Airfares!!

[FlyerTalker]

1 minute ago, littysmom said:

We checked today, they are cheaper,  but they say Tuesdays are the best deals, so we'll see.

 

Prices are often better for FLYING on a Tuesday, due to supply and deman.

 

But if you want to wait because supposedly prices are lower if you buy on a Tuesday, well go ahead.  How else do urban legends keep being promoted?

[Tapi]

43 minutes ago, Kbud said:

Tapi, that's a great deal!  We are going out of Miami in February 2020 and the airfares are still ridiculous.  

When are you cruising in February? Ours is February 16th. I had been checking for months and prices weren't budging. And then one day out of the blue it was cheap. Spirit literally went from like $300 to $59 for our return on the 23rd. 

 

At that time, I hadn’t found cheap airfare going to FLL so I reserved a one way car rental for $125 just in case. But then I found a good fare on Delta flying down on the 15th so I canceled the car rental. 

 

About parking at the ATL airport, parking at the main terminal can get expensive, but there are many remote locations with a shuttle. I’ve seen some places for like $9-$10 a night, and there are sometimes Groupons for a few facilities. If flying from ATL is substantially cheaper, paying for parking at those rates may still be advantageous. 

 

Good look finding ding some good flights and prices that you can live with! And have a great cruise!

[Tapi]

43 minutes ago, FlyerTalker said:

How else do urban legends keep being promoted?

I just looked to see when I found the cheap tickets that I ended up purchasing, to see if we could feed the urban legend further with some data. 😀 So I bought one ticket 203 days out on a Thursday and the other 136 days out on a Wednesday. I don’t know if that feeds the myth or debunks it. But I did look at fares obsessively multiple times a day until I found those fares. 

[Tapi]

1 hour ago, littysmom said:

Yes we did. We're going to wait till Tuesday and see what the fares are. 

Thanks!

What is your sailing date and from what city?

[littysmom]

45 minutes ago, Tapi said:

What is your sailing date and from what city?

We fly down a day ahead of time. April 17th-26th from BWI- FLL

[Tapi]

1 hour ago, littysmom said:

We fly down a day ahead of time. April 17th-26th from BWI- FLL

Happy cruising! We sail Feb 16th-23rd

[Kbud]

3 hours ago, Tapi said:

When are you cruising in February? Ours is February 16th. I had been checking for months and prices weren't budging. And then one day out of the blue it was cheap. Spirit literally went from like $300 to $59 for our return on the 23rd. 

 

At that time, I hadn’t found cheap airfare going to FLL so I reserved a one way car rental for $125 just in case. But then I found a good fare on Delta flying down on the 15th so I canceled the car rental. 

 

About parking at the ATL airport, parking at the main terminal can get expensive, but there are many remote locations with a shuttle. I’ve seen some places for like $9-$10 a night, and there are sometimes Groupons for a few facilities. If flying from ATL is substantially cheaper, paying for parking at those rates may still be advantageous. 

 

Good look finding ding some good flights and prices that you can live with! And have a great cruise!

 

 

February 8th is our cruise

[Tapi]

3 hours ago, littysmom said:

We fly down a day ahead of time. April 17th-26th from BWI- FLL

Not the best flight times, but I found $281 round trip for those dates. That sounds very reasonable. 

 

 

[littysmom]

12 minutes ago, Tapi said:

Not the best flight times, but I found $281 round trip for those dates. That sounds very reasonable. 

 

 

Those are great prices, but we have young grandchildren flying. They would be miserable .

[Tapi]

2 hours ago, littysmom said:

Those are great prices, but we have young grandchildren flying. They would be miserable .

Ah, yes. I get it. I have little kids and one time we purchased airline tickets departing at 3:00am out of San Juan (several airlines operate flights at odd hours from there). But they were the cheapest flights I could find. Long story short, NEVER AGAIN, at least with small children. The kids were miserable, which in turn made my wife miserable, which in turn made me miserable. 

 

We got home and we had to go straight to sleep. Then we couldn’t sleep that night because we’d slept all day. 🤯 Taking those flights had a worst effect on my body than flying across the Atlantic and crossing 6 time zones. 

[littysmom]

10 minutes ago, Tapi said:

Ah, yes. I get it. I have little kids and one time we purchased airline tickets departing at 3:00am out of San Juan (several airlines operate flights at odd hours from there). But they were the cheapest flights I could find. Long story short, NEVER AGAIN, at least with small children. The kids were miserable, which in turn made my wife miserable, which in turn made me miserable. 

 

We got home and we had to go straight to sleep. Then we couldn’t sleep that night because we’d slept all day. 🤯 Taking those flights had a worst effect on my body than flying across the Atlantic and crossing 6 time zones. 

Haha!

[waterbug123]

18 hours ago, Tapi said:

I just looked to see when I found the cheap tickets that I ended up purchasing, to see if we could feed the urban legend further with some data. 😀 So I bought one ticket 203 days out on a Thursday and the other 136 days out on a Wednesday. I don’t know if that feeds the myth or debunks it. But I did look at fares obsessively multiple times a day until I found those fares. 

 

I'd say it debunks it.  Your limited experience shows that the lowest fares are NOT always available by booking on a Tuesday. Maybe sometimes they are, just like -as you found- sometimes they're lowest if you buy on a Wed or a Thu.  And someone else has probably found the lowest fares when searching on a Mon, Sat or Sun.  As has been said before, the day you're purchasing has far less to do with the price than the day and date you're actually flying.

[Tapi]

45 minutes ago, waterbug123 said:

I'd say it debunks it. 

And finding these fares 203 and 136 days days out kinda puts a damper on the 90 day, 54 day or 21 day “rule” that’s been going around too. 😂

 

As someone working in the airline industry, I believe that there are too many variables that may (or may not) apply to each individual market to categorically say that, every time, fares will be cheaper if purchased specifically on X day of the week and X number of days out. I don’t believe that even fare tracking experts know with 100% certainty. 

Edited November 1, 2019 by Tapi

[iancal]

I think Wednesdays are the best time to get low airfares.

 

Between 3AM and 4AM.  But only in a month with 30 days that ends in r.  And only when there is a full moon. You will score a great fare for certain.

 

 That is how airline yield management systems work.... Isn't it?

Edited November 1, 2019 by iancal

[scottbee]

18 minutes ago, iancal said:

I think Wednesdays are the best time to get low airfares.

 

Between 3AM and 4AM.  But only in a month with 30 days that ends in r.  And only when there is a full moon. You will score a great fare for certain.

 

 That is how airline yield management systems work.... Isn't it?

 

Except during periods of high sunspot activity

[iancal]

Oh no!   We have started looking at fares to Asia in mid Jan.   Hoping to bag a great fare on the first full moon of this month.

 

Could we be SOL? 

 

Are there exceptions made for months with 31 days that have Christmas in them....if they also end in r? 

 

In the past we have typically booked this flight  in late November or December to get the best mid/late Jan. fare.

Edited November 1, 2019 by iancal

[Zach1213]

30 minutes ago, iancal said:

I think Wednesdays are the best time to get low airfares.

 

Between 3AM and 4AM.  But only in a month with 30 days that ends in r.  And only when there is a full moon. You will score a great fare for certain.

 

 That is how airline yield management systems work.... Isn't it?

[Budget Queen]

On 10/29/2019 at 10:42 AM, Tapi said:

Keep checking, even multiple times a day. Unless you’re flying during a very busy holiday, chances are that you’ll see considerable price fluctuations, specially if your cruise is still several months away. Get creative and check one way fares on multiple airlines, and expand your search to other nearby airports, etc  
 

When I started checking flights for our upcoming February 2020 cruise, round trip airfare from ATL-FLL was hovering around $350pp. But then one day I found $66pp on Delta for our flight down so I purchased that one way, and then a few weeks later I found $59pp on Spirit for the return so I purchased that. 
 

So we are flying round trip to FLL for $125pp. The masochist in me keeps checking fares just to see what they are doing and now the cheapest fare I’ve seen for days is $250pp, which is pretty average for this route, but I’m grateful that I pulled the trigger at the right moment. 

 

Same thing with hotels. I’ve been checking for weeks, and the only way to spend less than $250/night was by staying at a Rodeway Inn in the bad part of town. Last week it seems like there was some sort of break, and several hotel rates dropped considerably. I now have the Embassy Suites booked for $131/night.

 

So don’t give up. Keep checking. If it looks suspiciously high, don’t book just yet. But if it’s close to what you’re willing/able to pay, then go for it. Hope you find something soon. 

I may be mistaken but I thought you were a nonrev traveler?

[Tapi]

12 minutes ago, Budget Queen said:

I may be mistaken but I thought you were a nonrev traveler?

I am but I never Non-rev when I’m cruising. When I go on a cruise, I always, always  purchase confirmed tickets just like anybody else. And I don’t have any loyalty to any airline in particular. I check them all.
 

We are a young family of 4, with little flexibility due to school and work, so unfortunately I can’t play the non-rev game when we are getting off the ship on a Sunday and the kids need to be back in school the next morning. 

[Budget Queen]

14 minutes ago, Tapi said:

I am but I never Non-rev when I’m cruising. When I go on a cruise, I always, always  purchase confirmed tickets just like anybody else. And I don’t have any loyalty to any airline in particular. I check them all.
 

We are a young family of 4, with little flexibility due to school and work, so unfortunately I can’t play the non-rev game when we are getting off the ship on a Sunday and the kids need to be back in school the next morning. 

Yes flights are challenging for 4 people.    I’m one and have a lot more options.  A few weeks ago out of Bcn I was 12 on a priority list.   The first on the list was a no ans.  Then all the rest were 2 or more and wouldn’t split up ( I always did). So I got the single seat.  Very fortunate.   

 

I did come come back to Rome last week with half the plane empty.  😀😀😀

[phillyguy31]

Several questions what day do you sail? I see you are flying in Friday and from where are you sailing out of? Fridays are usually higher in price(in my experience) than Saturday. 

[Tapi]

1 hour ago, Budget Queen said:

 I did come come back to Rome last week with half the plane empty.  😀😀😀

Lucky you. Last November we returned from a Mediterranean cruise on Thanksgiving Sunday. The flight back from Rome was oversold and the non-rev list was 35 people deep. We would’ve NEVER been able to get home that Sunday if I hadn’t purchased confirmed tickets, which I got 11 months in advance. Very glad I did.

But then there are times when I’ve purchased tickets and we push back with empty seats. Those times I tell myself that I’ll roll the dice next time, but I always chicken out and end up buying tickets! 

[littysmom]

1 hour ago, phillyguy31 said:

Several questions what day do you sail? I see you are flying in Friday and from where are you sailing out of? Fridays are usually higher in price(in my experience) than Saturday. 

We're sailing the 18th, but flying down the 17th for a pre cruise reunion with family and friends.  There are a group of us going from all over. Very excited to see everyone!

[Budget Queen]

2 hours ago, Tapi said:

Lucky you. Last November we returned from a Mediterranean cruise on Thanksgiving Sunday. The flight back from Rome was oversold and the non-rev list was 35 people deep. We would’ve NEVER been able to get home that Sunday if I hadn’t purchased confirmed tickets, which I got 11 months in advance. Very glad I did.

But then there are times when I’ve purchased tickets and we push back with empty seats. Those times I tell myself that I’ll roll the dice next time, but I always chicken out and end up buying tickets! 

I admit it can be challenging.   But I’ve never purchased tickets if the routes were nonrevable. ( is that a word?).  And I fly a lot multiple times every month.  The rare times I do buy a ticket it’s very strange. 😀😀.  eg. InterEurope and Hawaiian Islands.  

[Kbud]

I took a chance on a new travel site and feel I scored decently on my airfare with great flight times.  Leaving out of AGS at 6:50 am and arriving in MIA at 11:50 am. Return time is leaving at 1:35 pm ad getting back home by 5:25 pm.  I'm happy with the flight times and the cost was $676 for two tickets! If anyone is interested the site was called myflightmart.com

Edited November 16, 2019 by Kbud