Airline Tickets???

[liliaceae]

I'm looking for airline tickets to visit the in-laws this xmas, and the cheapest I can find is $380 a ticket! Plus fees for checking bags! There are four of us! We can't afford $1600, but DH insists that we go. We'll just be $1600 further in debt and it's depressing. Is there any way to get cheaper tickets? Do they get more or less expensive the longer I wait? Any ideas??

[jojoboy]

Have you tried using farecast (Now called Bing.com). They have some methodology of predicting if prices will drop/rise, and so they try and tell you to "buy" when the price is lowest:

http://www.bing.com/travel/

I used it a couple times, and was happy. You register and tell them when you want to go, and then they tell you if they think prices will go down or not.

Go to the website. Then enter the tickets you're looking for. It'll come up with prices like a normal travel search. On the left, it'll tell you to Buy, Wait, or whatever. You can select "track fares" at the top to get them to send you an email updating their recommendation.

You can always put in super low price on priceline, but expect to travel at crappy times and have layovers. I can't do it with my kids since I'm not willing to have them in the airport at midnight.

Sorry. Also try southwest.com. They don't show up in search engines, and sometimes have lower prices depending on where you're flying.

[CameronsMama]

I've never used bing, but I know a couple of people who did and were happy. IME, prices generally get higher closer to the date you want to fly, with the exception that if the flight isn't full a few days before some airlines will cut you a serious deal in order to fill the plane. (I don't know if this is true everywhere or for every airline, though, it's just what I have noticed when I've been looking for tickets)

I usually end up flying southwest, the fares can't be beat. The only time I've used another airline is when I've had to fly into an airport that southwest doesn't service.

You could also try booking through a travel service with a price guarantee- some will refund you the difference if tickets prices for the flight you are on drop after you purchase.

[not now]

Jetblue? I love them even if I have to drive a couple hours to get to LAX.

[LZP]

I noticed you are in Connecticut. If you're thinking of flying out of Bradley, that could be why the fares are higher...? if you were willing to drive a little further (if it were possible with children and timing) you might get a better deal flying from Boston, Manchester, one of the NY airports, or Newark. FWIW, When I lived in CT, i found that flights out of Bradley were extraordinarily expensive.

I use Kayak.com and you can choose an option to fly out of a nearby airport in addition to the one closest to your home, and offers airports near to your destination that are not your first choice, but might have a lower fare.

its usually more pricey the closer you get to the Winter holidays!

[sweetjasmine]

Also, Southwest doesn't charge for bags. I think maybe Jet Blue doesn't either?

[annekevdbroek]

Airfarewatchdog is also good.

The easiest way to get cheaper tickets would to be trying to fly ON xmas day with a return on either new years eve or ney years day. Holidays are the most expensive time to travel.

[not now]

Originally Posted by sweetjasmine

Also, Southwest doesn't charge for bags. I think maybe Jet Blue doesn't either?

Not your first checked bag or your carryon but any more than that they start to charge. I had two bags I needed to check so I claimed one as my son's (we bought him a seat) and I didn't pay for it. Is that cheating?

Oh, free Direct TV and free food/drink are awesome too.

[sweetjasmine]

I wouldn't say its cheating because you did buy two seats so that's one bag per seat!

[1growingsprout]

Originally Posted by liliaceae

I'm looking for airline tickets to visit the in-laws this xmas, and the cheapest I can find is $380 a ticket! Plus fees for checking bags! There are four of us! We can't afford $1600, but DH insists that we go. We'll just be $1600 further in debt and it's depressing. Is there any way to get cheaper tickets? Do they get more or less expensive the longer I wait? Any ideas??

I may not be the most popular idea but how about not traveling this holiday season. Its alot less stress on everyone. Or if the inlaws really want to visit that badly they can come to you. (thats 2 tix vs 3 or 4). In our family, we just dont travel that much, point blank, we cant afford it. It sounds like your family cant afford it either.

Is driving an option, while it may not be the most comfortable it usually is do-able? I've also found that with needing to arrive at the airport at least 2 hrs before the plane is scheduled to leave, we need to leave our home 3 hrs ahead of take off time, then the hassle when you land adds on at least 90 mins thats 4.5 hrs added to flight time right there... so a 3 hr flight is 7-8 hrs... IMO sometimes flying just isnt worth it.

But if you cant afford it, thats the answer right there, you dont go, there is no guilt in that, would you rather have travel plans or 2 months rent? IMO there is no decision to be made. In this economy my family would be having the money for rent.

[sunnysandiegan]

I was recently checking airfare into the Northeast. Providence, RI was consistently the lowest airfare for a variety of dates I was checking. I have flown into Providence before due to the lower airfare, also.

Southwest is two free checked bags. A good friend works there and said it has become a major marketing campaign due to the 'other' airlines charging now.

Virgin Airlines is having a sale on airfare across the US.

TravelZoo is a website that shows all the major discounts for travel in one place.

All that said, I wouldn't travel in your circumstances. We've had that conversation here in this forum before, though. I would, however, honor DH's wishes to see his family at a different time when the stress and cash outlay were more reasonable. January can be significantly less expensive and definitely less stressful, for example.

[liliaceae]

Yeah we were planning on flying out of Bradely to Palm Beach International. I'll check out the nearby airports to see if anything's cheaper. I'll also check out all those websites and see how much the fare is for Southwest. Thanks for the tips!

Unfortunately, DH won't budge on this and he's a pretty easy going guy. And it's really the only time we can do it, he'll be working at a new job in January. And it's not just his parents, his 3 brothers will also be there too, and it might be the last time in a long time that everyone will be able to get together. We have help from my parents and we won't starve, we'll just be paying off debt that much longer.

[Equuskia]

Palm Beach, FL? How about flying into Miami or Ft Lauderdale instead?

[sunnysandiegan]

On all the sites I was on recently, I entered our preferred dates and airports at first. Then, I clicked on other links (worded differently on different sites) to see other options at a glance. Different dates REALLY made a difference and seeing them on a calendar made it easy to plan. Southwest's site was the most user-friendly, but other's worked well too. Different airports within the same general area made a smaller difference than the dates...like $10-40 different, but the dates could be as much as $300-400 different. In general, Tuesdays and Wednesdays are lower than other days. Sometimes Saturdays are less than other days. Traveling on Christmas Day is often less, but it kinda of stinks....

If your DH has a job starting in January, that changes my thoughts entirely.

[4evermom]

How about flying just dh out on Christmas afternoon after your family has had the morning together?

One ticket on Christmas day...

[jtbuko]

We just got cross country tix for all four of us for under $1000 on Virgin!! We basically cut the price in half by extending our stay to avoid holiday travel dates.
The cost of airline tickets is a bummer, but I feel it is just included in the cost of living where we do.
It comes down to priorities, and it is easier for me to handle the emotional baggage that comes with the cost once I look at the alternatives (not going, the other things we could do with the money) and realize that it is worth the cost for us.
The kids having a relationship with their extended family is very, very important to us, and we have made a decision to work hard to make sure they get to see them even if it means taking a little longer to pay off debt, using credit card to pay off tickets over a few months, living smaller than most folks in our area, or postponing wanted upgrades like better car or working dishwasher.
Good luck!

[columbusmomma]

Bumping this thread for more ideas on good sites for great ticket prices. Anyone?!?!

[annekevdbroek]

I like airfarewatchdog too, as a PP mentioned. Xmas is pretty far out - I'd expect that there may be some fare sales. The cost also depends on how flexible you are with your travel dates. Flying on xmas can save you a bundle. If you can check multiple airports that can save you. We got airfare from BWI to Orlando for like $60 per person recently. Unfortuantly, even cheap tickets add up when you have 4 people to move. Is there any chance that the family you are visiting will help out on the cost as part of the holiday gift?

[Jaxinator]

I've found the cheapest fares by calling airlines. For one particular trip I found a flight $50 cheaper per ticket than the online price by calling directly. Then again, sometimes they charge you for booking over the phone (about $20 per ticket is what BA wanted), but I've also been able to have that waived. The whole reason I called the airline was because the website wouldn't let me book online, for some unknown reason.
Doesn't hurt to call and ask what their best price is.
I also agree with looking to alternative airports, smaller ones can be much more expensive.