?

 

I doubt PL has the price much lower than if you booked directly on AA's webpage; look and see.

[Hogladyrider]

Sorry I did not mention our departure is from Orlando to Anchorage.

 

THe flight I found is Friday 7/25 Delta non-stop Orlando to LA with a brief layover then LA to Anchorage operated by Alaska Airlines non-stop

 

Leave Orlando 7:45 am arrive in Anchorage 4:15 pm 12+ hour flight

everything else has been 17 hours plus.

 

Our trip departs 7/28 and we want a day in Anchorage to explore.

 

Thanks.

[FlyerTalker]

Quick look at ITA gives me:

 

$325 on UA. One stop through DEN, with a long connect (8:39) arriving ANC at 10:50pm, while it will still be light out. For an additional $13, you leave MCO later and take the same connect out of DEN.

 

$334 on DL. Double connect through CVG and ATL, with an arrival at 7:21pm

 

$365 on DL. Single connect at LAX, using a DL codeshare operated by AS. Arrives 4:10pm in ANC.

 

If your result was that same 4:10 arrival at ANC, I'd just buy it through the DL website directly. Or check what AS would sell that combo for on their site.

 

So....why pay more when you can go directly through the airline??

[alcpa1]

You are, in this case, better off dealing with the airline directly. There will probably be changes along the way and dealing directly is much easier.

 

You mentioned brief connection time in LA. That may not be such a good thing in an unfamiliar airport where you might have to change airlines (and terminals,) ie Delta to Alaska.

 

No matter which airline you chose, if you are not a member of the frequent flyer program, do join. It is much easier to manage your account.

 

The fare range is great and I doubt if you will see anything lower. I'd book now if I were in your shoes.

[FlyerTalker]

You mentioned brief connection time in LA. That may not be such a good thing in an unfamiliar airport where you might have to change airlines (and terminals,) ie Delta to Alaska.

The good news is that DL is predominantly in T5, with some ops in T6. AS is now in T6, having left the ancient confines of T3. There is an airside tunnel between T5 and T6, so no need to reclear security. You can either walk it (5 minutes or less) or tip the fellow driving the golf cart back and forth.

[Ashland]

Wow! I am from Anchorage and have lots of family living just minutes from the Anchorage Airport..... I have to say I have never ever seen such a price!! What airline is this with?

I go up several times a year from Oregon flying Alaska Airlines and pay that or close to it IF I'm lucky for just one way.... And that's out of Oregon and not Florida.

If this is for real I'd jump on it!

 

PS when we need to get to Florida we usually take a Redeye out of Seattle arriving in Miami at about 7:30am

Isn't the OP talking about a one-way price point :confused:

[FlyerTalker]

One other item....if bought as a DL to DL connection on Delta's website, then there is for sure no problem with luggage and getting both boarding passes at MCO.

[Hogladyrider]

Yes I was only looking at one way fares, is there a savings to book roundtrip?

 

WOW I have a ton to learn about booking airfare, what is ITA?

 

I will take all this great advice for sure.

 

I was looking at Orlando to Seattle and then on to Anchorage but there really did not appear to be that much $$ savings and since it is a LONG flight from east coast to west coast I was looking for "reasonable" $$ and the lesser total travel time.

 

Some flights went from 12+ hours travel time to over 17+ hours travel time and I would prefer to pay a few extra $$ for the 12+ hour travel time.

Susan

 

PS we are planning on traveling light, carryons only.

[greatam]

The annual PDF sale is on right now (when Alaskan's get their checks from the oil money). Happens every year about this time although this year, they actually issued the check in September so the sales will be ending VERY soon.

 

The PDF sales are generally the cheapest you can find unless you wait to book last minute (and then that is a BIG gamble that you may not win).

 

Particularly since you are flying out of Orlando (BIG PDF sale point), book now. Don't wait around.

[Gardyloo]

Yes I was only looking at one way fares, is there a savings to book roundtrip?

 

WOW I have a ton to learn about booking airfare, what is ITA?

 

I will take all this great advice for sure.

 

I was looking at Orlando to Seattle and then on to Anchorage but there really did not appear to be that much $$ savings and since it is a LONG flight from east coast to west coast I was looking for "reasonable" $$ and the lesser total travel time.

 

Some flights went from 12+ hours travel time to over 17+ hours travel time and I would prefer to pay a few extra $$ for the 12+ hour travel time.

Susan

 

PS we are planning on traveling light, carryons only.

ITA is a search engine that displays fares from numerous airlines. You can't book through ITA but you can go to the airline's website and re-create the price. ITA is the engine behind a number of online travel sites, including Orbitz and Kayak.

 

Um, are you coming back from Alaska or relocating there?

 

Assuming you are returning, then you ought to look at round trip fares, or, if you're returning after a cruise, say from Vancouver or Seattle, then you should be looking at an "open-jaw" itinerary. While sometimes one-way fares are just 1/2 of the round trip, it's not always the case, so testing to see what the round trip or open-jaw fare would be is an easy thing to do.

[TruckerDave]

Which ever airline you pick make sure you sign up for their freq flier program before booking. A MCO to ANC trip will give you a bunch of miles. (Plus whatever the return flight is). You wont earn enough for a free trip on this flight but the miles do add up over time. (there many many ways to get miles. Book a hotel in Anchorage through the airline website for example and get miles). In a couple years of "normal" travel and expenses you could earn enough for a ticket someplace.

[Hogladyrider]

I am finding searching airfare to be very frustrating! :eek:

 

When I search roundtrip I can not find a return flight suitable for our time frames or if it is a red eye, which we want, it is way too long. I would rather pay a little more for my ticket and get the times that work for us.

 

I know that at the end of our trip we will both be anxious to get home.

 

Hence I have been looking at one ways each way as I do not know how else to get the times we want since they don't appear on the round trip searches.

 

Booking cruises without airfare is so much easier!

 

When we cruised Alaska in 2009 it was much easier booking the airfare and I did one ways then! I got $99 Southwest from MCO to Orange County CA and then on to Seattle then Alaska Air Seattle to Vancouver and no problem with red eye coming home from Vancouver, Anchorage is more of a challenge for sure!

 

Is it true that we are better off booking earlier rather than waiting?

[Gardyloo]

I am finding searching airfare to be very frustrating! :eek:

 

When I search roundtrip I can not find a return flight suitable for our time frames or if it is a red eye, which we want, it is way too long. I would rather pay a little more for my ticket and get the times that work for us.

 

I know that at the end of our trip we will both be anxious to get home.

 

Hence I have been looking at one ways each way as I do not know how else to get the times we want since they don't appear on the round trip searches.

 

Booking cruises without airfare is so much easier!

 

When we cruised Alaska in 2009 it was much easier booking the airfare and I did one ways then! I got $99 Southwest from MCO to Orange County CA and then on to Seattle then Alaska Air Seattle to Vancouver and no problem with red eye coming home from Vancouver, Anchorage is more of a challenge for sure!

 

Is it true that we are better off booking earlier rather than waiting?

Part of the problem is the time difference. If you leave Alaska in the morning and want to get to the east coast (or really anywhere east of Chicago) the same day, the combination of the distance and time change makes for a very late arrival, and any connections after that (say from Atlanta to anywhere in the southeast, or Chicago to anywhere in the midwest) almost impossible. Airlines don't like to have arrivals at 2 AM, and many airports are closed in the late nights.

 

So the airlines just set up red-eyes, either via Seattle or some other spot in the lower 48 for people who need to get back to the east. (The same thing goes for Hawaii flights, same problem.)

 

Booking earlier v. later is a crapshoot. Sometimes airfares start off high (when the booking period opens, usually 11 months prior to the flight) and then go down, then back up. The only approach that makes sense is to find a price you can live with, book the fare, and then don't Monday-morning-quarterback it after that.

 

Use the multi-flight option on ITA or on Expedia, Orbitz etc. to find flights that will work for you. You'll have to live with the airline schedules - they're set with the airline's revenue in mind, not your convenience, unfortunately.

[greatam]

 

Is it true that we are better off booking earlier rather than waiting?

 

As I posted, right now is the PDF sale. Won't last much longer (MAYBE a week because they started a week earlier this year). PDF tickets are generally the cheapest you can buy unless you want to gamble and wait until the last minute.

 

I purchase anywhere from 8-12 tickets to Alaska every year for my employees (fish shipping). They fly from NYC, Arizona, Kansas City and this year one is flying from Cincinnati. I ALWAYS purchase during the PDF sales. Have very rarely found cheaper flights except at the very last minute once or twice and that was sheer luck.

 

The airlines have cut flights all over the USA. So you don't have the amount of flights you had even 3 years ago.

 

What are your exact dates and what are your preferred times? Maybe some of us can come up with an acceptable solution.

[Hogladyrider]

Thanks for the assistance.

 

Exact dates: depart MCO Friday 7/25 preferably early rather than later to ANC

 

Home: depart ANC 8/3 red eye 11:30 pm or later to MCO

 

We are hoping to fly into Anchorage early, our trip begins on Sunday so we can be flexible on the 7/25 date and coming home we really did not want to spend a nite in a hotel on 8/3 to get up to head to the airport on 8/4 if not necessary.

[Ashland]

As I posted, right now is the PDF sale. Won't last much longer (MAYBE a week because they started a week earlier this year). PDF tickets are generally the cheapest you can buy unless you want to gamble and wait until the last minute.

 

I purchase anywhere from 8-12 tickets to Alaska every year for my employees (fish shipping). They fly from NYC, Arizona, Kansas City and this year one is flying from Cincinnati. I ALWAYS purchase during the PDF sales. Have very rarely found cheaper flights except at the very last minute once or twice and that was sheer luck.

 

The airlines have cut flights all over the USA. So you don't have the amount of flights you had even 3 years ago.

 

What are your exact dates and what are your preferred times? Maybe some of us can come up with an acceptable solution.

Am new to this PDF ticket sale but not seeing it helping me very much to get from ANC-LAX or BUR June 6th (afternoon flights) after cruise. I guess it won't work for what I need.

[hey dad]

Be careful about buying thru ticket vendors. If there are flight delays, need to change, want refunds etc, they can be difficult to reach in off business office hours. Besides all domestic airlines now guarantee the lowest prices on their website. Previous poster was correct, be sure to sign up for the frequent flyer program. I travel on planes 3 times a week, and frequent flyers do get benefits. Have fun in Alaska, been there for 3 cruises and hope to go back for #4 this spring.

 

Hey Dad

[Hogladyrider]

PDF sale is over and my intention is to book direct with an airline sooner rather than later.

 

Thanks for all the input!

Susan