Over spring break, our family is traveling across the country to Florida in search of sun. Our plan is to fly into Miami and then trace the edge of the Gulf Coast, finishing our trip in Fort Walton.
When I first started mapping out our trip two months ago, I checked flights from San Francisco to Miami. I remember seeing a $200 flight. When my trip plans were finally confirmed last week and I booked the tickets the cheapest airfare I could find was $430. Ouch!
No doubt, airfares are rising. The experts have been reporting this the past few weeks.
"Last year's super-cheap fares are gone," the
WSJ reported.
"Major U.S. airlines are raising fares again, and the only question might be the size of the increase" according to
Business Week. "This is the sixth broad fare increase the airlines have tried this year. They want higher fares to cover rising jet fuel prices."
"Delta, United, Continental, US Airways all raise airfares in response to higher oil prices" read the headline in a
NY Daily News story.
This is all bad news for travelers--and thankfully the WSJ article offers up some tips on how to track down deals in this changing climate.
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Be flexible. Seaney said he shaved $600 off a spring-break trip by shifting his family's usual travel days of Saturday to Friday to Tuesday to Saturday. Tuesdays and Wednesdays are the cheapest days to travel. The most expensive are Fridays and Sundays. Think too about red-eye flights versus prime-time morning or late afternoon. "Definitely there are some flights that have lower fares, but they're not the ones most people want to take," Hobica said.
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Use alternative airports. That doesn't just mean flying out of Midway Airport in Chicago rather than O'Hare or even going an hour plus out of the city to Milwaukee, Wisc., rather than O'Hare but looking even further out. Consider this: Virgin Airlines is offering a round-trip sale from Chicago Midway to Los Angeles for $198 until June 15. But you want to go to San Diego and a round-trip flight from Chicago will set you back some $500. For a family of four, renting a car from L.A. and driving the roughly 120 miles to San Diego could save upwards of $1,000.
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Don't book too early. If you're thinking about a summer trip to Europe, wait until April to start planning in earnest, Seaney said. If you're intent on taking a trip this fall, wait until July, even August to book flights and then plan on going in September or October, one of the slowest travel periods of the year. If flights aren't booked some 80% to 90% ahead of the season, airlines will be forced to cut the fares. "Demand is a fickle thing," Seaney said. "Are there three people behind you willing to pay what you're not willing to pay? That's the question and no one knows the answer except the airlines in real time."
For five more tips read the
full WSJ story.
