Airfare prices are killing me - just want to vent...

[C2cruisin']

Have you tried Hopper? It's a cell phone app that you can pop a flight into (NYC to SJ, in this case), and it will monitor prices. When the prices drop, it will pop up a notification along with a recommendation to wait or buy. I use it ALL the time, and usually get flights in the $200s domestically.

 

Agree about the Hopper app, it really is a money saver & if you 'allow' notifications it will ping you when the fares are at their lowest.

[Ellceee]

Try Kayak site.. Set up an alert and check it every day. You still have a lot of time to buy your tickets. This is what I do for all of my flights. They also tell you the confidence they have on whether you should buy tickets now or wait.

 

Hope this helps.

 

BTW- I did this flight Jan '16 and got it for less. I think I bought it October '15.

[RFerrington]

We are booked on the AOS leaving San Juan 3/31 to 4/7. We were on AOS in 2015, and are looking forward to this different itinerary (ABC's plus St. Martin). However, I've been checking airfares since I booked in May 2017, before flights were even available, and you have got to be kidding me with the prices from NYC to SJ. I can't get a flight under $650 (and I need 4). Friggin Jet Blue is like 1500 per ticket! We've been to SJ many times in the past, and the average airfare was $350. I just can't justify spending 3k in airfare (yes, we have some miles, so one, maybe two of the flights would be free - the only up side to my wife's credit card spending habits) just to get to SJ.

 

I keep checking, and trying different options (Stewart, even Philly). Southwest's return date only extends to 4/6, and I need 4/7, so maybe that will work. Sigh...

 

I can sympathize. We had a Christmas cruise booked for this year on Adventure and ended up cancelling b/c of the high airfare costs. I hated to do it b/c we got SUCH a great price on an OS but the airfare was going to be $1000 each. No friggin' way !

[OceansOfTravels]

If you are talking about March 31-April 7 2018, you will be cruising over Easter. That is why your flights are so expensive. We cruised over Spring Break 2015 from SJ and we paid $420 roundtrip for flights the literal day Southwest released them, both direct to and from Baltimore. But had we waited, we would've paid a similar amount. We have seen flights for under $300 to san juan roundtrip from one of the DC airports, it's solely a matter on when you travel.

[harryfat1]

We are booked on the AOS leaving San Juan 3/31 to 4/7. We were on AOS in 2015, and are looking forward to this different itinerary (ABC's plus St. Martin). However, I've been checking airfares since I booked in May 2017, before flights were even available, and you have got to be kidding me with the prices from NYC to SJ. I can't get a flight under $650 (and I need 4). Friggin Jet Blue is like 1500 per ticket! We've been to SJ many times in the past, and the average airfare was $350. I just can't justify spending 3k in airfare (yes, we have some miles, so one, maybe two of the flights would be free - the only up side to my wife's credit card spending habits) just to get to SJ.

 

I keep checking, and trying different options (Stewart, even Philly). Southwest's return date only extends to 4/6, and I need 4/7, so maybe that will work. Sigh...

 

As a family guy who also has to pay for 4 people to fly to cruise ports, I feel your pain as I am going through this now in trying to book flights for our December cruise.

 

Originally we were booked on AOS for mid December but had to cancel last month when my kid’s school district changed the holiday schedule. Thought about re-booking the cruise for the week later but since that’s Christmas week, the flight price from California to San Juan would jump from $500 to $900/pp. Multiply that by 4, it’s not cheap and we are still at the airport and haven’t even sniffed the ship yet.

 

Biggest drawback in traveling during the popular periods - when your kids are out of school, so are others. Unless you yank them out during school time but that is a whole other topic…

[travelplus]

I know what you mean with regards to your airfare. I booked my Father and I for our Tampa-Amsterdam cruise back in May when Delta released their schedules.

 

I was able to book my Father using his SkyMiles for 17,500 from San Jose CA-Tampa and I booked my ticket First Class for around 40,000 miles as I thought to splurge. I asked my Father if he wanted First Class but he was fine in coach.

 

On the return I booked us on Iceland Air for $570 one way from Amsterdam-Rejkavik with 4 nights in Amsterdam and Rejkavik and then to Seattle and San Francisco.

 

The Cruise for 15 nights is $800 for an interior cabin. I booked us at the Tampa Westin Harborside for $167 for the night before the cruise.

 

in Amsterdam and Rejkavik I found us AirBnB for $100 per night for a 2 bedroom in each city.

 

My point is to book when you see an airfare that you are willing to pay, use miles for spring break time etc. For me i knew our dates and knew that we want to fly in a day before so when Delta opened up the routes I just booked it and did not look back. It would have been $200- $300 per ticket one way so miles did us well.

 

I will upgrade my Father to Comfort+ before the flight so at least he can get more legroom and adult beverages.

 

I always book my flights as early as possible during the busy travel season. Rarely have i seen the airfares go down as I tracked them and if it were $50 less the itinerary would be poor and have us arriving Tama at 1 AM vs 5:30 PM.

 

Good luck and please keep us posted with your progress. My theory is to check on the airfares before planning a trip to get a good idea for the budget. I book my cruise 1 year in advance to get the best deals possible.

[travelplus]

I hear you.

 

Airfares can be a significant deterrent to additional cruising. Sometimes, you can book a TA for less than the airfare to Europe.

 

Exactly which is why I love the Trans Atlantics for $800 for 15 nights then Iceland AIr on the return with a stopover in Iceland is the way to do it.

[travelplus]

This is my fear with my cruise next August. I have enough points that either the flight out, or the flight home will be free, but who knows what they'll be. Right now United seems to be fairly cheap (bad press can be good I guess), but doubt that will hold into next year once tickets open up.

 

When booking one way with miles always book the most expensive flight using miles. For instance I visit my Grandmother in Santa Fe and one way I will book American into Santa Fe normally a $400-$600 one way flight plus a $25 shuttle from Albuquerque airport.

 

Then on the return I fly from ABQ. If one day is more expensive but I can book AA for 12,500 miles whether into ABQ or Santa Fe I go with Santa Fe as its a small airport and costs more money. Sometimes I will reverse it and fly out of Santa Fe to avoid security at ABQ.

 

Either way I maximize my miles the best way. For instance during spring break I book with miles especially if its a one way trip.

 

Once I had Southwest Credits and had a Trans Atlantic out of New Orleans and it paid for our flights.

 

As my Father is retired and I am flexible with my schedule I love the Trans Atlantics especially during spring break to avoid the party cruisers and kids running around. Plus I can go for 14-15 nights and its less than the cost of a 1 week cruise to the Caribbean.

 

For $800 for an interior $1100 for an Oceanview( I don't mind the interiro cabin as we only use it to sleep) I can cruise for 15 nights and avoid the spring break crowds. We do get warm days on board as it sails by the Caribbean before headding up to the Azores so with those warm sea days its a vacation within a vacation!!!!

[josumello]

We usually go with miles too because of the flexibility with miles vs. a paid non-refundable flight. Once every 18 months, Citibank will let you open a new account for bonus miles and some airlines (such as AA) will let you purchase all the miles you need (up to an annual limit per person). In a lot of cases, purchasing the full amount of miles works out cheaper in the off-peak months than paying the fare. On AA, flights with miles are cancelable (for a fee) and the miles can be refunded. You can also change your flights, routing and dates (if there is inventory available on the new flights) as long as the origin and destination remain the same; all without any extra fees.

 

 

 

AA now lets u open a new credit card two years after closing a previous one. It used to be every year then changed to 18 months and now is every 2 years. We have taken advantage of this for years. In fact I just opened a new account and got 60000 miles as a bonus.

 

 

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[joepeka]

Ahhh good call. Ours is March 3 on the Brilliance so that is before Spring Break but OP's cruise is over Easter... Definitely dwindles the chance of a flight prices going down.

We have a Spring Break cruise scheduled for next year departing from FLL and the airfares were definitely much higher than a month earlier or or a month later. We used credit card rewards points so that helped but geesh..... :(

[kalliekae]

We always cruise the week after Thanksgiving, but ran into higher airfares than previous years for some unknown reason. Luckily, we had miles, but they weren't good for Saturday so we booked on Friday. We'll have to fly in two days early this time to avoid paying for airfare and it's still less expensive to pay for a hotel room than Saturday airfare. Hubby travels a lot for business and his airfare budget has increased this year due to the higher fares. There's no fuel shortage so I wonder why all fares have gone up.

[Biker19]

There's no fuel shortage so I wonder why all fares have gone up.

The same reason cruise fares went up.:cool:

[RCThanksgiving2018]

Today is generally a good day to buy airplane tickets. The Christmas tickets I bought 2 months ago are now $150 per ticket cheaper. Ugh

[FOXTROT]

We did a cruise out of San Juan in Feb. price was around 300 each. We had a cruise on the Adventure booked for Sept. Air was over 500@. Changed the cruise to the Liberty out of Galveston. Our son has a cruise booked in Nov. for San Juan. No balconies were available until last week. A lot of them became available do the high cost of air. The reason is supposedly the song Desposito. They say tourism has skyrocketed after the song came out.

[CaptainUnlucky]

We are going the same dates but on Harmony, I checked the prices out of Newark, AC and Philly obsessively (sometimes 3 times a day) one morning I saw that Spirit out of Newark was only 138$ round trip. The night before it was 488$ and now it's at 588$ to Fort Lauderdale!!!! (CRAZY!) I jumped on that price right away. It went up a few hours later. I'm wondering if it was a mistake on the website, but hey I got that price . It sometimes pays to be obsessive!

 

Good lucky I hope you can find a lower fare

[christine40]

that is spring break week. we are on that cruise. its easter weekend. In the midwest all the high schools are on spring break the first week in april, so the years it coincides with easter are a bear for plane tickets! I bought mine already because I was afraid of availaiblity. they were $1000 from Detroit, Spirit was $800. They are higher now, I bought about a month ago. I have been doing this spring break dance with my kids for years-we just sigh and pay, and dream when we can vacation without them off season! We even looked at changing cruises, but flights to florida was $770 for the same week and the cruises were more expensive, so it was a wash. Good luck!

[Nabalab]

Agreed about San Juan (from NY). Sailing Adventure in a few months.

 

Flying on a Friday from JFK, close to $150ish. But we had to book the flight home (on the the following Saturday) at around $225. I thought that was high because I've found $99-$129 rates in the past.

 

Since we booked, the flight has gone up to $300.

 

Part of me thinks flights between JFK (NY) and SJU are rising because American Airlines is no longer a factor.

 

http://amp.usatoday.com/story/99979246/

 

Not sure if other cities are affected, but wouldn't be surprised.

[waterbug123]

Supposedly, tomorrow and the next three days are the best days to buy flights according to a report on GMA this morning.

 

LOL. These faux news items pop up all the time. There is no one day (or 3 day period) when all tickets all all travel dates to all locations is always lowest. The data used to support these claims is generally based on some kind of average, which has NO bearing on tickets for any particular travel day or location. But they sound good, and they get people thinking there's a magic formula for when to buy tickets.

And just in case someone really believed the claim, I happened to be searching a particular ticket yesterday. Just checked today, when according to GMA it will be best to purchase....it's about $75 more.

 

 

When i check prices, I check for one person - then see how adding 4 changes the number. Sometimes its the same for one or two - my wife and I have logged on two different computers and hit enter at the same time in that situation to get the same, lower price for 2 as opposed to four.

 

When you search for 1 person, the airline quotes the lowest fare bucket available. But if they haven't released 4 (or 2 or 3 or 7 or however many you need), then when you search for that higher number, it will show you the lowest fare bucket in which the specified number of tickets is currently available. The sites won't mix and match to give you the cheapest ticket, then the next 2 cheapest tickets, and so on. All tickets on the same reservation will be in the same fare bucket.

[waterbug123]

I'm surprised that worked, I would think they'd block the second transaction with a 'fare no longer available' error.

 

Even though 2 people are hitting enter or purchase at the same time, the airline website is likely processing one before the other, and then immediately releasing more tickets in that same lower fare bucket. That actually happens a lot; you search for 1 and the price is $300, then search for 2 and the price jumps to $350. Go back and buy 1 for $300 then try to buy another and suddenly $300 is available again. Not guaranteed, but it does happen a lot in my experience.

 

 

There's no fuel shortage so I wonder why all fares have gone up.

 

Because 'cost of goods sold' (fuel is part of the price of an airline ticket, or the cost of goods sold) is only part of the equation. Supply and demand plays a big role. Same reason eclipse glasses that were going for $1 two weeks ago were selling for as much as $10 the day before the eclipse. It didn't cost any more to make them, but demand skyrocketed as procrastinators finally decided to buy some. Retailers knew that and used it to their advantage.

[waverley7]

Also check flight separately, one way there and maybe a different airline on the way home.

This sometimes pays off.

 

I paid 780.00 for our flights next April

 

Flying down on AA out of Montreal and back on Air Transat. Not cheap but cheaper than round trip.

 

Good Luck (If you are like me, you just want it booked and done)

 

Enjoy your cruise!

[kayehall]

We are booked on the AOS leaving San Juan 3/31 to 4/7. We were on AOS in 2015, and are looking forward to this different itinerary (ABC's plus St. Martin). However, I've been checking airfares since I booked in May 2017, before flights were even available, and you have got to be kidding me with the prices from NYC to SJ. I can't get a flight under $650 (and I need 4). Friggin Jet Blue is like 1500 per ticket! We've been to SJ many times in the past, and the average airfare was $350. I just can't justify spending 3k in airfare (yes, we have some miles, so one, maybe two of the flights would be free - the only up side to my wife's credit card spending habits) just to get to SJ.

 

I keep checking, and trying different options (Stewart, even Philly). Southwest's return date only extends to 4/6, and I need 4/7, so maybe that will work. Sigh...

 

There were some "wanna get away" fares from EWR and PHL but your return date is not active yet. Frontier had $488.00 from PHL, I think it was Non stop. We had the same thing happen this year in Feb. Confirmed a cruise and then realized it was winter break/Presidents weekend. Fare never did come down. We ended up chartering a bus to PHL and the flight was $523 to MIA per person. And then of course the bus picked us up on the return. We are in Binghamton NY so PHL is 3 hour ride. I had 15 cabins on the cruise and a good time was had by all!!!! In 2018 for January, we confirmed SYR to SJU for $360.00pp on Jet Blue and are staying and extra day after the cruise to celebrate my 60th and watch the super bowl with my toes in the sand:cool:

[mixplix]

Also check flight separately, one way there and maybe a different airline on the way home.

 

This sometimes pays off.

 

 

 

I paid 780.00 for our flights next April

 

 

 

Flying down on AA out of Montreal and back on Air Transat. Not cheap but cheaper than round trip.

 

 

 

Good Luck (If you are like me, you just want it booked and done)

 

 

 

Enjoy your cruise!

 

 

 

We did that this year - flew down delta and back American - looking at all options

 

 

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[bigque]

Whatever happened to the cheap prices of Southwest Airlines??????

 

We are in Charlotte and whenever we fly to San Juan we always fly out of Atlanta. It is cheaper for us to purchase a ticket from there, drive the 3 1/2 hours to get there and park for the week than to pay the air fares out of Charlotte.

[Clarea]

Whatever happened to the cheap prices of Southwest Airlines??????

Seems like they went away about the same time their fuel hedges went away. Plus, with consolidation of the majors, there is less competition. However, I'd still rather fly them than another airline.

[geomancer]

Whatever happened to the cheap prices of Southwest Airlines??????

 

We are in Charlotte and whenever we fly to San Juan we always fly out of Atlanta. It is cheaper for us to purchase a ticket from there, drive the 3 1/2 hours to get there and park for the week than to pay the air fares out of Charlotte.

 

Wish I had the option to drive to another hub. I'm a bit outside of Boston so I guess you could say I'm close to it, and the NYC airports. However, the parking is unreal, Boston is $35/day and I imagine NYC is more. Amtrak can be more expensive than flying oddly enough. Bus is an option, but then you're still having to park in Boston which is $$$.