how do you get the best price on airline tickets?

[abcboys]

We are going to WDW in May and it's been 11 years since I've flown. I will most likely be flying out of Indy. I'm thinking of getting one way tickets right now and then getting back tickets a little later (that SEEMS to be the best deal right now, but what do I know?) Last week tickets for all 5 of us were $492 and for a few days they were 452 and I farted around and didn't get them (I was going to do it today) but of course today they are back up to 492. It's only a $40 difference but I am a cheap person and we are splurging on flying and for 5 people it's going to be around $1,000 which is a lot just to get there. Do you think I should just book for the $492 in case it goes up anymore? It's still a fairly good deal considering a lot of round trip ticket for all of us were over $1100.

I didn't want to post this on the disboards cause I didn't want to sound like an idiot, you all are a lot nicer. I figure I still have over 4 months but holy cow with 5 people it really adds up!! So I guess my question is do you think that is as cheap as it will go or do I have a chance of getting them cheaper? How in the world does the price change so much?

The $492 is one way.

[PSL1013]

I don't know what to tell you but I'm a cheapo too and I've learned from the past and now I book as soon as I know what the dates are. We almost always go Delta because it is a direct flight and they participate in Disney's luggage check in. I just bought my tickets this morning for next October and I paid 268.00pp RT with no stops. If the price goes down from now until then, I get a voucher back to use on the next trip, minus the $50 fee.....I had a voucher for $50pp for today's tickets, so it helped a little bit. I think with the gas prices so high, you aren't going to find those really cheap fares anymore, IMO, maybe on Southwest but we won't fly with them, so that's not an option for me. Now I can sit back and relax, knowing I have my airfare! You have to use your own judgement, if it's a price you can live with then go ahead and book it. Just my 2 cents!!

[Riyaa]

What I usually do is search on this aggregator: http://matrix.itasoftware.com/cvg/dispatch/prego

I find that they pull the prices directly from the airline websites in a way that places like Expedia and Travelocity don't. If I find a price I like, I then go directly to that airline's website and book from there, usually getting extra airline miles for doing that and I don't have to pay fees to a third party.

Good luck on finding airfares you can live with! It kills me to just try to find airfare for three, I can't imagine five!

[m 'n c]

OMG that airfare is insane. What are your airline choices? Southwest? Jetblue? I am not familar at all with your airport.

[abcboys]

mnc--the $492 is the total for 5 people so its really not that bad I guess. It comes to about $98 one way pp with all the taxes and everything. Those taxes can really add up!!! The only problem is I can't get the same $98 for the return trip. For some reason its about $30 more per person. I guess I'm just mad at myself for not getting the cheaper tickets yesterday when I thought it was a good price.

The only problem about just getting it and getting a credit later is we never fly. I haven't flown in 11 years and probably won't for at least that long again so it wouldn't be worth it to get a credit.

[abcboys]

The airlines out of Indy are Northwest, Southwest, and Airtran. There are others but those seem to have the best prices.

[m 'n c]

Oh ok. The way the last sentence was written made it sound like $498 per person 1 way.

That said Southwest tends to fluctuate a bit. I remember for my trip in 2006 I was pricing flights in May for a Sept trip. They were around $200 with taxes pp round trip. Well I passed it up hoping for something less and it went up. Well come July they had a ding special that brought it to around $188 with taxes and stuff.

So what I think you are seeing is the weekly fluctuation that SWA does. (new prices come out each week on Tues or Wed). I am a gambler and think that you have more than enough time to hold off for a cheaper flight but I don't know how long they have their fuel hedged for and if crude prices will increase flights by May.

So in short I am not much help I waited around and exactly 2 months before our trip got a ding special and booked then. I did notice that continental tended to match SWA's prices about 12 hours later and NWA shares flights with Continental so they might do the same but I'm not too sure.

[LuvMyBoys]

I would also suggest installing ding and seeing if a fare comes up on Southwest. They aren't my favorite airline either but I don't think they are terrible either.

Also I use kayak.com which is a wonderful search engine which runs all of the different travel sites and airline sites at the same time to find the best rates, definitely a lot easier than searching them all yourself!

When we flew down in May we were able to get Airtran from Detroit Metro to MCO with no stops and good flight times at $167 a person. I don't think you should have to go over $200 round trip/per person, that should be pretty attainable on Airtran or Northwest, especially since you are planning early.

Good luck!!

[JillyFish]

Well, I hate to be the dissenting opinion here, but I've been watching Southwest and AirTran for months trying to get a good rate for our January trip. I would say to wait until closer to your trip. I've found by watching Southwest that their good Dings usually show up about 6 weeks before your travel date. I just booked Cleveland to MCO last week for $49 dollars one way. That wasn't even a Ding it was just their Winter sale. AirTran can have decent rates, but their sale rates are usually the same every time....no crazy deals like Southwest. It about drove me nuts trying to hold out until closer to my travel dates. I was so afraid nothing better would come down the line, but it was worth the wait.

If you're not familiar with Southwest's DING, it is a program you download from their website. You are then notified of "unadvertised" specials that run for a limited time....usually a few hours.

Good luck. I know it can be frustrating, but hopefully you will find a good rate!

[chipndale]

Well, I hate to be the dissenting opinion here, but I've been watching Southwest and AirTran for months trying to get a good rate for our January trip. I would say to wait until closer to your trip. I've found by watching Southwest that their good Dings usually show up about 6 weeks before your travel date. I just booked Cleveland to MCO last week for $49 dollars one way. That wasn't even a Ding it was just their Winter sale. AirTran can have decent rates, but their sale rates are usually the same every time....no crazy deals like Southwest. It about drove me nuts trying to hold out until closer to my travel dates. I was so afraid nothing better would come down the line, but it was worth the wait.

If you're not familiar with Southwest's DING, it is a program you download from their website. You are then notified of "unadvertised" specials that run for a limited time....usually a few hours.

Good luck. I know it can be frustrating, but hopefully you will find a good rate!

I secon the 6 week mark with Southwest and DING. Because I can't stand not having airfare booked early, I book out trip as soon as Southwest dates open up. It seems that the best rates are the day that the new dates are released. After that the fares for Southwest tend to change like the weather. Then at the 8 week mark, I start to watch for a DING and it seems like the show up around the 6 to 5 week mark. We just flew from Pittsburgh to Orlando for $44 each way. Since you don't fly that often, I would suggest Southwest because if you book and a DING comes up and you rebook the flight for the same flight you can call Southwest and request a refund. OR you can gift your credit to another family member or friend. Southwest tends to be more flexible than other airlines. Have fun plannning your trip.