AIRFARE - ARRRRGGGHHHH

lovestj · Post by **lovestj** » Tue Apr 09, 2013 4:26 pm

I have been watching the air fare for 6 months and it has not gone down. We have a place to stay, but can't seem to make the plunge with airlines. It is usually in the $600's but has been in the $800 to $900 range for a couple of months. Should I just go ahead and get it or wait it out. I can't wait much longer - I am getting nervous.

And, why is it so much less to fly from the East coast than from Texas.......

lark22 · Post by **lark22** » Tue Apr 09, 2013 4:37 pm

I feel your pain!

How soon is your trip?

lovestj · Post by **lovestj** » Tue Apr 09, 2013 4:46 pm

Need to leave June 8/9th for 10 days.
It is making me crazy. I search the travel websites every day....and no change.
The flights for May have dropped....

lark22 · Post by **lark22** » Tue Apr 09, 2013 4:57 pm

Have you tried the Bing fare predictor tool? I don't like Bing in general, but their fare tool is great (I'm always talking it up, but I swear I don't work for them or anything!)

I don't know what city you're leaving from, but I plugged in Dallas and your general travel dates, and it recommended waiting:
http://www.bing.com/travel/flights/sear ... =1&b=COACH

MN_Bhoy · Post by **MN_Bhoy** » Tue Apr 09, 2013 5:39 pm

I understand your frustration. We are trying to get to STT on 7/22 from Minneapolis and the best fare we can come up with is $480 on Spirit Air. That may not sound too bad but it requires an overnight in Las Vegas and a layover in Fort Lauderdale the next day before getting to St Thomas. Total time = 16 hrs!

Aside from that, it's $600+RT for one-stops through Atlanta on Delta. We're waiting it out to see if things get better. I can't imagine them getting much worse.

Rob7 · Post by **Rob7** » Tue Apr 09, 2013 6:07 pm

As I have said before....with all the airline mergers and less airline choice's .....things are not going to get cheaper (unless you are lucky) The reality is, not only will there be fewer flights, but you need to constantly check your reservations. Just because you booked a "non-stop" flight.... does not mean that flight will actually happen......you may end up with a connection. (Note: weekend direct flights are most likely NOT to be changed due to more aircraft being available )

The days of cheap fares are growing to a close.......this is the new reality of airline travel

philbetm · Post by **philbetm** » Tue Apr 09, 2013 10:01 pm

I know exactly where you're coming from lovestj ! We too have not taken the ticket plunge either for the same reason. We are coming over on June the 11th and the other six adults that are joining us are coming on Sat. the 15th. We always fly out of Charlotte, NC and believe me...it is not cheap!! Tickets have jumped up and down ( but mostly up) between the $700's to $900's ! Totally unreal. Last June we still had to pay $667 each. But the year before , 2011, only close to $500. We have given a lot of thought to even driving up to 5-6 hours somewhere to get better prices. Know we have got to jump soon...seats are getting sold out ! Good luck to you, hope you find a good price soon !

Sherry in SC

Capn Dan and Ruby · Post by **Capn Dan and Ruby** » Tue Apr 09, 2013 10:24 pm

We always have to drive to get to an airport. Remember an 5 hr drive can cost you as well... Gas, a possible hotel stay,food, etc. Got our ticket in the fall. It was a gamble, and I have seen it go down once, but I am glad we got it when we did.

Lindy · Post by **Lindy** » Tue Apr 09, 2013 10:43 pm

Those airfares are CRAZY!! I've been doing the happy dance all afternoon because I just booked tickets for another trip with the ladies and we're paying only $391 each out of Bradley in December. And our flight goes through Charlotte, so Sherry I almost choked when I saw what you paid. I booked more than 6 months in advance so maybe that's the key. We also go mid-week which makes a HUGE difference in price and, frankly, I HATE flying out of STT on the weekends anyway.

philbetm · Post by **philbetm** » Tue Apr 09, 2013 11:05 pm

Lindy, Actually I haven't bought them yet. None of our group of 8 has ...and it is getting a little scary waiting. I too wish we could have gone early in the week. But, unfortunately some of the other six couldn't split their vacation up that way where they work. We could have saved a lot of $ by doing that. Hubby and I are flying in earlier than they are ( Tues. June 11th.) but not saving because we are having to return on a Sat. the 22nd.

You are right Ruby...it would mean some cost there. But if we can save $200 to $300 per person it might be worth it. Problem is I'm just not sure what airports to seriously look at going out of. Atlanta is no cheaper than Charlotte. We have looked at Raleigh-Durham and Jacksonville. Both offer better prices some days. But, unfortunately the flying time to STT is unreal. Guess we can't have it both ways .

piscesgirl0314 · Post by **piscesgirl0314** » Wed Apr 10, 2013 8:50 am

We actually got lucky with our airfare this year and purchased our tickets in January for our June trip. I am SO glad we did. The tickets have gone up $330.00 pp since we purchased them. We normally wait until later to buy them but after our Costa Rica trip last year and paying $1100.00 pp (and there are three of us) we decided to buy early this time. It paid off.

stjchica · Post by **stjchica** » Wed Apr 10, 2013 10:06 am

Are you leaving from DFW?
We fly from there and have just had to accept the craziness of higher prices and non-direct flights to get to
the place we love.
I get envious of the people in other parts of the country, particularly the east coast with their nonstop flights and lower fares...

I find it kind of wierd though since DFW is AA's major hub. You think they would cut us some deals...

LynnieGirl · Post by **LynnieGirl** » Wed Apr 10, 2013 10:48 am

Jump over the border and try to get a decent price out of LIT, it's not happening! We also took the gamble and bought our tickets (for July) in the fall. Right now I'm glad we did because they have went up a total of $400! After fees and all, we paid right at $1300 for the two of us and that is flying in on Tuesday the 16th and out on Thursday the 25th. We could have saved about a hundred dollars each by flying out of Memphis but that would mean a two hour drive there, parking the car for ten days and then the drive back. It just seemed to wash out in the end. I may regret it if I see them come down in the next month or so but as of now I'm glad that is done.

Pia · Post by **Pia** » Wed Apr 10, 2013 11:57 am

Midwest is crazy expensive

As you know I fly several times per year back to Kansas City - average is always $595.00 to $675.00 only once in 8 years have I paid the ridiculously low fare of $199.00 (I think it was a pricing error on the part of US Airways) and once just last year I paid $399.00 on Delta - I sooo did the happy dance on that one so unfortunately $600 (IMHO) would be the normal from TX but having said that you never know what might happen.

I just checked for a possible trip to KC in May and it is running $1,200.00 on one airline and $850.00 on another - looks like I will be staying put.

Pia

Knolmom · Post by **Knolmom** » Wed Apr 10, 2013 11:48 pm

We have been traveling to St John since 1995 and have never paid more than $500 non stop from the New York area. This year in high season we paid our lowest fare ever, $259.RT. This July we will be forced to pay $591 each, RT. booked the tickets last week when we could wait no longer as there were only 4 seats left in coach on the plane. Although we are traveling Sa to Sa, the weekday fares are just as high. If this continues, Paradise will become out of reach. Just when villa prices have stabilized over the last few years and nice accommodations have become affordable, airfare has gotten out of hand.

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