alinka

We are planning a trip from Portland, OR to Fort Lauderdale, FL on December 13th, coming back from Orlando, FL on January 2nd. The airfares are quite high currently (the lowest I found was around $480/person). What's everyone's view when the right time to buy would be? I am willing to wait for fares to go down, however am afraid that the good (1-stop) flights will be sold out or won't have a lot of seats left, so the prices will be even higher. Plus, of course, the unpredictable cost of fuel... Thanks!

scarboroughmom

I fly from Boston to Orlando several times per year. In my experience, the price always gets higher as you get closer to the date. Plus, some flights will likely fill up, leaving you with fewer choices. December is not that far away. I would book now. I think the airlines are cancelling flights which have fewer seats sold, not lowering the prices.

nytraveler

If you're flying on any dates that college students will for the holidays - and it looks like the 2nd is -0 I would get tickets now. As soon as school schedules are announced students will start shopping for tickets for their holiday break - either home or to someplace south.

And you may find yourself without tickets at any price.

alinka

Thanks, scarboroughmom! That's what I am thinking too... The cheapest flight is on Southwest, and my husband isn't their biggest fan, but from posts in these forums it seems like majority of people like that airline. So I will most likely be booking in the next day or two.

alinka

Hmm, good point, nytraveler! I wasn't sure if the dates I picked are 'hot', and Jan 2nd makes sense being a popular one - right before school starts...

sylvia3

Pay what you're willing to pay, and do it on an airline that refunds or vouchers for drops in price (such as United). THEN, register your flights on Yapta.com and check it often to see if you are owed any refunds (or vouchers).

alinka

Thanks for everyone's advice! In regards to Yapta, it looks like it doesn't track Southwest, so I will just have to proactively keep looking on SW myself.

suze

That price doesn't sound that bad to me for Oregon to Florida.

There's just no way to answer the question. If we could figure out things like that we'd all make a killing on the stock market!

doug_stallings

I actually bought tickets for Christmas travel about a month ago. I got a really great price on United and even decent routing. Frankly, $480 is a phenomenal fare for that route, and I would jump on it immediately.

emcash

two months ago i started looking at flights for post christmas to FLL. They started at 800 ish. They are now 1100 ish, but delta did introduce another flight, and that new flights is starting at 800 ish. We booked our tix when we found flights into MIA for 500 ish. I say book it!

ChrisF101

I didn't search the actual flights you are interested in, but it looks like JetBlue does fly from Portland Oregon. We love this airline and it services FtLaud and Orlando. If your husband isn't that much of a fan of Southwest, I'm sure he would like JetBlue. It operates for similar rates and flight schedules. The biggest benefit and difference is the TVs at EVERY seat. It doesn't cost anything for this and is a huge amenity for any long flight. I recommend signing up for their email updates, that way you can get their specials each week. (I find this is the best way to get a good deal.)

Dukey

We bought our tickets from Washington, DC R/T to Miami leaving 26 December and returning 3 January this past February and the cost was about $400 each THEN.

I would go to www.itasoftware.com and input your dates and get a large comparison

Baby, do you honestly think that when airlines are posting quarterly losses IN THE BILLIONS, are laying off workers, and imposing even more extra charges that airfares "are going to go down" any time soon?

JBX

We're experiencing a major shift, and all the 'old' rules of when to buy an airfare are out the window. "Waiting for fares to go down"? Are you kidding?

It now costs double to fill up your gas tank compared to prices of last year. Likewise the price of jet fuel that airlines now pay has sky-rocketed. The only reason that Southwest Airlines isn't dealing with this scenario (at present) is they negotiate ahead to get better prices--eventually they too will have to confront higher gas costs.