Flight costs in April - outrageously priced :(

[DarthVader]

I've been watching airline tickets now for some time and while our vacation is still 100 days away, the cost of flying hasn't budged any.

I've literally seen prices in the 6,000 dollar range for a family of 4 round trip from Jet Blue.

I'm looking for some consolation and affirmation that the price will go down soon.

Since this out first April vacation flight (near the end of the month for us), I'm hoping for some affirming words and/or advise.

We're flying out of Boston and into MCO. I have looked at a other nearby airports but that didn't really help with the prices. I'm calling AAA this morning but their online search tool has the prices in the 2,500 range. My wife suggested AARP (yes she's old ) but I'm not sure.

 

[MickeyMomV]

Wow!! Have you tried Southwest? I just picked a couple random April dates from BOS to MCO and it came out to $1200 even for a family of 4 for "coach". Their Business Select class would come out to just over $4k, which is a little nuts.

 

[Nemo14]

I checked SW out of Providence too, and there are several flights that are under $100.

 

[Schneewittchen]

Have you looked at Southwest? I always fly them to Florida.

 

[DarthVader]

Yeah, I'm going to try Southwest right now - great advise.

 

[DarthVader]

What's the difference between Wanna Get Away and anytime for Southwest?

 

[Schneewittchen]

Anytime lets you change your flight that day and get refunds if you cancel. I think with wanna get away you only get credit if you cancel.

 

[jenos0524]

I know April is usually High for prices. My wife is a teacher so we try to stay away from that time of the year for vacations. But usually we find Southwest out of Providence or JetBlue out of Boston to be the cheapest to Orlando. I am going in August and booked JetBlue the day the flights came out. I paid $290 a person round trip, It was borderline for me to wait for southwest, but I figured with JetBlue, i already have my seats, we have tvs etc... I am traveling with my almost 3 year old so those things made me book. I remember one time on SW my wife and I got the last 2 seats next to each other and it would have been fine not sitting together, but without the tvs a flight can get boring for an adult nevermind a 3 year old.

Good Luck with finding the flights, my advise is avoid weekends too. My trip in August is from a Tuesday to the following Thursday to get cheaper flights.

 

[Hakunamatata]

What's the difference between Wanna Get Away and anytime for Southwest?

If you click on the fare description it tells you.

 

[Hakunamatata]

Just be aware with SW you don't have assigned seats, you have assigned bording groups. With a family of four unless you are in at least the first half of the B group it will be difficult to find a row of three seats and the adjacent isle seat together.

I fly SW frequently and there is nothing like a family of four in C group with no clue about SW bording policy.

 

[jenos0524]

Just be aware with SW you don't have assigned seats, you have assigned bording groups. With a family of four unless you are in at least the first half of the B group it will be difficult to find a row of three seats and the adjacent isle seat together.

I fly SW frequently and there is nothing like a family of four in C group with no clue about SW bording policy.

I am a family of 3 but this is the reason I booked JetBlue before SW prices even came out...

 

[WDW Monorail]

Did you try UA?

Departin BOS on 4/24 in the mid morning and returning to BOS early morning on 4/30, th total for 4 persons is $1140

 

[YozhikRoth]

For President's week out of NYC, I was looking at around $450/pp to Orlando. Eventually I found a Southwest fare of $250/pp out of LGA (cough, gag), especially good considering SW offers free checked bags.

 

[MickeyMomV]

Just be aware with SW you don't have assigned seats, you have assigned bording groups. With a family of four unless you are in at least the first half of the B group it will be difficult to find a row of three seats and the adjacent isle seat together.

I fly SW frequently and there is nothing like a family of four in C group with no clue about SW bording policy.

With SW they give priority boarding to family's with small children under the age of 6. Also. SW does early bird check-in. It costs an extra $12.50/ticket and it gets you on right after priority but before everybody else.

 

[MickeyMomV]

For President's week out of NYC, I was looking at around $450/pp to Orlando. Eventually I found a Southwest fare of $250/pp out of LGA (cough, gag), especially good considering SW offers free checked bags.

The free checked bag combined with free snack/drink can be worth it all in itself when traveling with small kids!!

 

[Rob562]

There's a similar thread in the Transportation section, though my post there is the only reply.
I suggested perhaps looking into the train if cost is a major factor. Amtrak from Boston to Orlando is about $147 each way.

-Rob

 

[Hakunamatata]

With SW they give priority boarding to family's with small children under the age of 6. Also. SW does early bird check-in. It costs an extra $12.50/ticket and it gets you on right after priority but before everybody else.

Family bording is after the A group. It is no longer first.

I have seen passengers with early bird well into the B group.

 

[NicTom1211]

I've been watching airline tickets now for some time and while our vacation is still 100 days away, the cost of flying hasn't budged any.

I've literally seen prices in the 6,000 dollar range for a family of 4 round trip from Jet Blue.

I'm looking for some consolation and affirmation that the price will go down soon.

Since this out first April vacation flight (near the end of the month for us), I'm hoping for some affirming words and/or advise.

We're flying out of Boston and into MCO. I have looked at a other nearby airports but that didn't really help with the prices. I'm calling AAA this morning but their online search tool has the prices in the 2,500 range. My wife suggested AARP (yes she's old ) but I'm not sure.

We saw that same thing, we are flying out of Newark NJ for some reason they are astronomical this year. I asked the customer care at Jet Blue and the response was "Its a prime flying time from the North East to the South East". It took a few mins to laugh at her with that response.

 

[Piglet4827]

Have you looked at BDL in Connecticut? We are flying at the end of April from BDL to MCO on Jet Blue for $92 each way!

 

[DarthVader]

We saw that same thing, we are flying out of Newark NJ for some reason they are astronomical this year. I asked the customer care at Jet Blue and the response was "Its a prime flying time from the North East to the South East". It took a few mins to laugh at her with that response.

That's the galling part, I mean gas prices are at record lows, yet airlines are looking to gouge us. I thought as time went on, I'd start seeing some normal prices, but no. I'll never book a flight in April again, but since we're all but locked and loaded for our disney trip, I'll have to pay up for expensive tickets. I just refuse to pay anywhere in the neighborhood of 3,000 dollars for a flight to FLA (from Boston) for a family of four, never mind the 6,000 that I have seen

By the way this isn't a dump on JetBlue but the industry. I just went to delta.com and picked an early morning flight and a mid morning one. Here's the cost for a family of four main cabin selection (NOT first class).

.