JFK to MCO...I thought JetBlue was a lower priced ariline

[Aisling]

I have been hearing such great things about JetBlue and want to fly them out of JFK this summer to MCO. But when I've been checking their site daily and see that their prices are high! I can't get a RT ticket for less than $300. They break it down to $79 going and $224 coming back. That's over $1,200 for my family of 4. What's up with that?
I just e-mailed jetBlue and told them that they are forcing me to book with Delta again for a much lower price and asked them what they can do for me.
I'm just surprused because I've heard that jetBlue calls themselves a lower prices airline with the higher priced comforts. If they call $300 a ticket "lower priced", then Delta must be bargain basement! LOL
I'm just disappointed because I really wanted to fly jetBlue!

 

[CarolA]

Well, considering how cheap your down airfare is I assume the issue is the date you are traveling. Are you traveling over a holiday or around spring break. Even on "budget" airlines, the cheap airfares sell out then.

What is your Delta price?

 

[DisneyKidds]

Let me guess - you are flying around the 4th of July weekend? If you can tinker with your dates you can get the $79 fare both ways. We recently booked our May flights on Jet Blue out of JFK for $175 per person r/t (that was the $79 fare each way). Up to that point the cheapest direct Delta flight was $248 out of LGA. Delta subsequently dropped their direct flight to $189 r/t - but Jet Blue is still cheaper.

 

[Eeyore1954]

Also try selecting different flight TIMES. I've found that switching the times can sometimes drop a fare dramatically. Some flights are more desirable than others. For example, a morning flight from MCO to JFK is probably very desirable for business travellers, so the price is somewhat higher than a seat on an afternoon or evening flight.

Example: I priced a r/t from Chicago to Ft. Lauderdale in late Feb. With a morning flight down and an evening flight return, the price was nearly $1,000. I priced an afternoon flight down and evening flight return -- the price dropped to $196.50 round/trip (including all taxes & fees).

 

[Aisling]

Ok, Delta for my dates (June 29 and July 5th) are: $265 RT, so I see that they are not much better than jetBlue. Delta has connecting flights and then if I took that, it would only cost me $165. But I want direct nonstop.
So as of today 1/3/01:
Delta nonstop $265
jetBlue nonstop $303
Note to self: KEEP CHECKING

I just remember that we flew Delta the last 3 years in a row and paid an average of $160 for tickets over Fourth of July week.

 

[Aisling]

Thanks for the advice. I just tinkered with flight times and dates and saw that if I return on July 4th instead of July 5th, I'll get the $79 fare both ways! Hmmm I don't know if my kids will want to leave Universal on the Fourth of July in order to save some money, but we'll see! Anyway, I didn't realize that changing dates and times around would affect price. Thank you!

 

[QuickGold]

July 4th is a ways off still so the deals for that period aren't up yet. I'd wait to at least March or April before really committing on any sort of a price. I know sites like Expedia and Travelocity offer weekly emails that tell you what the cheapest fare is for your route.

 

[Eeyore1954]

One more thing -- is it at all possible to return on July 6th (Sunday)? That'd give you a Sat. night stayover and that can also lower the price. Of course, you may trade off the expense of an extra night at the hotel, so it could be a wash. But it may be worth checking out. Sometimes you have to be as flexible as a pretzel to get the best price

 

[karin037]

Check www.qixo.com they have direct flights out of LGA on Spirit Air for your dates. The lowest fare is $166.05 rt for a non-stop flight.

 

[DisneyKidds]

Check Delta again. Right now they do have direct non stops to Orlando for $207 r/t (6:15 am LGA to MCO and 5:05 pm MCO to LGA) for your dates. For $225 they have the 6:15 am flight and an 8:00 pm return. We used these flights on our last trip. 6:15 is EARLY - but you are in WDW by 10:00. We like the 8:00 return because we get a pretty full day and the kids sleep on the flight.

 

[jcodespoti]

In november we flew from LGA to MCO non-stop for $135 rt per person. I though hate flying out of LGA forget JFK. So I try to fly out of Hartford. Delta competes with SWA rather well.
My advice is to keep checking.

Joe in CT

 

[karin037]

Check Delta again. Right now they do have direct non stops to Orlando for $207 r/t (6:15 am LGA to MCO and 5:05 pm MCO to LGA) for your dates. For $225 they have the 6:15 am flight and an 8:00 pm return. We used these flights on our last trip. 6:15 is EARLY - but you are in WDW by 10:00. We like the 8:00 return because we get a pretty full day and the kids sleep on the flight.

Today (1/4), Delta has this flight for $189 (6:15 am LGA to MCO and 5:05 pm MCO to LGA). With the 8pm return flight the fare is also $189.

 

[cindala]

Aisling,
Try pricing Delta out of LGA. We have booked flights the last several trips out of LaGuardia because the fares were always cheaper than Newark. We are flying out on July 3rd, and we got a $182 RT direct fare on a 6:15am flight. We love this early flight because we are in Florida by 8:30am!!!

Also play around with your dates. Returning on a Mon or Tues (the 7th or 8th) might also be cheaper. Good luck!!!

 

[Aisling]

Wow, thank you all for the help! I see I have several options now, and I'll let you know which way it works out! I still have 6 months to go, so I'm not panicking yet!

 

[adamak]

Jetblue also increases the fare if those are the only seats left for that flight. July 5th will be tough either way.