Where can I purchase airfare for December?

[Cruiser_Guy]

I want to book my airfare for my cruise that departs on 12/18/05. I am going to fly down on the 17 of December, and I am going to fly back on the 23 of December. Its a 5 night western caribbean on the Mariner of the Seas. I am going to fly Newport News-Orlando on Airtran. The same for the returning flight. I have checked every booking website, but its still too early. Does anyone know where I can purchase this airfare?

 

 

Thanks,

Joe

[Char]

The major airlines don't open their routes for booking until about 335 days before the cruise. Some airlines only book about 90 days out, so you will not be able to purchase tickets until the airlines make them available for booking.

 

I just looked at the AirTran web site and they only show dates up until September, so you have a few months to wait for AirTran to open bookings for your dates.

[Cruiser_Guy]

What about the travel agency websites like priceline, expedia, travelocity? Any of those that let you book?

[hdawson]

Why book eleven months early? AirTran has sales about every 3 to 5 weeks.

As for the airline industry in general, which major airlines do you expect to still be flying. USAirways: probably not. Independence: probably not. United: maybe still flying under Chap 11 and maybe not. Delta: very possibly flying under Chap 11. AirTran is a very good choice but you can't book almost a year in advance. Routes change, schedules change. AirTran is my airline of choice and they're going to be around a very long time.

[Cruiser_Guy]

I am either flying AirTran, Delta, or Southwest. I will probably fly AirTran one way, and Southwest the other because Southwest offers discounts for one way, during the week, and 14 day advance purchase.

[Char]

What about the travel agency websites like priceline, expedia, travelocity? Any of those that let you book?

 

Nobody can sell airfare until the airlines open the routes for booking. The airline web sites will tell you how far in advance you can purchase their tickets. Different airlines have different rules. I believe Southwest has the shortest time frame for purchase--3 or 4 months out if I recall correctly.

[cme]

I just purchased my air for Dec. 4, on AA. using Expedia. I also think I got a good price of $243.00 roundtirp from Seattle. Orbitz does not go that far out but alot of others do.

 

Carrie

[Mona Lisa]

We booked our air today with Delta for our cruise on 12/17/05. The return flights on Christmas eve are filling up fast and this flight just came available a couple days ago. I would book early for the best flights.

[setsail]

I am also looking at air out of newport news cruiser guy and for Dec. The cheapest fares so far are out of Richmond and Norfolk. Should be able to check airtran by the middle of march. with gas prices back on the rise We will book early.

[Cruiser_Guy]

I think I'm going to book one way Norfolk-Melbourne on delta, and Orlando-Norfolk on Southwest. The reason why I am flying to Melbourne and on the way back from Orlando is because I am staying one night in advance, and booked a car to pick us up from MLB Airport to the hotel. Than the hotel has a shuttle to the port. And when we arrive back port canaveral, we are using the RCCL shuttle from the port to orlando.

 

Kind of confusing? Yes, but you learn how to do it after doing it for over 10 years.

[Jahosacat]

Do you get a better price by booking 10 months early? We're leaving out of New Orleans Dec 4 and I was wondering when I should start looking for the flight and hotel for the night before.

 

Thanks

[Cruiser_Guy]

The total for one person from Norfolk to Melbourne, and Orlando to Norfolk was ony $315. Now x that by 6 passengers, and you get $1800 for flights, which is pretty cheap considering there is 6 of us, and it is during the X-mas break.

 

The hotel is only $150/room, and we reserved 2 rooms. The total was around $315.

 

Now add it together and you get about $2100, which I think is very cheap for airfare, and 2 suites around X-mas in Florida. So yes, I would book in advance for cheaper fares and rates. Also- if you have any seniors or youths, you should call the airline, because we got a discount for my parents, and my kids.

[jonesmen]

We have 13 people flying from Syracuse (not exactly a major hub!) on December 23rd, returning January 3rd. I know the airlines aren't booking that far out yet, but given the number of people, the fact that we are booking around the holidays and the fact that we aren't flying out of a major hub, I need advice on when to book and tips on getting the best price. If only my family of 4 was going, I would wait, but I'm worried because of the number of us. Do airlines give discounts for this size party?

 

Advice, tips, suggestions?

l

Bobbi

[Cruiser_Guy]

actually, i do think that some of the airlines do give group discounts. You should try flying jetBlue from Syracuse to JFK, than JFK to your destination.

[Mona Lisa]

We called Delta directly earlier this week to inquire about a deal for a group of 23 flying from CVG to FLL 12/16/05 to 12/24/05. It was about $15 more than Delta.com. Interestingly enough, as our group booked online the price steadily increased. Some had to pay $10 more than others. However, it was still a better price than booking the group deal.

 

Another thing we noted was that if you booked a fragment of your family (say 2 members at a time) it was cheaper than booking all together (5 members at a time.) My guess is that it is programmed to only allow so many groups before the price rises. You get to pick your seat anyway so you may want to try to book in small increments.

[1cruiselvr]

The $10 difference might be due to using a website like expedia or travelocity instead of directly thru the airline website as they charge service fees, usually around $10.