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How do you know when?

Discussion in 'Getting There & Getting Around' started by karens625, Mar 18, 2014.

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  1. karens625

    karens625 Low-Roller

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    Flying from PDX to LAS in June.Airfare has dropped a little on Spirit. $365 for 2. rt Flown spirit once before, so I know what I am getting into. Only a 2 hour flight. Southwest hasn't budged. Around $500 for 2. Alaska about the same. How do you know when it is time to book? Will airfare drop again? It still is 3 months away, since I am not traveling until the end of June. (I think last year I only paid around $140 each.) I do wish SWA or Alaska would drop. Decisions. Decisions.
    Any thoughts?
    Thanks.
    Karen
     
  2. Username

    Username VIP Whale

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    Here in the NE SWA would be near $1000 for two people....we would kill for $365....BOOK NOW
     
  3. vegasvic

    vegasvic VIP Whale

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    Does Spirit charge a rebooking fee? I've never flown them. I always fly Southwest so I just book right away and then if the price goes down I rebook and I get a credit for the difference to use on my next flight (has to be within a year of the original reservation).
     
  4. karens625

    karens625 Low-Roller

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    Yes they do. Spirit is no thrills. Charge for everything. Even carry-ons. We backpack it. Did it last year. That is why I really wish Alaska or SWA would drop.
     
  5. hillwood24

    hillwood24 High-Roller

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    I think I read a study that said 7 weeks out is the best time to book on average.

    Since you're flying Spirit, are you signed up for their emails? I often get the $10 off coupon codes to use and even once got a $24 off code that I used to fly from DFW to Vegas. It helps pay for the bag fees that they charge.
     
  6. Auggie

    Auggie Dovahkiin

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    When checking for airfare a few suggestions:

    - Check with the airline's website to see how many other flights that day. If the airline only has a few flights that day then it makes it harder for prices to go down. Likewise if they have other flights that day then taking a different flight on the same day might be cheaper. IE: we prefer the 10AM flight to Las Vegas but sometimes we take the 5PM flight if it saves us $100-150 per person

    - See if you can access the seat picker. This might be done through the airlines website or you may have to go to a travel site like Expedia or Travelocity. You are just checking so even if you have to pick a more expensive option you just want to see the seat availability. If you can see the seat picker and the flight is getting pretty full this far out then it is very unlikely prices will go down... if the flight looks so far mostly empty then there is a good chance prices go down as you get closer to departure.

    - Try looking at one way flights. This is through airline websites as well as with travel sites. By looking at flights as one ways you might be able to mix and match cheaper airline options (IE: fly down with Alaska, fly home on Southwest) but it might also help identify why prices are so expensive. IE: flights from PDX to LAS might normally be $X per person but on the day of the week you want to fly down the prices are double just because of high demand that day. Then maybe you can go the day before or the day after if you need to shave a few bucks off airfare?

    - If its an option, try checking if there are any cheap late flights the night before. Your ideal fly down time might be 11AM-1PM on a Tuesday, as an example, but if there is a 10-11PM flight on Monday thats half the cost you might look at that if its an option for you - don't think of it as "but I won't get to take full advantage of being in Vegas on Monday" but instead as "I wake up Tuesday morning in Las Vegas, which is when I wanted to be there in the first place"

    - Not sure if it is the same in the USA, but in Canada its Wednesday mornings and afternoons that are best time to check for flights. The airlines do their assessments on Monday for availability and pricing and then spend Tuesday doing the price adjustments that all get rolled out to their computers late Tuesday nights or early Wednesday morning.

    - If you don't already, try checking the travel sites. Some people assume they will always get the best deal by going directly to the airline's website and never check the travel sites. Also travel sites can sometimes indicate things like how many seats are still available at a current price point and some will let you see seat availability even when its not normally available (they don't let you pick a seat but they shade out seats based on how many are reported sold by the airline).

    - If your dates aren't firm you can try checking the range around when you want to fly for if there is a particular day of the week that is cheaper for you to fly. If I was flying June 25th I would go to a site like Expedia and start by looking at one way flights starting on June 20th and work my way up to June 28th where I note each airline and price for each day of the week. You will see things like maybe a certain airline doesn't fly on specific days of the week and so on those days the other airlines are more expensive or that on a certain day of the week the demand just isn't there so the prices are a lot lower.
    Again this really depends on how flexible you are: if your dates are set in stone that you have to fly down on Tuesday and come home Sunday and you see that flying down on Sunday and coming home Friday is half the price then it doesn't matter too much there.


    Other than that I mostly base it on history: I have a pretty good idea of how much is a good price to fly from Vancouver to Las Vegas so when checking airfares if I can find something that is in that good price range then I will book it. Might be a chance a cheaper fare will come along, but not too likely, and otherwise it'll be at a price I am happy with even if it did happen to go down later.
     
  7. karens625

    karens625 Low-Roller

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    Thanks! Your replies have helped make my decision. I actually decided to book my airfare. It is $150 cheaper than last week. I wanted to stay under $300 each person with hotel. Not including resort fees. I will get them everywhere. Book PH a few weeks ago. $49 a night. 4 nights. Now, is it June 23 yet?
    Karen
     
  8. vegasvic

    vegasvic VIP Whale

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    One thing to remember, Southwest is not available on any of the third party sites, you have to book directly with them.
     
  9. karens625

    karens625 Low-Roller

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    I couldn't even get close to the price of spirit. Booked directly with spirit. It was $140 cheaper for 2 than any third party site. It had been the same for the last couple of months. Most of been a sign. Booked it. Not looking back. Happy with what I got.
    Karen
     
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