USVI-On-Line

Another option is to buy your ticket and use miles to upgrade. Also these days I look carefully at the baggage policies. One airline may be chepaer in terms of tickets, but you may end up mapying mroe with luggage. These days you need to look at TOTAL costs.

As for whether to get them now. If you're using FF miles I'd get them sooner rather than later. With folks looking to save money and getting nervous about holding on to FF miles (due to mergers, bankruptcy etc.) I think it's only going to get more expensive. If they're available grab 'em now.

I think that anything these days under $400 is good; Under $300 is a steal! But around $500 is going to be about average for the duration (at least from the east coast) in the foreseeable future.

I do a couple of things.
1.Know the established flights to you destination. If an airline has been running a flight for a number of years, it is probably profitable and less likely to be cancelled.
2.Options- I check all the airports in my area. I live in S. Jersey and have flown out of Philly, Atlantic City, Newark and JFK. I track all of them for an up-coming trip. I rather drive a little further for a cheaper direct flight than sit in an airport for hours waiting for a connection and they are less likely to loose you luggage. I purchased airfare for my up-coming trip on AA direct out of JFK for $359, at the time, USAir out of Philly was $859, Spirit out AC was $629 and Continental out of Newark was $499.
3. Track your flights (yapta.com) and others will email you of price increases and decreases and some like farecast.com will recommend that you wait or buy by the trends in fares.
I also always looked for a villa first but the last couple of years I have booked the airfare first. If you book the villa first you can lock yourself into a higher airfare with no options. If you make a list of villas I'm sure aleast one of them will be available, maybe not your 1st choice but you will be on St. John and that's the most important thing in my decision process.
Good Luck

Well, we took the plunge this morning and booked our flights for June '09.

Traveler22, it's funny that you talked about established flights in your post, because we had that exact same discussion last night and decided that since the itinerary that we booked has been in effect since we started going to STJ 4 years ago, that it felt a little safer. Also, it is the only direct flight from Chicago to STT, so that makes it very popular. (though there are only 5 of us on the flight so far and we have 3!)

We also contacted Catered To right after we booked our air and set things in motion for the villa. We felt safer doing air first, also.

Please, please, please be very careful booking airline tickets too far out. I would advise waiting until 3-4 months ahead. Book your villa, but wait until after the elections, etc to see what the airlines are going to do as far as destinations go. Many airlines are dropping destinations.

mcdomzal- Good luck, now go find that villa

Terry- I'd be very interested to here your reasons for not buying early.

Terry - I can almost guarantee that if we waited until 3-4 months out that we wouldn't have been able to use our frequent flier miles. Those miles saved us $2688. It's possible that the airfares might have gone down, but we have been watching the fares since May and they have only gone up. What I mean is that fares for travel to STJ in say 3/09 are now higher than they were 3 months ago (on United).

I know it's a gamble, but I think with FF miles, you have to take the chance.

If you're using FF miles, then do it as soon as you know your itinerary. But know also that airlines are changing their rules for FF miles.

If you're purchasing a ticket, wait awhile. Airlines are dropping routes and your ticket will not be valid.

Travel is so different now. I was an agent for years and now I'm even scared to purchase too far out.

Just a heads up...that's all.

Terry-
Since you were a agent,in your opinion,what make an airline drop flights? I understand that this happens and I too have seen flights dropped but they are usually not profitable. As I have previously stated I'm not afraid to purchase an established flight that an airlines has been flying for a number of years and are always a full flight. With these type of flights as Mcdomzal mentioned, not only do you have to worry about the price but you have to worry about it getting booked since they are very popular. I know for example that the USAir direct out of Philly will always be full so you have to balance the price with the remaining seats when looking for a fare to STT.

We are also from the Chicago area. We were told to do
STT via Miami on American. SJU dropping a lot of flights. United has the direct STT flight Saturdays, but travel agent worried they might drop that. Hope all goes well. I work on airfare first as well due
to price of each ticket and we have four going. Glad
you could use miles. Do ticket it ASAP though as soon
as you get the total trip in place. I get them to fax
me itinerary with definite seat assignments. You probably know that but just in case.

It's always a gamble. Lately I've been seeing several airlines offering $400-500 if you will bump to their next flight. But there is also no guarantee that they can get you on the next flight.

It used to be that if your flight was cancelled at the last minute, you could rely on "rule 240", which stated that if that airline couldn't get you on one of their next reasonable flights, they got you on another airline flight.

In not so profitable times, the airlines are being creative.

I had to cancel a FF ticket on United the other day and was charged $100 for them to put my miles back into my account. It was probably two key strokes on a computer.

That's terrible that they charged you to put the miles back!

Yea, caught me by surprise. But have been hit several times since. New rule for FF mileage people.