Airline tickets - wait or buy now?

DarthVader

Sith Lord
I'm stuck between the horns of a dilemma. Our trip is coming up in February (18th -> 26th). I have the flight down booked - I purchased one way tickets from Jet Blue from Providence to Tampa. The price was really good, i.e., low enough that I could use my skymiles to pay for my family of 4. Now I need to book the flight home.

We're quickly approaching the 60 day mark and I'm getting nervous - I need to act sooner then later. Since booking the first leg of the trip, I've been logging into jetblue a couple of times a week to see if any price changes and this morning I saw that it went from 473 to 563 :oops: Prior to that its been locked in at 473

Long story short, I see a delta flight from TPA to BOS (We live in Boston, so the flight back saves us a trip from providence) for 506, and that's not terribly higher then the 473 and its going to Bos. Plus the flight departure is in the afternoon and not the morning another plus.

I know trying to guess if flight prices is like trying to nail jello to a tree, but I need some cooler heads to help point me in the right direction.

What are people's opinion on waiting vs. buying now?
Do you think Omicron will cause the prices to decrease? I didn't see any downward when the Delta variant was making innroads.

I really don't want to wait so long that the price goes up and I have no choice to take what is there, and while 500 per person is very expensive, its been worse.
 

DarthVader

Sith Lord
Original Poster
I'd buy the Boston flights now and put it in the rear view mirror.
I know, I've been trying to see if that 473 (jet blue) would go down, and I hate rushing into things. But seeing the price go up, it definitely lit a fire under me. I'm trying to get advice from others who have no emotional investment.
 
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Figments Friend

Well-Known Member
I also live in the Boston area.
The price will likely not go down as that is prime time for high airfares due to the 18th being the weekend that begins Presidents Week school break here in the Northeast.
So I hope you are prepared for crazy crowds in the Parks.

Most airfares will likely be priced high, or you will see the rates go up in the coming weeks.
Buy now if you find a price you can live with.
The dates you chose will likely be tough to find any 'deals'.


For those not aware who live elsewhere -

Winter break / Presidents week school break is a big deal in the Northeastern States.
It's one of the busiest weeks of the year for travel to Florida and for visiting WDW due to many people deciding to visit during the bleakest part of the Northeastern winter.
With the kids out of school for a week, a lot of families plan vacations to WDW to escape the snowy cold.
Folks from the Boston, New York, New Jersey, and surrounding states commonly visit during that week and pack the place.
It's crazy busy, typically.

Hotels, airlines, and other realted services inflate their prices greatly during this period to capitalize on the throngs awaiting to descend.

One of the worst times to visit WDW, in my opinion, due to the increased crowds.
Avoid if you can unless you are a seasoned pro, or a glutton for pubishment.
As always, your milage may vary.

-
 
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DarthVader

Sith Lord
Original Poster
So I hope you are prepared for crazy crowds in the Parks.
Taking my kids out of school was not an option, so going to WDW during vacation times, is something we've done in the past. We're full on in Disney's 50th anniversary so we have that working against us as well. The only downside that I'm facing is that Disney's changes to fastpasses, so that may very have negative impacts.
 
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DarthVader

Sith Lord
Original Poster
So I bit the bullet and got the airline tickets - I figured if the price goes down tomorrow (they used to change on Tuesdays - not sure if that's still the case). I can either change or cancel.

Much to my surprise, after selecting Delta's Comfort Plus, and went to select my seats, I was shocked that emergency exit row was the only contiguous set of seats available. I'm a little disappointed but I think we'll manage. I don't know if we get tv screens close enough to see on that row.

There is a MCO to Bos available but its at 7:00am, and for us that's just too early - Factor in the commute time, and the need to get there early enough (2+ hours) we're looking at a 3:30am wakeup time.
 
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Weather_Lady

Well-Known Member
For future reference, JetBlue's prices almost always go up as a flight gets booked, and almost never down. Other airlines that use different pricing structures can often be a better deal, if you're unable to snag a JetBlue seat right after the booking window opens for a particular flight -- especially during holiday weeks, when JetBlue will unceremoniously double the starting prices right from the get-go.

I think you're wise, OP, to avoid the 7am flight you mentioned, that would require you to get up super-early. Although there's something to be said for getting the first flight of the day, if you have to do so at the expense of a decent night's sleep, it tends to make for a miserable travel experience. Too many times, we've taken morning flights that had us getting up at 4am or so, and we end up zombie-walking through the rest of the day and unable to really enjoy our first night on vacation (or our first night back home).
 
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ShookieJones

We need time for things to happen.
I would book now, just to save on the worry/headache. I mean how much is really going to come down?

I gotta say I didn't realize how expensive travel was during that time. I just saw Southwest coming back on the Feb 26th was $437 with 2 stops. Yikes man I feel for you on this one.
 
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JIMINYCR

Well-Known Member
I saw by your post that you’ve bought tickets and that’s what I would have advised. There are several factors that make airlines adjust pricing and two of these would have been against you. Two of the biggest reasons for prices to jump are the demand for seating for high passenger use and fuel costs. Both would be hurting your chances to see a price drop. Jet fuel prices are continuing to go up and more people are taking advantage of taking trips while they can. Be happy you got in now and if by any chance you do see a price drop you may not have been able to book seats for the dates you want anyway.
 
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crawale

Well-Known Member
I'm stuck between the horns of a dilemma. Our trip is coming up in February (18th -> 26th). I have the flight down booked - I purchased one way tickets from Jet Blue from Providence to Tampa. The price was really good, i.e., low enough that I could use my skymiles to pay for my family of 4. Now I need to book the flight home.

We're quickly approaching the 60 day mark and I'm getting nervous - I need to act sooner then later. Since booking the first leg of the trip, I've been logging into jetblue a couple of times a week to see if any price changes and this morning I saw that it went from 473 to 563 :oops: Prior to that its been locked in at 473

Long story short, I see a delta flight from TPA to BOS (We live in Boston, so the flight back saves us a trip from providence) for 506, and that's not terribly higher then the 473 and its going to Bos. Plus the flight departure is in the afternoon and not the morning another plus.

I know trying to guess if flight prices is like trying to nail jello to a tree, but I need some cooler heads to help point me in the right direction.

What are people's opinion on waiting vs. buying now?
Do you think Omicron will cause the prices to decrease? I didn't see any downward when the Delta variant was making innroads.

I really don't want to wait so long that the price goes up and I have no choice to take what is there, and while 500 per person is very expensive, its been worse.
More likely what will change is the flight time so factor in the cost of changing a flight for that airline. Last year we flew Southwest and the flight changed three times in the final month. Luckily Southwest does not charge for a flight change. Both flights were totally full and the return early on a Sunday morning took us the three hours allowed to get from the hotel to boarding the plane. TSA, luggage check were packed with few people working, the Starbucks had two people serving and a line that stretched across the airport - we left Disney at 4am.
 
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