Why airfare so dam high ????????

[mikeblum]

WE ARE SAILING FROM MIAMI ON THE LIBERTY OF THE SEA'S ON MARCH 19TH...i got to tell ya the airfare from minneapolis to miami is absolutely criminal...non stop is amlmost 800 per person...almost what i am paying for my balcony room...we are diamond memebers...there are 18 of us coming from the frozen tundra in march...cooler heads then took over...let's looks at doing a pre-nite and a post nite...fly down on friday and fly back on monday...MUCH MUCH better rates...$365 for non stop on SUN COUNTRY AIR...DIRECTLY TO MAIMI...DOING PRE-NITE AND POST NITE AT THE HOLIDAY INN BAYSIDE...150.00 PER NITE...so i feel alot better now...ya 2 more days away from the office but for a family of 3 i'll pay the extra for the hotel to save 450 per peerson...it's a no brainer...any one else out there finding horrindous airfares rigth now...

[lrn2cruise]

Your dates are spring break and you are going to Miami. Can you change your dates up or down a week or two or are you dependent on that week.

 

We have a 10 year old and we are actually talking about taking him out for a week in May just so we can get lower fares on everything. It is the end of his elementary years, so it will be a celebration for him

[janetz]

WE ARE SAILING FROM MIAMI ON THE LIBERTY OF THE SEA'S ON MARCH 19TH...i got to tell ya the airfare from minneapolis to miami is absolutely criminal...non stop is amlmost 800 per person...almost what i am paying for my balcony room...we are diamond memebers...there are 18 of us coming from the frozen tundra in march...cooler heads then took over...let's looks at doing a pre-nite and a post nite...fly down on friday and fly back on monday...MUCH MUCH better rates...$365 for non stop on SUN COUNTRY AIR...DIRECTLY TO MAIMI...DOING PRE-NITE AND POST NITE AT THE HOLIDAY INN BAYSIDE...150.00 PER NITE...so i feel alot better now...ya 2 more days away from the office but for a family of 3 i'll pay the extra for the hotel to save 450 per peerson...it's a no brainer...any one else out there finding horrindous airfares rigth now...

 

 

Feb and March, and April, school vacations, college vacations. Prices are always at their highest during these months. :)

[cb at sea]

And, prices are always higher this far out...I'd keep checking and see if the prices drop...I wouldn't pay more than the cruise costs, just to get there!

[marci22]

I had the same problem booking from NJ for spring break last year. The prices were $600 a ticket for the longest time and then I kept checking and one day they just went down to around $300 something. On Continental.

[mikeblum]

i already put myself out of misery...we booked it at $365 round trip...and also booked the hotel for the pre-nite and post night at 150.00 per nite...now we just count the days til paradise...WON'T BE LONG NOW...THE SNOW WILL START FLYING IN THE TWIN CITIES and i'll day dream about my deck chair and the buckets of beer poolside on the LIBERTY OF THE SEA'S...

[wg6530]

I'm told airlines tend to offer their best deals a season at a time. I'm getting ok winter fares out of MKE or ORD now. spring fares MAY drop in coming months, but I don't have a crystal ball. I usually fly into Fort Lauderdale a day early and take ground transport for a Miami cruise. I get far better deals. and I dislike the MIA airport. southwest flies MSP to FLL. though their prices are not good now, they may go on sale. I think southwest will offer a credit if prices drop. and two free checked bags. You may want to watch their prices.

 

Edit...oops too late. I see you already booked. Have fun.

[Mollypuss]

Hey Mikeblum.....we are sailing with you. I posted on our Meet n Mingle board that prices are outrageous. We are coming from St. Louis and usually try to fly Southwest. They have non stop into FLL. It is over $500/person!!!! I know everyone keeps saying it is spring break, but we flew to Orlando for spring break this year and paid $200/person. Also, flew in FLL in April and it was $300/person. It is crazy. Hoping that there will be a sale after the holidays....that would be a nice gift from Santa.

[Gonzo70]

I think southwest will offer a credit if prices drop. and two free checked bags.

 

Yes, this is one of the great things about Southwest. If you catch a price drop for your flight, you can get the lower cost and use the difference towards a future Southwest flight. It needs to be used within one year of when you originally booked the flight for which you caught the price drop - not within one year of the day you caught the price drop.

[janetz]

I have given up trying to figure out the airlines and when the fare will be low or high. I watch the prices three times a day, everyday, when I need a flight. Last Oct, I grabbed a flight CHEAP over Christmas vacation. For our flight to FLL earlier this month, I booked 7 months out and watched the price go sky high after i booked. The prices seem to change by the minute. :cool:

[Ashland]

I'm also on this sailing..Six of us coming from the west coast..flight prices for us Yikes !!! Nothing like the last couple of years have been for this same cruise and time frame..Coach is more now than we paid for first class last year !!! :eek:

[mikeblum]

ever since southwest came to the minneaplis market the fares have not been very good and you have to go thru midway or milwaukee to get any where...i already booked the air on sun country non stop for $365 direct to Miami...doing pre-nite on friday marcy 18th and post night on sunday march 27th...staying at the holiday inn bayside...got ok room rate for march there 150 per night...i know that we are not sailing for another 5 or 6 months but i wanted to just get it down and out of the way and 365 per person for air is a good deal in this market...A HELL OF ALOT BETTER THEN WHAT DELTA WANTS RIGHT NOW FOR A NON STOP TO MIAMI

[Bmac614]

out here in new mexico the rates are pretty much the same to fll. $350-$400. never had to pay that much tho. we always found prices to orlando alot cheaper. dont know why tho:cool: but oh well

[schmoopie17]

Just be glad you're not flying to San Juan...

[janetz]

If you have Jet Blue in your area, check them out. We love JB..

[melbur]

If you have Jet Blue in your area, check them out. We love JB..

 

High airfare??? Try flying out of Toronto to anywhere - it is robbery. We love Jet Blue, we can drive to Buffalo in about 1 1/2hr and pay 1/3 of the airfare from there to Florida.

[TEXASMUNK]

Simple answer: Demand.

 

Not only are you looking at spring reak but you are facing the cruise market, inbound and outbound. Thus lower fares on dates outside of Saturday and Sunday.

 

You may find fare fluctuation are you get closer, but today the airline plays the re-issued game of charging fees for the lower fare and thus not truly reducing the total dollars you spend.

[Breadman54]

ever since southwest came to the minneaplis market the fares have not been very good and you have to go thru midway or milwaukee to get any where...i already booked the air on sun country non stop for $365 direct to Miami...doing pre-nite on friday marcy 18th and post night on sunday march 27th...staying at the holiday inn bayside...got ok room rate for march there 150 per night...i know that we are not sailing for another 5 or 6 months but i wanted to just get it down and out of the way and 365 per person for air is a good deal in this market...A HELL OF ALOT BETTER THEN WHAT DELTA WANTS RIGHT NOW FOR A NON STOP TO MIAMI

Try Air Tran,wife and I are flying round trip/non-stop

from Va. to Ft.Lauderdale $424.00 for both of us.

Just 2 months ago it was over $600.00,check it daily

you might get lucky.

[janetz]

High airfare??? Try flying out of Toronto to anywhere - it is robbery. We love Jet Blue, we can drive to Buffalo in about 1 1/2hr and pay 1/3 of the airfare from there to Florida.

 

 

And 1st bag is FREE!! :D

[negc]

How many airlines offer a Minneapolis-Miami route. If several lines are competing for customers, fares will be lower but if one or two airlines are the only ones that serve that route, chances are you will be paying more. Lack of competition allows them to charge higher fares. When you factor in the fact that you are looking to fly to Miami and warmer weather from cold Minnesota and during Spring Break at that, you pretty much have your answer. It is very unfortunate but unless your airport can attract more carriers, you are likely to be victims of supply and demand. Keep checking or see if a slight change in the dates you will fly and you might find a lower fare.

For hotels in Florida, we have been very fortunate when using Priceline.com In fact for November I just got the Hyatt Place Ft. Lauderdale Airport South for a successful bid of $50 a night and three nights at the Rosen Plaza hotel on International Drive/Sea World in Orlando, Thanksgiving week for $45 a night. Certainly beats the rack rates quoted on the hotels' own websites.

[hancogran]

High airfare??? Try flying out of Toronto to anywhere - it is robbery. We love Jet Blue, we can drive to Buffalo in about 1 1/2hr and pay 1/3 of the airfare from there to Florida.

 

Yep.. we do the same thing :). It's unreal how the prices are so much lower just by driving across that border. Buffalo to San Juan is waaaay cheaper too :D Can't remember the last time I flew out of that horrible Toronto Airport :confused:.

[wolfcathorse]

at least you can still get to MIA, here in Michigan our discount carrier, AirTran just drastically reduced service to MIA, in fact their website says that they will use FLL for Miami destinations. Can you fly into FLL early enough and shuttle it to the port of Miami? It's about a 30 minute ride.

[Booking It]

I hear ya. I'm trying to book a trip to Vegas at the end of March. I'm looking at $400 per person (for non-stop and non-yucky times) from Milwaukee, O'Hare, and Midway. Whoever said Vegas was cheap was full of.... ;)

 

Luckily, we've always been able to get tickets to Florida for $200 or less. Our Allure cruise next December arrives back in Fort Lauderdale on Christmas day, so it will be interesting to see how the fares act on an actual holiday as opposed to the days surrounding it.

[KEN31VA]

Strange as it might seem, for the last 3 years I have found it cheaper to fly to and cruise out of San Juan during the winter. I also like the ports better in the Southern Caribbean.

[retiredonthesea]

We booked in Jan. for this months flights from Rapid City SD.--Minn--to Orlando. Always have to fly to those main hubs, but it was $800.00 for both of us. It seems like its a hit & miss sorta thing when bking flights. We always bk as soon as we can as the better deals are there for us!! Now come April 1st we have a wedding in LasVegas and the air is MORE than it was to Orlando! ??????