Do you think airfare will be going down?

[JackieH]

Like others, I hate the fact that airfare seems to be alot of money now. We are going on the Carnival Valor Aug 20. We want to Fly into Ft Lauderdale the day before(my parents live in the Ft Lauderdale area). Right now the cheapest rate I can find from Norfolk, Va to Ft Lauderdale is 204$ per person. We will need 4 tickets. I guess Im spoiled because last yr I paid 105$rt on Delta to the same destination. 204 doesnt seem bad, but Im wondering how long I should hold out. People have suggested SouthWest, but they do not have the Aug fares available yet.

Anybody have any inside tips if airfare is going down???;)

[greatam]

Like others, I hate the fact that airfare seems to be alot of money now. We are going on the Carnival Valor Aug 20. We want to Fly into Ft Lauderdale the day before(my parents live in the Ft Lauderdale area). Right now the cheapest rate I can find from Norfolk, Va to Ft Lauderdale is 204$ per person. We will need 4 tickets. I guess Im spoiled because last yr I paid 105$rt on Delta to the same destination. 204 doesnt seem bad, but Im wondering how long I should hold out. People have suggested SouthWest, but they do not have the Aug fares available yet.

Anybody have any inside tips if airfare is going down???;)

 

Please think this through logically.

1. Fuel keeps going up and could jump astronomically if Iran becomes a bigger problem

2. 1/2 of the legacy airlines have been or are in bankruptcy

3. Almost all the airlines are still loosing money

 

Please point out why airfares should or would go down???

 

$204.00 is a fair price. I would book ASAP. Sure, you may find a sale, but you may NOT.

[frchteaze]

You can always try hotwire or priceline, but you don't get to pick your flying times or airline.

 

Personally, I would wait for Southwest flights. I know it's hard when you're a planner who likes to have everything settled ahead of time, but SW is almost always cheaper. Plus, if you get your tickets on SW and then the price drops you can change your flight without a penalty and get the refund in airfare credit.

 

Also, download Southwest's Ding program. The flight prices they offer are sometimes riduculously low, but they're only for the next month or two of traveling, so you might not want to wait for those fares.

 

Another tip, if you're doing a lot of online searching for airfare and the prices seem to start suddenly going up, back off and wait a few days. I have no proof of this other than personal observation, but I've noticed running too many searches in a short time for the same flight days seems to push the price up. (Maybe I'm imagining things, but I don't think so.)

 

Good luck with your airfare hunt!

[sobore]

If you have any flexibilty look for Tue - Wed departures. As a rule you do not want to wait too late to book. The fare you quoted is not too bad considering that it depatrts during the summer travel season. I agree with the other poster regarding oil prices, and the closer we get to summer the higher the price of oil will go.

[parody]

You can always try hotwire or priceline, but you don't get to pick your flying times or airline.

 

Your understanding of how certain aspects of Priceline operates was and still is true if you bid (or "name your own price") when using Priceline. However, in January 2004, Priceline made an addition to their site where it is now possible to select a specific airline and flight (i.e., flight number and departure time). So, now one has a choice, depending on their risk and flexibility (and possibly other tradeoffs) when using Priceline. See their press release at http://nocache.corporate-ir.net/irey...item_id=485349

It is useful to note, however, that in their search of potential flights, for which one specifies the typical parameters, it does not include Southwest Airlines (no surprise there) and jetBlue. I have not done an exhaustive research of this issue, so there may be other airlines as well.

 

Prior to 2004, Priceline had just one connotation. Now that it is operating with 2 models, how are these components of Priceline now referred to?

[frchteaze]

Your understanding of how certain aspects of Priceline operates was and still is true if you bid (or "name your own price") when using Priceline. However, in January 2004, Priceline made an addition to their site where it is now possible to select a specific airline and flight (i.e., flight number and departure time). So, now one has a choice, depending on their risk and flexibility (and possibly other tradeoffs) when using Priceline. See their press release at http://nocache.corporate-ir.net/irey...item_id=485349

It is useful to note, however, that in their search of potential flights, for which one specifies the typical parameters, it does not include Southwest Airlines (no surprise there) and jetBlue. I have not done an exhaustive research of this issue, so there may be other airlines as well.

 

Prior to 2004, Priceline had just one connotation. Now that it is operating with 2 models, how are these components of Priceline now referred to?

 

Sorry I was not clear in differentiating the two aspects of these sites.

 

Hotwire also now allows you to see the airline you choose before purchasing. However, my experience has been that both Priceline and Hotire are not the best bargains if you choose your airline and flight times. They are only competitive if you still go by the "old" method of being surprised.

[BlueHerons]

Like others, I hate the fact that airfare seems to be alot of money now. We are going on the Carnival Valor Aug 20. We want to Fly into Ft Lauderdale the day before(my parents live in the Ft Lauderdale area). Right now the cheapest rate I can find from Norfolk, Va to Ft Lauderdale is 204$ per person. We will need 4 tickets. I guess Im spoiled because last yr I paid 105$rt on Delta to the same destination. 204 doesnt seem bad, but Im wondering how long I should hold out. People have suggested SouthWest, but they do not have the Aug fares available yet.

Anybody have any inside tips if airfare is going down???;)

 

There is no rhyme or reason for the airlines over complicated pricing structure and no way to tell whether your costs will go up or down.

 

What I can tell you is that just about each seat on your plane is priced at a different cost.

 

I think $204 is a very reasonable price and I don't see the fare dropping down to $105.

[hdawson]

My line of choice is AirTran. Good fares, great service and very new airplanes. The line makes money and is expanding. Seven consecutive years of profit.

 

Cheaper fares? ? ? ? ? Oil closed over $66 per barrel today. About double of last year. The legacy airlines either have been or are or teetering on bankruptcy. Costs greater than revenue. Where will the price of oil go with or without action against or from Iran? What happens to oil prices if hurricanes in 2006 wipe out 100 gulf oil rigs and shut down the pipelines again.

[Lynne79]

The southwest site won't let me search for fares beyond the end of June, so that may not be of help to you.

[sunprincess]

Was amazed this weekend. Princess air was $499 from JFK to SJU.

I found a $207 fare for non-stop flights with Delta.

I am a happy girl ;)

[MamaParrotHead]

you guys have it made. I'm looking at a minimum of $350-$400 pp to get anywhere NEAR a FL port. As if looking at the prices wasn't bad enough, now I know what others pay to get to port. :(

[greatam]

dup post

[greatam]

you guys have it made. I'm looking at a minimum of $350-$400 pp to get anywhere NEAR a FL port. As if looking at the prices wasn't bad enough, now I know what others pay to get to port. :(

 

Why don't you drive to Omaha or Kansas City or Chicago??? depending on which part of Iowa you live in. Lots better prices on airfare.

 

DH is from Northeastern Iowa. He flies there frequently to see his Mom. Chicago, even with a rental car and gas, has been almost $175.00 cheaper than flying into Des Moines. Sometimes there are pretty good rates out of Moline, if you are close to that end of the state. PHX/ to Cedar Rapids was over $250.00 more expensive than PHX to Chicago. For 190 miles drive, I'll put that money in my pocket, thank you!!!

[MamaParrotHead]

Why don't you drive to Omaha or Kansas City or Chicago??? depending on which part of Iowa you live in. Lots better prices on airfare.

 

DH is from Northeastern Iowa. He flies there frequently to see his Mom. Chicago, even with a rental car and gas, has been almost $175.00 cheaper than flying into Des Moines. Sometimes there are pretty good rates out of Moline, if you are close to that end of the state. PHX/ to Cedar Rapids was over $250.00 more expensive than PHX to Chicago. For 190 miles drive, I'll put that money in my pocket, thank you!!!

 

Monticello is like 45 minutes from here (I'm in Dubuque). LOL The $350 price *IS* from Moline, and since Chicago is a good 3 1/2 hour drive, that tacks on a LOT of travel time (even if travelling the day before, which we do...usually taking a 6:00 a.m. flight and making it into MIA about 3:00-4:00 p.m.). Omaha is 6-7 hours, and Kansas City is 8 or 9 hours. Cedar Rapids usually isn't much cheaper than leaving from right here in Dubuque. I'm currently checking into flying into FLL, which knocks a few bucks off the airfare. It just bites my butt listening to people freak about $200 airfare when we're paying double that, LOL.

[zqvol]

If you can get the tickets for $204 you better grab it now. Fares can only go up and I would not be surprised to see them double in the near future.

[JJPNYC]

My approach to airfares now-a-days is to grab a fare when -you- feel that it is a fair price. Beyond that, i'd say that there is more certainty in predicting the weather rather than trying to guess airlines prices. Only in airlines could they get away with a $550 fare for a 200 mile trip between LGA-DCA but the same airlines charge only $400 for a JFK-LHR round trip. Go figure.

[ritarose]

in Sept. son booked us and his family on America West flights to Cancun Mar. 22. we are taking them to an all inclusive resort for a week. they are going from Chgo., we are going from Phoenix. Our fare was $479 p.p. Today I checked if fare went down--it DID, we are getting vouchers for $145.79 p.p. go figure? I told them to see if their fare went down. They may not use their vouchers (they have to be used in one year) but we certainly will, almost $300, wow

 

Rita

Palatine IL and Surprise, AZ

[jaxon41]

Thank you for the education -- America West and Southwest, evidently, allow you to turn in your tickets if the fare drops and recieve a voucher for the overage -- any other airlines allow this? -- maybe I'm just stupid but I have never heard of this before. I imagine you have to catch the change in price and then what do you do -- just call the airline?

[parody]

With jetBlue, the "change fee" is only $30. And at this post -- http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=310940&goto=newpost -- you can see that with a good reason, the change fee has been waived. So, it many not always be zero, but it's pretty close.