Flight Cost Anxiety Woes

mahojim · Post by **mahojim** » Fri Jan 09, 2015 4:19 am

Good morning.
I showed my Sweetheart the cost of the flights a few months ago, and they were more than decent (compared to now...)... @ $345.00 pp, round trip.
Trying to fly out of the Philly region in May. Looks like the prices are now @ $815.00 pp, round trip. We need this trip, y'all- in every way.
Somebody help me!
Smiles?
MJ

longingstjohn · Post by **longingstjohn** » Fri Jan 09, 2015 4:57 am

try newark. airfare watch dog sent me a notice earlier this week for round trip for 404 in feb on united. i see flights in may for 430 in may from newark right now.

have a great trip!

brian

Jumbiegirl · Post by **Jumbiegirl** » Fri Jan 09, 2015 6:30 am

Most tickets were $1200 per person round trip for us in June (Delta and American). Ended up with $822 on US Air.

DonnaM · Post by **DonnaM** » Fri Jan 09, 2015 6:51 am

PHL is always the most expensive. I'm looking for mid July and prices were $750-1000. EWR has mid $400's. Most were 1 stop each way which is normal in low season. I don't get it. Who is paying these prices?

Bigcheeze · Post by **Bigcheeze** » Fri Jan 09, 2015 7:12 am

Ouch...when are your dates buddy? Tuesdays are the lowest day of the week to look at airfare...not the flying part but the booking. We always book air first and villa second.

Dave

Caw954s · Post by **Caw954s** » Fri Jan 09, 2015 7:24 am

Mahojim, usair has flights out of philly to STT for $304.00...and the flight times are great! We are flying usair from KC this year because of the price and flight times. So, I don't know how good they are with delays etc, but the price and flights are good. I also got their dividend miles credit card, if you sign up you get 40-50,000 miles plus free bag check and a few other perks...but you have to cough up 89.00 a year membership fee. I travel on usair every year, so the card works for me.

lorijo068 · Post by **lorijo068** » Fri Jan 09, 2015 8:39 am

I love my Amex Delta card...Will be getting a ticket this for (almost) free!

PA Girl · Post by **PA Girl** » Fri Jan 09, 2015 9:14 am

I agree on expanding your airport search away from PHL. It is always cheaper for us to fly out of Harrisburg with a PHL connection to STT than direct from PHL. My cousins are flying out of Dulles in June because of the cost savings and they live like 30 minutes from PHL.

One exception to my PHL rant is flights to San Juan. We have flown to San Juan (SJU) a couple of times on our way to STJ and used Cape Air and Seaborne for connections to STT. US Airways has multiple flights a day and the fares are typically really good. You would want to get the tickets on the same itinerary to avoid hassles and expense associated with missed connections or delays but that is as easy as calling a travel agent or booking thru Expedia.

PaminMaine · Post by **PaminMaine** » Fri Jan 09, 2015 6:35 pm

I can feel your pain MJ. I too, showed my husband the flight prices for our March trip, when Jet Blue released their flights (in July?) and he was not interested in purchasing at that point. Since then, I have been watching and have yet to see anything that tempts my wallet @ $750-900/pp. I am a frequent monitor (stalk) itamatrix, kayak etc and the last several trips I have paid $700-800 for 2, out of Boston. The prices seem to be holding steady for the last few weeks. I would think given the gas wars it would filter down to some savings at some point?

I have resorted to changing my travel day to a Wednesday red eye and leave on Saturday instead of Sunday to get a flights for $337 each

I have pulled the trigger yet.

And yes, I am a frugal shopper! LOL

Teresa_Rae · Post by **Teresa_Rae** » Fri Jan 09, 2015 9:22 pm

I track flights with Yapta...I find it to be very helpful. I go in and find every single flight I could possibly be interested in and track it...so I'm usually tracking at least 50 flights with various departure dates and airports.

I also don't secure a villa rental until I've purchased flights, that way I don't get stuck with a bad fare. There are times that pushing back our departure date by a day (but still staying the same number of nights) can save hundreds on flights.

GratefulDad · Post by **GratefulDad** » Fri Jan 09, 2015 10:43 pm

The airlines got greedy and put a premium on weekend travel. If you do a Wed.-Wed. trip you can get a better airfare. Or better yet do a mega 12 day trip by doing a Sat.-Wed. trip.

Beachnut513 · Post by **Beachnut513** » Sun Jan 11, 2015 6:39 am

Used Amex points and my wife and I are flying to STT from Hartford in March for $213. Gotta love those points.

psufan · Post by **psufan** » Sun Jan 11, 2015 8:36 am

Jim I can certainly understand your frustration with the prices for flying out of Philly. Of the 3 airports we monitor (PHL, EWR, JFK) PHL is always the highest and usually by a lot. While getting to JFK is a pain we have decided to fly out of there for a trip in September. Hard to beat $317 rt direct flights. We will use credit card points to pay for a car service to and from the airport.

Connie · Post by **Connie** » Sun Jan 11, 2015 9:28 am

Jimbo...I feel your pain. I would love to go down to the Islands, but the airfares are just out of control.

The only option is for you to let myself and Glenn come and pay our fair share to stay at your villa. That way you can afford the airfare

cocosmom · Post by **cocosmom** » Sun Jan 11, 2015 6:08 pm

Jimmy, BWI flights look a lot lower for random May dates. Easy parking,not sure where in NJ you are. Also, Amtrak goes to airport ( bus from a mile away station)

usvi-on-line