Concerned about Flight Prices

[HAWGFAN]

We are going to CSS in August I have been watching flights since November they have stayed around $700 a piece. Last year we paid $250 round trip. (LR to ChAR to MBJ) I am getting concerned that actually going to have to pay $700. I hope I am not the only one waiting for flights to go down.

[Lindsi84]

We fly out of Indy and I can't find a flight less than about $500 pp round trip...We went in Nov last year and going in Nov this year and it's about the same price. I hope you do have luck in finding a deal though! Unfortunately, those days might be over...

[Blondie]

I was watching them also, but they only seemed to go up so I finally just booked our tickets for the first of August. We are paying almost double this year over last year.

[IACouple]

Sounds like you got an insane deal at $250 a ticket. Lowest prices I have seen are in the $600 range.

[Chris]

Time was that the airlines were offering fantastic fares to fly to a lot of places, especially in the "low" seasons of many destinations. But then again, many of the airlines were going bust from trying to compete with these fares.

The last guys standing now have fairly stable (= high) prices, PLUS the nickel & dime fees for luggage, "premium" coach seats (now THERE'S an oxymoron for you), snacks, beverages, etc. that used to be included in the price of the airfare.

Timing airfare prices is getting to be like timing the stock market prices. You're more likely to get burned than to find a hot deal. Good luck with that.

[janiceklein]

We fly out of Indy and I can't find a flight less than about $500 pp round trip...We went in Nov last year and going in Nov this year and it's about the same price. I hope you do have luck in finding a deal though! Unfortunately, those days might be over...

Lindsi8: When you stayed at CSS in November in the past, did it rain every afternoon, and if so, for how long. We were at CSA over thanksgiving and it rained practically the whole afternoons. Wasn't sure if it varied between resorts. Thanks.

[ElaineChick]

Wow - $250 a ticket? Taxes and fees alone on our tickets are always around $125! I think you just got a steal last year. We paid $425 apiece this year and thought we were really lucky to get it!

[ORV]

What is chAR? Charter? Charlottesville? Someplace in Arkansas?

[Lindsi84]

Lindsi8: When you stayed at CSS in November in the past, did it rain every afternoon, and if so, for how long. We were at CSA over thanksgiving and it rained practically the whole afternoons. Wasn't sure if it varied between resorts. Thanks.

We were at CTI (still Ocho Rios) and were there from Nov 15-22 and didn't get rained on one time. I sprinkled a little while we went zip lining (on the way back to the resort) and when we got back the walkways and stuff were wet, but that's it. We were truly blessed with perfect weather. We are going to CSA this year, same time, and I really hope the weather is the same..not rainy like you experienced!!

[blueseagolf]

What is chAR? Charter? Charlottesville? Someplace in Arkansas?

I am guessing the leave from Little Rock, stop in Charlotte N.C. and onto Jamaica

We got direct flights from Baltimore for $625.00 RT
We were on Air Jamaica until they annouced their issues, we cancelled those flights and received full refunds and then booked on AirTran.

9 days left to wait, then paradise

[Amy]

I waited for 9 months for our flights to go down and they never did

Typically, our April tickets are cheap the June before, but drop even cheaper the January before. We gambled and waited, hoping hey would drop. They never did, so we ended up booking in February.

[InPink]

blueseagolf:

Did you book directly with Air Jamaica or through another site? We booked through an online company and wanted a refund but were told no. Did not know of all the Air Jamaica issues till after we booked...but would love a refund and to book with someone else. We leave in 11 days and things are so sketchy with AJ right now.

[Sublimebrad]

We booked last year in March for a June trip and paid $525 pp going USAir from New Orleans to MBJ through Charlotte. A guy I work with booked in January for a trip this May for $350 pp going Continental through Houston.

We are going next May so I'm hoping to find something around $400 pp if possible. I will start looking as soon as they post faires. I doubt anyone got a roundtrip for under $300 without a really special deal unless they already live in a hub city like Miami or Houston or Charlotte.

[Kegger]

If you are flying out of Little Rock, consider driving to Memphis. Right now for Aug. 14th to the 21st on AirTran Round Trip from MEM to MBJ, one stop, is $395.00. LIT to MBJ same dates, 1 stop, on American is $668.00

Check out www.fly.com, it is a great site to compare airfares from all the major carriers and directs you to the airline websites to book.

[gdstravel]

We've booked with Spirit (first time flying Spirit), for 10/9/10-10/14/10 out of DTW for $242.08 per person. I've been watching the prices rise ridiculously over the past few weeks. I am a travel agent so I've been watching the prices for clients as well as myself and wedding guests. That price lasted about 10 days. We grabbed them on 3/26. Today the SAME flights are about $500 per person. It's absolutely NUTS!!! I normally do the package, but for the wedding with the group, it wasn't feasible.

[dogntow]

I just paid $250 w/taxes and fees from Washington DC on USAir...bought them last week for travel 5-11 May.

[Ayslinn]

We originally were paying $350 a ticket, from Indy. Had some issues with travel dates, had to change our tickets, and ended up paying almost $500 a ticket. doh!!! but oh well... wish we could stuck with the $350 though!

[Jimnmariann]

We have been resigned to the fact that we have to pay $700 apeice from Huntsville, Al. to Charlotte to MBJ BUT we get there at 11:30 A.M. Love that. We are back home at a decent time too so we feel it is worth it.

[sherrynchuck]

We usually go to Jamaica in early/mid November, going in late October this year due to schedule preferences of some friends that will be joining us. We have always waited to book until May or June as airfares drop but this year our travel agent advised us to book now as she feels fares are only going to go up. We went ahead and took her advise. I don't recall what the airfare was, we book it all as a package, but I know it's gone up over the last 15 years quite significantly and specifically taken some big jumps in the last couple years. I realize that in the end her advice may prove wrong as she is only human but she's been in the business for many years so we trusted her and took the plunge. So to pass on the advice we received from someone with some experience I'd say you are going to have to pay a much higher price than you've paid in the past. But what hasn't suffered the effects of inflation?

[hillystyles]

There is a flight watcher on Expedia that you can download for free. It shows if the flight went up or down and I'm pretty sure you can track several airlines at once.

[dirtleg]

We booked our air last July for this June. We paid about $400 a piece round trip out of StL with one stop. Prices now are over $500 and approaching $600 for the same flight. Fuel prices seem to be driving it, but so are profits. It is double irritating that they keep adding on more baggage and other fees. I fear they will price us out of Jamaica trips in the not too distant future.

[r&cford]

We booked last year in March for a June trip and paid $525 pp going USAir from New Orleans to MBJ through Charlotte. A guy I work with booked in January for a trip this May for $350 pp going Continental through Houston.

We are going next May so I'm hoping to find something around $400 pp if possible. I will start looking as soon as they post faires. I doubt anyone got a roundtrip for under $300 without a really special deal unless they already live in a hub city like Miami or Houston or Charlotte.

We also fly out of New Orleans. We're going in May. I booked the beginning of March and the prices were $371/pp on AA through Miami. I didn't like the times coming home, but for that price, we would be okay My TA found another AA flight coming home through Dallas and getting in MSY a little earlier. Since that week, the flights have gone up and up. The last time I checked, they were over $500/pp. I guess it was just the right time when I decided to book for my husbands birthday! I stalk flight information when I travel because there are NO direct flights from around here and the prices seem high at times!!! We're going October 2011 so I'll start looking at flights as soon as they become available. Have y'all ever considered flying out of Houston, if the price was A LOT cheaper? We have friends and family there so we discussed leaving a day early next year and flying out of Houston if the price is right...The things we do to get 'home'!!!

[HAWGFAN]

Thanks for all the replies. I am just going to wait it out. I don't expect to get $250 a ticket( I know that will never happen again). I did not book tickets last year unitl June so I think I still have time. We are flying in on a Tuesday and flying out on a Wednesday. Normally the slowest days.

I would love to drive to Memphis and take that flight, but my husband said only as a last resort. He is not a morning person.

[Brian_Mendy]

Flights have definitely gone up here in Wichita. For our trip in January 2009, we paid $400 pp. In November 2009 it went to $550 pp. We just purchased for November 2010 and it was $750 pp :-( All tickets were purchased the April before the trip. It's to the point where the flight is a HUGE factor in the price of the vacation and whether we can continue to go or not.

[jagorham]

Yes, I've noticed the flights are getting more expensive - our mid-September American flight from IAD that we got two months ago at $325/person (which I might add was an all-time steal) has crept up $25; the RIC flights are also up about the same, currently about $450/pp.

I suspect it has more to do with airlines worrying about the way oil prices are going than anything else.