Flights-when to buy

[GinaGrumpyDwarf]

HI ALL! I am taking my 2 girls, my mom and my bonus daughter to DW (Pittsburgh to MCO) in December. When is the right time to get flights? Its so expensive to fly right now! Its going to be 1900 on South West. thoughts??

TYIA

 

[_19disnA]

Lots of older threads about the 'best time to buy' question. If you plan to travel around a holiday like Christmas/New Year, than clearly sooner rather than later is best since Orlando is a popular travel destination. Once the lowest price seats on any given flight are sold out, the fare jumps to the next higher category. Even if not for that holiday, Orlando is still a popular travel destination in Winter. Once the most desirable or non-stop flights sell out, you might be left with travel arrangements that were not your first choice.

 

[clh2]

I feel your pain on flight costs to MCO. We recently purchased flights for 7 from MKE to MCO.

One thought is try to be flexible on your travel days. Perhaps moving your trip a day or two earlier or later may give you a little bit better flight costs to MCO. And I know, that is not always possible due to schedules.

 

[bakerworld]

HI ALL! I am taking my 2 girls, my mom and my bonus daughter to DW (Pittsburgh to MCO) in December. When is the right time to get flights? Its so expensive to fly right now! Its going to be 1900 on South West. thoughts??

TYIA

If the flights are NS RT for 5 people then 1900 doesn't sound bad to me, in todays market. JMO

 

[FreeTime]

If the flights are NS RT for 5 people then 1900 doesn't sound bad to me, in todays market. JMO

This is what I was going to say. I would buy them and forget about it.

 

[RuntheMouse]

I booked our December flights earlier this month. I used miles but they have already gone up in price! For December I wouldn’t wait.

 

[EACarlson]

When in December? I would expect it to drop a bit in early December and only go up for the times later in the month. $475 pp round trip doesn't sound horrible if it's in the later half of the month. I booked a trip MKE-MCO for September at $450 on Thursday and it dropped this morning to $400.

 

[kathy884]

If you are buying flights on Southwest, I'd buy those before May 28th when policies change. Before then you get free checked bags and if flights get cheaper you can rebook and get vouchers for future flights that never expire.

As of May 28th their policies are changing to be similar to other airlines.

 

[OlliePop27]

Most major airlines (American, Delta, United Southwest) allow you to change main economy (not basic economy) for a flight credit if the price goes down. This mitigates some of the risk for you.

I recommend checking Google Flights. It will tell you what to make of the current fares. I agree with others, $1900 for 5 people over the holidays doesn't offhand seem unreasonable especially if seat selection and checked bags are already included.

 

[lovesmurfs]

Agree. I travel from MCO to ORD for work nearly once a month -- I can't remember the last time I was able to get $380 round trip ($1900 / 5).

 

[EACarlson]

If you are buying flights on Southwest, I'd buy those before May 28th when policies change. Before then you get free checked bags and if flights get cheaper you can rebook and get vouchers for future flights that never expire.

As of May 28th their policies are changing to be similar to other airlines.

This is not entirely correct. If you purchase by May 28th everything is treated just as it is now. But any voluntary changes made to the ticket after May 28th and you will be under the new rules. Flight credit expires after 6 months or 1 year from the creation date, no free bags. I bet if there is an involuntary change that you will have to fight them to get those conditions included.

 

[debster812]

It sounds very glib, but the best time to book is when you find a price you can live with. For most fares that are not the bare bones, basic economy, if the price goes lower, you can sometimes get credit, and if the prices go up, well, you were smart, and locked in. We have 3 trips this year (none to Disney sadly). and our flights have been booked since December for our flights to Seattle in June. Our flights to Aruba in September have been booked since November, and our flights to London in October have been booked since January.

I keep an eye on them for price drops, and have already gotten some points back for the Seattle and London flights.

But, as others have said, if you have non-stop flights for 5 people for $1900 with times and airports that are convenient for you, that's pretty good.