Airfare

[DVC2004]

Is airfare terrible this year or what? We fly out of Chicago and because of where we live, we actually can do Ohare Airport, Midway, or Milwaukee. Typically we fly Airtran out of Chicago for 4 , it usually is about $650- $750 total the past few trips. Going back I know it was even less but I am trying to just look at the last 2 -3 trips to Orlando since 2011. We are looking for a shor trip in October and even with "sale fares" on Airtran/Southwest the lowest I can find is $145 each way for $1159 total. Geez! I am wondering if I should still hold off. Used to be October was an off season time. Driving isn't an option for us this time because we are short on vacation time. I guess if we are going we don't have too much of a choice.

[faline]

I've found airfares have increased considerably over the last 5-7 years - and that's even before I speak about add-on fees for luggage etc!! We used to be able to think about doing a long weekend fairly inexpensively - I don't even try to plan such a thing unless it's to a drivable location!

[vicster]

The Southwest flight I want in October out of Midway is $303.00 each one way - praying for it to go down.

[Capt_redshirt]

It has gone up in 09 i took delta and it was only 300 both ways now if i took delta its be nearly 600 im going jet blue which is only 400 with tax you take what you can get.... but south west and jet blue seem to have the most deal options.

[NJGIRL]

It is terrible IMO this year. From Philly we usually paid $200 to $220 for round trip to Orlando......This year I paid over $400 per person round trip. That's crazy for a two hour trip.

[CanadianWDWFan]

Flying out of Buffalo used to save us a bunch. Lately its approaching $400pp. Oh for the good old days when you could get return fares for under $200 taxes in. :(

[DVC2004]

It's funny because I have made 2 round trip flights this year and the planes are completely full! And then yes, add bag fees etc. We're trying to extend it out our stay a little longer so we can justify the price for a 5 night stay...

[mrte62]

Higher fares. less flights and/or smaller planes, baggage charges, paying for "special seats" and food .... that is the present and future .....:sick:

[Aurora]

What seems to be happening is that there are not as many fare sales or discounted fares anymore. I've seen fares stay the same across the board on all airlines for months, and they're all costing about the same. Apparently no one is hurting for competition, or lack thereof. Even Spirit and Southwest Airlines are charging the same as the big boys.

I don't know about October. It's big convention season. I'd wait another week or two, but if you start to see fares go up even more, you may have to bite the bullet.

[Mousehead35]

Having the same issue here.. It's crazy! Our trip is in November so I'm hoping to book by latest end of September. I would rather book now but the prices are unreal.

[KylesMom]

Last October was pretty nuts too. Flew SWA out of Midway and it was ALMOST $450 first flight in Sunday, last flight out the following Sunday with a significantly purchased advanced ticket. Kept checking all carriers but they never did lower the cost. I was shocked, to say the least! All considered, your rates aren't bad. I'd grab them while you can!

[vicster]

Last October was pretty nuts too. Flew SWA out of Midway and it was ALMOST $450 first flight in Sunday, last flight out the following Sunday with a significantly purchased advanced ticket. Kept checking all carriers but they never did lower the cost. I was shocked, to say the least! All considered, your rates aren't bad. I'd grab them while you can!

That's pretty much what I'm looking at - not sure how much longer I can hold out for October flights. Last September we paid $302.00 round trip.

[PAYROLL PRINCESS]

I just booked on Southwest out of Providence for the beginning of November, non-stop both ways and it was only $208 round trip. I was gonna try for the last week or two of October but the rates just weren't going down. So when I saw this rate, I jumped on it before it too could go up.
And even car rentals were outrageous and I need a car since I have time share off property. Finally got that at around $220 for the week.
Let the countdown begin!

[PAYROLL PRINCESS]

This just reminded me to set the countdown calendar. 84 days!

[PopPhan]

I know Southwest flights have gone up since their great fuel deal ended and they had to renegotiate fuel prices, but they are still the cheapest from my area (Fly out of BWI [Baltimore-Washington International, which I still refer to as Friendship Airport])

For my December trip, I was able to take advantage of one of their special deals and got my flights for $98 each way! The flight I am taking down is currently listed at $290 (guess that one will be packed!!) and the return flight at $132!!!!!!

If you are signed up for their emails, there are often "private" sales that they offer. The booking times are limited, but if you hit one of them, you can save a lot!!!

[TexansInNY]

Man they were/are expensive - I registered for Southwest fare alerts here as even they were $400 each and I thought they cannot go up much more if I wait until 1-2 months out (we fly often). Anyway I got an alert and purchased the tix for a total of (after taxes for 4 people) $671.20.

So I would say sign up for fare warnings and check regularly as they change with each minute. Hang in there and get em!

:thumbsup:

[Mary Chase]

I am also very frustrated by the airfares I'm seeing! I flew from OH to CA last year for less than what it's looking like from OH to FL this year! I missed the boat last week when fares were a bit more reasonable, so I am hoping they at least get back to that level (right now they are ridiculous!). Would be awesome to fly for what I did a few years ago - Columbus to Orlando for 665 round trip for 4 people!

[AvonleaCF]

In the past I've been able to fly round-trip from NYC to MCO for around $200-$250. This year it was $400. :(

[PAYROLL PRINCESS]

I checked a few times since I booked Friday night, it went to $250 on Saturday, $340 on Monday and $435 on Tuesday for the exact same flights and times! It went back down to $385 today. That is still almost double what I paid on Friday night. I think the key is to check back often, even multiple times the same day.

[NJGIRL]

Last October was pretty nuts too. Flew SWA out of Midway and it was ALMOST $450 first flight in Sunday, last flight out the following Sunday with a significantly purchased advanced ticket. Kept checking all carriers but they never did lower the cost. I was shocked, to say the least! All considered, your rates aren't bad. I'd grab them while you can!


That's weird because last year was the cheapest I ever paid. Round trip from Philly to Orlando including taxes was $195 each.

[Kairi_7378]

It has been awful since 2012 or so. I think our flights for Sept 2012 were 50% higher than the ones for Sept 2011. In Feb 2011 we had to fly to Orlando unexpectedly (funeral) and it cost almost $700 per person. That is the one of the main reasons that we are taking a year off!

[mrs.jacksparrow]

I just got $270 on Delta from NJ in November and booked it quick. :mickey: This is without a Saturday night stay! We got a 7:00 am depart that gives us a 11:30 morning arrival with a 5:00 pm return not bad for a quick 5 day/4 night trip. I did not see any discounts coming and was afraid to wait any longer. There is just not enough competition in the market anymore. Time wsa I could get down to Orlando for $150 round trip...not anymore....:(

[Aurora]

Must be a sale on Delta going on. I've been looking for my brother, and for his dates in January, it's down to $221 round trip from Denver. Mind you, there's a stopover, but that's still pretty low.

[mudpuppysmom]

Sadly I think the days of cheap flights are a thing of he past. I recall one trip DS#1 and I took during January when I paid $180 ROUNDTRIP for BOTH of us via Southwest!! Yes, $45 each way!! These days one might be lucky to find $145 each way!! Airfare is what made us not go last week, just he kids and I. DH did not want me driving 15 hours alone with the kids....I'll admit, I wasn't crazy about it either, but I thought about it! Looking forward SW has sales going on, but that $143 IS THE SALE FARE!! For four of us to fly we could drive TWICE!

[Fangorn]

It has been awful since 2012 or so. I think our flights for Sept 2012 were 50% higher than the ones for Sept 2011.

A big part of this is explained by the change in how the airlines are required to show fares. Prior to January 2012, airlines displayed just their fares. Taxes and fees (which are significant) were added to the total when you booked. The Feds now require all those taxes and fees to be included in the price the airlines show you up front.

The result: psychologically, it appears that airline prices have soared. At the same time, the government can raise taxes on airfare and most everyone will blame the airlines for those increases.

Airfare has indeed increased on it's own, but any comparison between 2011 and now is generally going to be a apples/oranges type of comparison.

Also, I find that prices are terribly reflective of markets and airline operation models. This particularly applies to Southwest. For instance, I live in Portland, OR. I can routinely get a flight to MCO for $139 one/way. If I want to go to Disneyland instead, a flight to Orange County (or any other airport in SoCal) will typically run $159 or more. Both trips will have one stop, but the PDX-MCO trip is 3 times the distance. On more than one occasion, I've had business in Dallas, and found it to be cheaper to come home by first going to Orlando (to visit my son) and then fly home from Orlando. The total cost of the flight from Dallas to MCO and then MCO to Portland was less than the cost of flying from Dallas to Portland.

Steve

[PAYROLL PRINCESS]

I just checked SW out of Boston for the first week on November and it's back down to $245.00. That's still $35.00 higher than what I paid 2 weeks ago, buy much better than the $435.00 it had gone up to, out of Providence! So keep checking and check the individual websites for the airlines as well. Sometimes they are cheaper than Expedia or Travelocity etc. And it's usually cheapest on a Tuesday night, or so I've been told.

[DVC2004]

I kept checking, it still kept climbing. I ended up finding round trip nonstop air for 4 from Chicago O'Hare to LA for $655 total. So, we are going to Disneyland/Universal Studios Hollywood instead. I just couldn't justify spending $1300 plus for us to go to Orlando when it usually runs us less than $700. The extra money I saved will pay for our Disnyland park tickets. :mickey: Crazy that a 2500 mile flight is half the price of an 1100 mile one.

[spoiledraf]

Booked all our rooms and ADRs starting Dec. 1 only to realize that's the Sunday after a late Thanksgiving so you know the flight down will be pricey with everyone heading home after Thanksgiving. Not to mention the airports and planes will be packed. Right now out of Pittsburgh it will cost us $340 each R/T. On the bright side (sort of) it's a 6am non-stop flight so we'll be at the world early morning, barring bad weather or flight delays of some kind. Our last flight down was a 9:30 am flight changed to 10:30 changed to 11:30 delayed by a mechanical problem til 3pm. Pretty much blew our first day.

[spoiledraf]

i just couldn't justify spending $1300 plus for us to go to Orlando when it usually runs us less than $700. The extra money I saved will pay for our Disnyland park tickets. :mickey: Crazy that a 2500 mile flight is half the price of an 1100 mile one.

I think the airlines have figured out the economy is doing well enough for a lot of people to start going to or going back to Disney. And they are going to get their share of the $$$ pie!

[Disney Doll]

We're not close so airfare has always been a huge chunk of our vacation expense. When we first started regular trips about 10 years ago we could get round trip for $250 per person. Now we consider $300 per person a good deal. Just booked yesterday and spent about $308 per person for round trip tickets in February. We had been watching prices and they fluctuate a lot. Keep checking and be flexible with your travel dates if you can. We elected to shuffle our days because a Tues-Tues was cheaper than a Mon-Mon.