Airfare Experts..Will These Prices Drop

[disneymommyof3]

I have been watching airfare from BWI to MCO for about 2 months...the $ for travel through June is $130 which is good but, the prices for Oct. travel are at $186(which is what I need) and will not budge! Any thoughts or predicitions on how the prices will go?

 

[dtuleya]

We're flying out of BWI the Friday before Thanksgiving. Currently we have refundable air for $250/pp connecting in Charlotte on USAir. Hoping to get some of those great non-stop discounted prices through Southwest. If I would book the same flights online that we have now through DTC, they are running about $199/pp, which would save us $200. I just hate to book these so soon since they are non-refundable. Does anyone know if they would refund the difference if they would drop after I purchased them?

 

[rocketgirl]

I'm flying out of IAD this time (June 2002), but make frequent trips out of BWI thanks to SW...

disneymommy, since the flights you're considering are for Oct., I wouldn't be surprised if there are more price dips over the next few months that you can take advantage of (a bulk of them tend to happen around 2-3 months prior, but hey, I'm no psychic! ) There have also been previous posts where SW customers were able to get credited for the difference between their own rates and discounted rates posted after they purchase. It's worth asking about... I asked UAL customer service if they do the same thing, and they said they do, but it has to be for the exact route and itinerary you're planning on flying...

Can't say for certain about USAir's policy, though..

 

[rocketgirl]

I should clarify...

airlines will NOT give refunds, but usually issue credit vouchers for future flights if fares drop (this only applies to a flight you have already reserved and paid for)

 

[SNOWBOARDER]

Hi Disneymommyof3!
You are in the same predicament that I found myself in a few months ago. (We're flying out of BWI as well)In the past, we've found airfares as cheap as $130.00, on SW, however I kept checking the flights that we want, and the prices were stuck at $197.00 each,tax/fees included. I broke down and bought 'em for that price. Oh yeah, it is on Airtran, which had the only acceptable flights - non-stop departing BWI early sunday and coming home early evening out of MCO the following Sunday. Unforturnately, our airline of choice doesn't have flights on the days/times that we want. To make a long story short, the price of the airfare, on the same flights that we booked, went down $168.00, a few weeks ago!!! My wife, CMFrannie, gave me the old, "I told you so", because she wanted me to wait. The customer service people at AirTran wouldn't budge, because the policy clearly states that any changes made result in a $50.00 charge,(which is true), but they were kind enough to do our seat assigments over the phone, which is nice because, ordinarily, you can only get your seats assigned at check-in. If I were you, I would hold off and buy your tickets later. Hope this helps!!!

 

[SNOWBOARDER]

Oops! Here's a little clarification...the price of our flights, for 3 people, went down a TOTAL of $168.00 We paid $591.00 for 3 tickets, now it's around $423.00. I spoke to my wife, (a CM at TDS)and her co-workers go to WDW a lot, and they seem to snag great airfares around a month or so prior to leaving. Hope this helps!!!

 

[disneymommyof3]

Thanks so much for all of your help! I will probably wait a little while and see if there are any changes! Hey Snowboarder, you are REALLY close to me and my sister in law lives in Glen Burnie....small world!

 

[n2mm]

I'm still waiting for a good price out of Dulles myself. I have a trip in April and June and missed a decent rate last weekend of $166 rt on United. I too got spoiled in the fall with the low prices of tickets because of people not traveling. We went in Oct on $131 rt, then again in January on $120 rt. So guess when I saw $166 I thought--too high. Duh. I've found I've always paid the most during my spring trip--averaging $160-180 rt out of Washington. Hopefully something will open up after this weekend. Hey!! MY sister lives in Glen Burnie too! Shops at Marley Station DS.

 

[SNOWBOARDER]

Hi n2mm, (and disneymommyof3),
It is a small world! Next time your in TDS, at Marley, say hi to the tall, pretty, blond CM with a "Manager" badge. (She's my wife!!) The CM's, who work at TDS ,always seem to get better airfare than we do, and they also seem to wait til a month or so before their travel dates. Our dates are never flexible, so we err on side of caution, and book the flights we want, earlier in the year, much to my wifes dismay!. I would've save $168.00 had I waited to book the same flights that I did in December. (Ugh!!) We still got good fares, $591.00 for three of us, on the flights we want. I consider anything under $200.00(tax included) acceptable, for non-stop flights out of BWI to MCO. Many people seem to get 'em under $150.00, which we did, once. Good Luck!

 

[dtuleya]

Hey guys, I'm not to far from any of you. I live in York, PA. Can all you BWI experts tell me which airlines fly non-stop from BWI? I have only found non-stops with Air Tran and Southwest. Has anybody ever have experience with Air Tran?

 

[rocketgirl]

I believe USAir also flys out of BWI non-stop, but there aren't many flights daily (~2-3?)

 

[honeymo78]

I've flown AirTran from Philly to Pittsburgh. The seats seemed a little smaller but that may have been my imagination. The beverage service was great - return trip had 2 in a 45min flight. I found the planes to be clean and basically looked the same as any other airline. I'm not sure how they fare for longer flights.

 

[hayfieldfarm]

Just a thought...Since SW seems to be the only airline actually hiring new people, either (1) SW will drop prices during the summer to distance themselves from other large-route carriers, or (2) SW will make even more $$$ by not offering any special summer fares. I am waiting for our BWI-MCO trip in August. It seems that bestfares.com has significantly lower airfares than Orbitz, for example. Bestfare.com: $114.00 (members only) RT travel BWI-MCO by 8/2/02.

 

[kimba]

I have been watching these fares for 2 weeks. They are the highest I have seen in a long while. I am trying to go 3/20-24 and the lowest I can get for the times we are going is 255 +the secuirty fee and some other add on fee. This is AirTran(never heard of it before). We always used to fly MetroJet because of all the direct flights.
How are some of you getting lower prices?? I am panicking about not making ressies. I am afraid they will keep going up, up, up.

 

[pbhunt]

Our Travel Agent, on Wednesday said "that the airfare rates on all of the usual carriers are unbelievebly high right now, higher than she's ever seen them at the beginning of Spring/Summer travel, they might go down because of low volume bookings, but she has yet to see any sign of it." Thankfully, we booked our own SW tickets for our cruise, but they are still higher than we paid last year!

 

[n2mm]

I checked my cc statement for last Spring to see when I bought my Spring tickets, and it indicates that the Spring fare sale last year did not begin until the middle of March. I purchased my tickets online on March 11, then the fare fell about 3 days later and I got a voucher for the difference. So I'm holding on, but wish the Spring fare would show up. I check expedia and travelocity about 4 times a day. Unfortunately, so many airlines have cut their schedules and there are not as many flights for us to choose from as last year. There are now NO non-stop flights out of Dulles anymore on USAir/Metrojet. I'm still kicking myself for not buying my tickets on United a couple of weeks ago for $166 rt. It seemed high for me, but I would take it now. ugh. BTW my trip is April 20 and have bought my tickets as close as 3 weeks before. But since it's only the 2 of us and we can sit in emergency seating, it's not a big deal. But if you're flying with kids, that changes all of the rules.