Best time to get low airfare to Orlando
 

Dear Fodorites,

I need the best deal on a flight for two people from Philadelphia to Orlando, FL. Our dates are not flexible. Leaving Sat., 6/9/07 and returning Sat., 6/16/07. When do airlines typically offer sale prices? When is the best time to book? I want a non-stop flight. Southwest does not have those dates in their system yet. Thanks for your help.

You want a lot of things and the question you ask (when,etc) is an unknown to everyone.
So, you are left to check all the discout sites and the airlines every day--or a couple of times a day.
One thing that could be "flexible" is to fly into another airport and drive.

Oftentimes the best rate on Southwest is the day that they post the new dates, or at least in that first week or so. Check them daily. Download their "DING" program, and you'll get notification of special fares that can only be booked thru Ding and only for a few hours.

If your dates are not flexible, I wouldn't recommend waiting until the last minute to see if an airline will run a promotional fare. I'd try to book at least 90 days out.

I suggest you check airtran.com. Airtran flies non-stop from Philadelphia to Orlando several times a day. I checked your dates and the fare is $218 per person. However, Airtran has lots of sales and I'm sure you can get that down.

We are flying on Airtran to Orlando from Detroit for $137 each. Keep checking.

Also, if you book a fare and it goes down after purchase, Airtran will give you a credit for future travel for the difference. This happened to me last week.

Try <http://farecast.com/> which tries to tell consumers the best time to buy an airfare.

I just read about this web site in the 11/23/06 New York Times <http://tinyurl.com/ynz6cc>.

That's not a particularly busy travel time so I wouldn't panic just yet. The sales will probably pop up in late March/ early April. To get an idea of what the fares might be, look at current fare offerings for late Jan, early Feb which is also usually not too congested.
When Southwest opens up for June travel, you could book the best deal offered since they do give you credit if a lower fare pops up later and you re-book. But it is an airline credit valid only for a year...so might be of no use to you if you don't plan to travel again within the year or don't have relatives who could use the credit.

Thank you everyone for your help. The lowest fare has remained steady for the past three months ($217). I still think that is a litte high from PHL to MCO, so I will keep looking everyday.

Depending on exactly whre you are consider Newark as well as Philly - they sometimes have much better prices.

I fly this route a couple of times a year, and lately Southwest has always had the best fares. I'd wait until they load those dates into the system.

Subscribe to www.airfarewatchdog.com.

Do a fare watch on Tripadvisor - that'll give an idea of what the lowest price really is.

When I travel from Denver to Orlando in June, we've generally gotten the best deals in late February or early March.

Figure out your target price and move quickly when a fare comes available.