It's only $20 but....I'll take it!

[racephoto]

Just for the heck of it, I went on to Jetblue.com today to check my flight times one more time and went through like I was booking a ticket to see what the prices were now. Well, the leg down was up to $229 from $89, but the leg back was $20 cheaper at $49! Well, I thought about it and decided to call and see if they'd give me a credit for the $20. And they did. Credit towards another Jetblue ticket, but it is transferable, which is nice. I would not even have been upset if they would have said no, but they immediately did it. This will be my first trip on JetBlue and I'm looking forward to it, even though I really try to stay off Airbus aircraft if I can help it......but my choices were somewhat limited so I'm giving them a try.

[jaw62901]

Congrats. After seeing this I went on Spirit Airlines site to see if mine went down, and it went from $417.40 r/t (Spirit Class) to $258.40 r/t (Spirit Class). I saved $159, and since I use them alot, getting another voucher isn't that big of an issue.

[racephoto]

Good for you! That's quite a price drop. I never saw my airfare drop before, but I'll check more regularly from now on.

[cruisewiththekids]

I didn't know airlines would give you a voucher if the price dropped. Is that just certain airlines, and if so, which ones?

[momofslg]

Do the major carriers like Delta, or AA adjust the fares if you see a price reduction after booking? I'm looking now for October 2006.

[jaw62901]

cruisewiththekids,

 

In my case, all I did was cancel my flight online, got a voucher number and rebooked at the cheaper rate and then got a voucher for the difference. I don't know if this is something that all airlines let you do, but apparently you can at Spirit Airlines.

[cruisewiththekids]

I think a lot of major carriers have change fees, some up to $100. I know Southwest doesn't, but Contintental, Delta, Airtran do.

[jaw62901]

cruisewiththekids,

 

True. Even Spirit Airlines has a change fee, but it seems that if you completely cancel and then rebook instead of changing the dates directly, you don't charged a fee.

[racephoto]

I did not know airlines charged "change fees" for that....that's pretty lame. My tablemates on the cruise had their fare on AAL drop by $80, and when they called about it they were told it would be $100 to change it. Obviously, they didn't do it, but it makes for a disgruntled customer. I had never heard of that before. I really hate the ridiculous fees they charge for changing a reservation, it just seems excessive. Let's face it, they aren't even reissuing paper tickets any more so it's pure greed. For a while there Delta was charging $100 if you tried to standby on a flight more than 3 or 6 hrs earlier (can't remember which) than your booked flight. I didn't think much of that idea either. That was one reason why I ended up taking Jet Blue over American for this flight. Since I had Friday and Saturday off too, I wanted the flexibility of possibly even coming down a day or two earlier if the spirit moved me, WITHOUT having to pay more than the one way fare in penalties to do so! The $20 fee JBU charges to change a ticket is more reasonable, IMHO, and I'm even more impressed that they gave me the credit without any fees or headaches. I'll definitely fly them again.

[nho9504]

Do the major carriers like Delta, or AA adjust the fares if you see a price reduction after booking? I'm looking now for October 2006.

 

For International flight, AA would refund the difference to your credit card.

 

It used to issue a voucher (good for a year) for the price difference. They no longer do so.

 

I do not know why everybody thinks airlines should refund you the differences when prices drop - cruiseline normally dont, if it passes your final payment, department stores dont, if the price drop is 30 days after your purchase (in some cases you can return your merchandise with receipt and re-buy, but now many stores limit the period you can return merchandises). The prices of flights are a dynamic function based on supply and demand and the compromise when a passenger sees it is an acceptable fare, he/she then buy it. A $250 fare coast to coast may be a reasonable price for many, but may be for some would want to see $198, for example.

 

For Oct 2006 - that is WAY WAY too early to book - under most circumstances the fares available this far out would be on the high side. The best thing to do, is know what is considered "cheap", or "reasonable" fare for a given route - so when you see one in the ballpark, you then book it right away. For example, between FLL/MIA to SFO, LAX, SAN, SEA, anything around 200 to 250 is considered very reasonable, anything below 200 is very good and if you see something at 150 then jump on it even you dont have a trip planned, but you have family/friends you want to visit. I hope this helps you understand what I mean "dynamic".