Help with 8 airline tickets to Orlando FL
 

We want to be able to get the best price. My friends are insisting we get a TA because we are purchasing so many tix at once (twelve), but I'm insisting we do it all online. They tell me a TA can get us a better deal. I have never used a TA and have only booked tix to Europe.

Any advice??

Eight are going from Chicago O'Hare (ORD) to Orlando (MCO) and 4 going from Dallas (DFW) to (MCO) we are flying out there on January 01/2014. Date is not negotiable because of schedules.

Six kids under 18 ( ages 7, 10, 11, 13, 15, 17) and six adults.


Thanks!

Sorry, it's 12 tickets, not eight :)

Have you priced the tickets on-line? if you have can you call a TA to see if they can get you better prices.

You may be booking a total of 12 tickets but you are dividing then between two different markets/routes obviously so not convinced about the TA.

BUT, sometime a TA does have access to better fares especially if the TA does a lot of business with a particular airline. That happened to me at least twice but I was booking tickets for trips to Japan.

I think a TA "may" stay on the case and search for the tickets and maybe get something that way. why doesn't everyone start pricing them to see what the market IS. How much will the TA charge you--they are no longer paid by the airlines, etc.
One market may be better than the other because of the hubs involved.
You are obviously going to Disney--better start looking for specials there also.
Chicago probably has several servers. Dallas may be dominated by American.
It's possible there are even packages.

Thanks.. will check online and compare with a TA.

Use kayak.com to find the cheapest tickets for your dates. If your dates are flexible, that can help sometimes.

I'm not sure if you will or will not save money on the airfares by going through a TA, though I do recommend it with such a large group. However, if you are visiting Disney or other theme parks, you might save considerably by buying packages that combine air and lodging.

Your economic solution is going to be Southwest Airline from Midway and Love Field. A TA cannot assist with Southwest. Remember to compare with your fare that SW does not have baggage fees or now $200 change fees of their competitors.

Most important in getting Southwest's best price is to book early. Time is a wasting.

Southwest is $166 one way out of Midway but United and American both match that fare out of OHare. Spirit is advertising "fares starting at $118 plus fees".

If you try to book 8 tickets together, online will not always bring up the lowest fares. Because if only 4 or 6 of the low-priced seats are available, it won't bring them up, it will usually only bring up whatever fare has 8 seats available. (In other words you might have to book 4 and 4 instead of 8 all together, to get the best price. And you might have to wait a day or two after booking the first four seats, until more "low fare" seats open up).