Booking Air for West coast to FLL

[jrtmouse]

We're scheduled to sail from Ft Lauderdale in the middle of Jan '05. When would be the best time to book our flights from west coast (CA) to FLL? I realize we're still about 5 months away but I'm beginning to stress, but I don't really want to pay $350 pp either! People keep telling me that we should be able to get a $199 fare the closer we get.

 

I'm not a frequent flyer so I'm not really up on when the usual airfare sales are.

 

Thanks!

[laurieb]

Fares will drop, just keep an eye on them. We booked through Continental last year(redeye flight on new years eve) for 229 pp from pdx to fll.

[jrtmouse]

I just booked Continental, OAK to FLL $267. Not great, but not $350 either AND I'm done stressing!

[jcanino]

Fares will drop, just keep an eye on them. We booked through Continental last year(redeye flight on new years eve) for 229 pp from pdx to fll.

Airfares are based on a load management system. Even if the airline announces a sale, it doesn't mean that the dates and time you want to fly will be at that sale price. When people ask me if they should wait to buy airline tickets I ask them if they like to gamble. Waiting on airline prices is like going to the casino and playing Craps. Sometimes you win and sometimes you lose.

 

Take a look at an airline ticket next time you buy one and search for the "Fare Basis". The letter at the beginning is the Fare Code that determined what the cost of your ticket was. If you bought a ticket today that had a Fare Code of T and then talked to someone that bought a ticket two weeks ago with a Fare Code of T, you may still have paid different prices for the same fare ticket. Each Fare Basis comes with many pages of rules as well including the days and times and flight numbers that are available for that Fare code. I have seen airlines change their pricing a dozen times in one day. I have had an airline change a price from the time I quote someone a price to the time I actually run that ticket 10 minutes later. Prices cannont be guaranteed until we actually run the ticket.

 

Anyone that thinks the job of a TA is an easy one is sadly mistaken.

[jla418]

Keep in mind that Jan/Feb/Mar are the busiest time for tourists to South Florida. During this period a good fare on a Fri/Sun/Mon can be a challenge to find. Also remember that Southwest and JetBlue's flights and fares are NOT on the on-line travel sites, but only on their own websites. Good Luck!

[jrtmouse]

1) The only problem with Southwest is that right now you can't book past 1/14. That's a problem when we need to travel past that point.

 

2) So far, I've yet to see what is so great about JetBlue. They've always been the most expensive thus far.

 

Thanks anyway for the suggestions.

 

John

[jla418]

LOL...now we know why the fares are higher right now....Southwest isn't selling seats yet! Watch those fares fall when Southwest opens up it's inventory!