Thoughts on airfare

[hillbilly cruiser]

We are flying to NOLA in June. Airfare is about the same price as the cruise. What is your thoughts on air, going up or down. When should I book? There will be six of us, so may need to book soon to get us all together. Any ideas ? Thanks for your help.

[pattimelt]

We are flying to NOLA in June. Airfare is about the same price as the cruise. What is your thoughts on air, going up or down. When should I book? There will be six of us, so may need to book soon to get us all together. Any ideas ? Thanks for your help.

 

try kayak. They have a tool that shows whether your fare should go up or down and you can set a price so that when the fare goes to your price, it will notify you so you can buy your tickets.

[marshalltp]

Without knowing your specific cruise....I assumed a Sunday to Sunday and found Delta fares from SDF through Atlanta for 312, or return on Monday morning for 225. That said I would personally drive to the port if it were 9 hours depending on how many in your family.

[FlyerTalker]

Just remember that Kayak will return consolidator tickets to you, and it you may not realize that your "great price" has extra restrictions.

 

Caveat Emptor.

 

And if having the air be the same price as the cruise bothers you....try Seabourn or Crystal. Solves that issue.

[Texas Tillie]

 

And if having the air be the same price as the cruise bothers you....try Seabourn or Crystal. Solves that issue.

 

Not if you fly first/business class! :D

[Gunner22aa]

When to get the cheapest fares is the most asked and least answerable question on here. Yes there are past fare indicators that you can bet on but history is no guarantee of the future. Check out fares to Sochi Russia last Feb verses this Feb. They are currently running at 3 times the price. Supply and demand and good luck getting a seat now. You have a couple of options depending on how much of a gambler you are. Buy now and get the routing and the seats you want or wait it out and hope for a seat sale which may or may not happen. You could end up saving some money for sure. You could easily end up spending more or getting a far less desirable routing when the popular ones sell out. Worst possible case is you don't all get to fly together and there have been stories of that on here and certainly the popular airline forums. Boils down to how much you want to wager.

[waterbug123]

try kayak. They have a tool that shows whether your fare should go up or down and you can set a price so that when the fare goes to your price, it will notify you so you can buy your tickets.

 

Which in the end, means nothing at all. It might go down, it might go up; what it "should" do is just a guess, so don't count on that prediction.

[FlyerTalker]

I have some penny stocks that should go up. Want in on the deal?? :D

 

Any predictor of market behavior is based, at best, on mathematical models relying on historic data. OTOH, airline yield management pricing algorithms are based on current, real-time data.

 

Which do you think has the better side of that situation?

Edited January 2, 2014 by FlyerTalker

[Shorex]

Be aware that you may be unable to get 6 tickets priced the same. There might be, for example, two available in the lowest bucket, three in the next bucket up, etc. Never start your search by entering "6" tickets needed, start with 1 and work your way up to find the price breaks.

 

If your party is comprised of anything other than parents and four kids, you will have to discuss who pays which fares.

[FlyerTalker]

Shorex nailed it with the question of who buys which tickets. Whenever there is some kind of informal "group" traveling, you may end up with tickets of different pricing. The number of tickets in a bucket is the critical factor to be aware of.

 

So, you have a couple of different ways to go:

 

1) Buy all tickets in the same bucket. Foregoes the best prices, but everyone pays the same.

 

2) Buy the tickets in the separate buckets, then average out the cost.

 

3) Buy the tickets in the separate buckets, with the purchaser deciding whose tickets are in which bucket.

 

4) Let everyone buy their own tickets and just meet at the ship.

 

If you are a family, then just buy the max number at each cheap level. Don't worry about having multiple reservations and locators....it's easy to manage. Mrs FT and I travel on separate reservations all the time even though we are on the same flights.

[Zach1213]

My wife and I and her family are going through this right now. We're all heading over to Morocco for a wedding and were trying to all get on the same flight (MCI-DFW-MAD-RAK) over there. With several different fare buckets, I've decided that my wife and I will just book whatever the heck we want, and if the other (mostly rookie) travelers want to tag along on our flight, they may have to pay more...but that's their decision. Otherwise, they can go through Paris and we'll meet them in Morocco ;)

[jsmeeker]

My wife and I and her family are going through this right now. We're all heading over to Morocco for a wedding and were trying to all get on the same flight (MCI-DFW-MAD-RAK) over there. With several different fare buckets, I've decided that my wife and I will just book whatever the heck we want, and if the other (mostly rookie) travelers want to tag along on our flight, they may have to pay more...but that's their decision. Otherwise, they can go through Paris and we'll meet them in Morocco ;)

 

You are a wise man.

[TruckerDave]

My wife and I and her family are going through this right now. We're all heading over to Morocco for a wedding and were trying to all get on the same flight (MCI-DFW-MAD-RAK) over there. With several different fare buckets, I've decided that my wife and I will just book whatever the heck we want, and if the other (mostly rookie) travelers want to tag along on our flight, they may have to pay more...but that's their decision. Otherwise, they can go through Paris and we'll meet them in Morocco ;)

 

Up front of course right? Make the littles fly in the back of the bus. :)

Edited January 4, 2014 by TruckerDave

[alcpa1]

June is almost shoulder season for NOLA but there are a gazillion factors that affect airfare.

If you want to know if your times of choice are a big convention or festival time check out the visitors and convention site. It will give you an indication of impending flight costs too.

If you have minor children be sure to book them with an adult, even if you have to split up either flights or booking classes. Minor children on their own ticket are considered unaccompanied minors and are subject to a surcharge on almost every airline.

Booking by fare class, perhaps two or three at a time will almost always avoid a higher fare class for all. If you book in groups you can have the airline link your PNR's.

Also factor in the moderate prices for NOLA cruises. You may have sticker shock on the airfare but the cruise price will be affordable.

If you want some educated predictors for airfare post an inquiry on Flyer Talk for your specific airline with date. There are great posters there who can do a search for you.