Crazy Airfare

[andmomlau]

I've been looking nonstop for reasonable airfares from Philadelphia.-Orlando in early December and the rates are terrible! Does anyone have any suggestions...book and be done with it or hold off? What are the chances of the airfares dropping???

[faline]

I think everyone is struggling with airfare sticker shock at the moment!! No way of knowing whether there will be any sales or not. I did hear a news report about a potential additional tax that could add another $14 to each flight.

Depending on your comfort level for waiting, you could ride it out a bit longer. If you fly often enough, you could try booking with an airline that allows you to use credits on future flights should the price go down.

Lowering costs might also mean traveling later in the day on your arrival day and leaving earlier in the day on your departure day and/or taking a more circuitous (and longer) route. Good luck!

[Juicy1122]

Frontier flies out of Trenton mercer Airport. We got a good price to fly down in June. And they have free parking. Might be worth looking into.

[BuddyL4]

I know do to time constraints flying may be the only option. For us we now drive thanks to the cost of flying. It's 20+ hours but I enjoy it, I know it sounds crazy. Time of year could definitely factor in i'm sure. :car:

[CanadianWDWFan]

I know do to time constraints flying may be the only option. For us we now drive thanks to the cost of flying. It's 20+ hours but I enjoy it, I know it sounds crazy. Time of year could definitely factor in i'm sure. :car:
We are of the same mind. We can't get flights for under $400 per person anymore. Last summer we did it for under $500 round trip for our 20+ hour drive. For us it is a no brainer.

As mentioned, have you looked at other airports in the area?

[chefmickey3]

We usually drive from Philly for that very reason. My sister found a good rate on Spirit out of AC but there are so many fees associated with Spirit. Haven't tried Trenton. I did see a tip the other day to book individual tickets instead of your entire party. It was a small savings. We are like you and it makes us nervous to wait to book. Good luck!

[BigB]

We had sticker shock as well. We checked Southwest on May 1st and it was going to be about $550. Seventeen days later, $685! We booked and are just paying attention to the cost. If it goes down we will rebook and get a credit that is good for a year. We are thinking about going next May. So, between any potential savings and loyalty points we can get airfare discounted for our next trip. I know there are "travel advisor" or "rate advisor" on some travel sites but they don't do anything more than 180 days out.

[Dulcee]

As others have said switching travel dates and airports can be huge. Websites like Orbitz and Priceline allow you to click a box that will float your travel dates 3 days either way and then show you a grid that presents your price options. Same for airports.

I was able to snag a last minute flight to NYC from Charlotte this way for $150 round trip. My original airports and times would have run me about $400 for the flight. If you can be flexible its worth trying.

Waiting could be another option. The best flight prices are often much closer to travel dates (a lot of experts say 6-8 weeks out). If you aren't flying the days right around Christmas or Thanksgiving waiting might be worth it but its always a risk!

[Ian]

We have the same issue with flights out of Philadelphia. The fares are just ridiculous anymore, so with a family of 6 we don't even try ... we just drive.

Best case airfare would cost us like $2,000 and when you factor in the cost of a rental car (at least $600) we just can't justify the expense when you consider it costs us about $350 in gas and $300 in hot costs to drive.

[azcavalier]

Also check on the discount airlines that won't show up on travel aggregator sites like Expedia or Travelocity. For example, you can fly from Allentown to Sanford/Orlando on Allegiant Air (depending on the actual dates) for about $80 - $150 per person each way. Yes, there are some fees for luggage, and you would have to get a taxi or rent a car once in Orlando, but it's still cheaper than paying what you're looking at from Philly.

[ISLE39]

I only fly southwest bc of the luggage and the closeness to my home. I checked everyday twice a day for sept. I started at 110 each way and did not book it jumped to 142. Then one day both ways dropped to 107 each way. I booked faster than anything. Now I just check to make sure it doesn't go ding or lower. I miss those 89$ flights

[JenniferS.]

I booked Southwest the day it came out with the early Dec. dates $82 each one way. I haven't booked a return flight though yet...ugh..

[PopPhan]

Just checked Southwest prices during the month of December.....Just a little higher than the prices from Baltimore.

$135 per flight per person is not bad in this economy!! From Baltimore, the rates are as low as $108.....

I'm looking into a trip around the middle of the second week of Dec (10th or 11th to go down, 17th or 18th to return)

[Tinkerbella16]

My sister is in the same situation to get flights from Philly to Orlando, but for October. Southwest just keeps going up and everything else is crazy too! She almost just bought them in the beginning, but they figured it would go down.. nope, they are just rising each week. I say get them and be done with it.

I got so lucky.. I am going in November and I usually don't have my flights booked until about July but 2 months ago I was just looking for the heck of it on Spirit's website and I found airfare non-stop for $167 with tax, round trip, per person! This was for their $9 Fare Club Members only.The next day this deal was GONE! It was up for just that day it seems. I seriously got lucky! I know Spirit has bag fees (I get 50% off of those fees), but even with those our tickets are under $200 round trip which is unheard of these days!

Good luck!