I am process of purchasing airline tickets for Orlando from Philly, last week of December, however, I need advice on the purchase..I found a webfare for $212.00 roundtrip (United),connecting flights both ways, with 3 hour layover on the return from Orlando....Should I wait, or buy now???So far all the other airlines are asking $300 and up, but I can possibly get tickets under $200 at Orbitz...One of the airlines said although non-airline sites are good for savings, they do not offers some of the conveniences the airlines do, if you buy it directly with say, USAIR...All of you travel experts out there, please help..I want to purchase them either tonight or tomorrow. I also read somewhere that if you wait until after 1am, and check the websites there are good deals as well.

HELP, I'm waiting.....

Orlando is a place with very competitive airfares, but since you are trying to book for travel during the holiday period, there is eventually going to be some risk of the cheap seats selling out. A three-hour layover is a drawback, but it's not too ridiculous when it's being compensated by a good fare. Orbitz is a very reliable way to book tickets and I'm not sure what "conveniences" you could expect from an airline site that would be of great significance. If you want to change tickets at that price, you're going to pay a hefty change fee no matter which way you go. Seat assignment is probably not available this far in advance, but you can call the airline in September and take care of that (check with the carrier to find out how far in advance this is possible.) Bottom line: at $212 a pop, there is not a lot of money left to be saved and plenty more to pay if you miss out. If it fits your plans, then go for it.

We are flying on USAir to FLL next week and I actually found a better price on Orbitz than on the USAir site. I saved about $25/ticket round trip including fees. Orbitz will give you a pin # where you can log in and get your seat assignments closer to your flight time.

IMO, if you can get a flight to Florida under $200 grab it. Usually flights down there during peak time are way over $200.

thanks for your help.....

I found another fare at Delta for $227.00 per person, which is about $15 more than UNited, but the flights times are better. I could save $30 going with United, but, I can also save on the 3 hour layover, with Delta layover only being 45 minutes. I am just so skeptical about Orbitz,travelocity,etc.

I tried Dec 26-31 and -Jan 1 at travelocity and see what you mean. The low fares $187 have connections that make the travel time 4.5 or 6.5 hours or more vs the $350 nonstop that takes 2.5 hours.

Your Delta connection would probably be in ATLanta. Weather in PHL could cause you to miss it, but maybe 45 min is enough time to make that connection. You should also be skeptical of the airlines as they will also book connections that are tough/impossible to make.

Travelocity and orbitz are fine. The convenience at the airlines' websites (my experience is with united.com) is that you can book the flight, make seat assignments, and get your e-ticket there. You can also set it up on united.com to receive e-mail or phone messages reminding you of your flights. And you can request upgrades (if you have or buy the upgrade certificates). And some bonus miles for buying the ticket there.

I've started to use sidestep to check fares but haven't bought a ticket via that site. Have bought from travelocity and maybe once from orbitz.

If your dates are fixed, then the price you've got is good enough.

And my questions was if going with United - where is the layover? Chicago? If in winter, not a good idea!

But if you can get Delta, go for it. Assuming the connection is in ATL (better than ORD)in winter. But is it Delta or Delta Song, if Song, I've been told you don't acrue frequent flyer miles. But if it's price, who cares about the miles.

United via the Dulles hub to Orlando.

Southwest has nonstops and fares as low as $158, but they are only taking bookings five months in advance (e.g. the latest return date you can get today would be August 7).

Hi. Does Vacation Express operate out of Philly? I thought I had read somewhere that they were starting service there soon. They have low cost scheduled charter service from my area to Orlando and Myrtle Beach.
www.vacationexpress.com

Anything in the $200 range is an excellent rate- no use in worrying about a few dollars. Book now with the connection you want. Christmas week is EXTREMELY busy. I booked a flight for a friend about a month ahead last year and cheapest I could find was over $400 on United.

I wouldn't wait until November, but I would wait and look for a nonstop flight.

The fully refundable nonstop ticket price on Southwest is $354, and I figure that would be the worst case price I would pay. If I didn't see a ~$200 nonstop between now and end of July, then I would book the outbound trip on Southwest for their one-way refundable fare price of $177. When the return date is available for booking, then look for a lower fare at Southwest or other airlines. Call it bargaining or gambling, but that's what I would do.

sandi,
Song flights earn Delta Skymiles, although I'm pretty sure that's a Delta flight anyway as Song doesn't fly out of PHL.

Patty - thanks! A friend had been advised that Song didn't earn Delta Skymiles, which surprised me. Will advise them to be sure miles are applied to their accounts for the Song flights.