kristmay Posted February 27, 2019 #1 Share Posted February 27, 2019 (edited) I realize airline prices fluctuate, but can anyone give me some idea of what to expect? I have a cruise booked for Feb 2020. I would arrive on a Wednesday and leave on a Sunday (before President's day). Do you think I could find direct flights for $400 and under per person? Edited February 27, 2019 by kristmay Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
d9704011 Posted February 27, 2019 #2 Share Posted February 27, 2019 I doubt it; maybe 550-600 or so. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
helensobol Posted February 27, 2019 #3 Share Posted February 27, 2019 You might be able to get that price but if you keep watching and set up travel alerts. I would say 450-600 is the average price especially if it spans a holiday. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chipeneezer Posted February 28, 2019 #4 Share Posted February 28, 2019 Search on a site that uses all airlines like kayak. Set up alerts on a site like airfarewatchdog. Try several airports each time you search - we have gotten good deals out of Newark. Search on Tuesday and Thursday mornings. They seem to have good pricing. Be ready to buy when it seems like a good deal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EeyoreRN Posted March 1, 2019 #5 Share Posted March 1, 2019 I think you could do around $400 or less if you are willing to fly at really odd times. We are flying over Memorial Day weekend this year and found $370 pp JetBlue RT JFK...willing to take the red eye down on Thursday night. The real killer is the Sunday return. Most Sunday am flights are low in price but impossible to make after a cruise. The Sunday pm fares are really high. I think this is true for all Sundays, but particularly holidays. If you can swing a really early Monday am return you might find a little better price. We had to fly Sunday afternoon because we HAVE to be at work 6 am Monday. I booked the JetBlue on the day the fares came out. Your February holiday might be a bit pricier than my May holiday for the Caribbean. BTW, I looked for a long time before I booked. JetBlue fares come out later than other airlines, and they had the best fares I found, but not by too much. I also didn't find any significant fare difference between JFK or Newark for my dates. Frontier might give you some options, and if you're willing to go to Philadelphia, they have non-stop flights from there. It's worth looking into. Good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kristmay Posted March 2, 2019 Author #6 Share Posted March 2, 2019 Thanks everyone. I'm no stranger to stalking airfare rates and pouncing when the price is good. I just had no idea what to expect for prices that time of year, as I usually travel in the off-season. NCL is offering reduced airfare for my sailing for $200 per person (that includes flying in the day before). But I could also book a sailaway rate for $850 less than my current cruise price. It looks like it will at least be a wash at the minimum and I may come out saving a couple of hundred $$ at best. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dkksk Posted March 4, 2019 #7 Share Posted March 4, 2019 keep watching prices. I was looking at prices from Chicago to San Juan for our cruise next January. Sunday morning I looked and found prices around $950 for 2 . 3 hours later I found the same non-stop flights on American for $750 for 2. I snatched those up right away. Later in the day I just happened to check again and the same flights were going for $900. It bogles the mind how prices change hourly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DKLI Posted March 5, 2019 #8 Share Posted March 5, 2019 On 3/1/2019 at 11:59 AM, EeyoreRN said: I think you could do around $400 or less if you are willing to fly at really odd times. We are flying over Memorial Day weekend this year and found $370 pp JetBlue RT JFK...willing to take the red eye down on Thursday night. The real killer is the Sunday return. Most Sunday am flights are low in price but impossible to make after a cruise. The Sunday pm fares are really high. I think this is true for all Sundays, but particularly holidays. If you can swing a really early Monday am return you might find a little better price. We had to fly Sunday afternoon because we HAVE to be at work 6 am Monday. I booked the JetBlue on the day the fares came out. Your February holiday might be a bit pricier than my May holiday for the Caribbean. BTW, I looked for a long time before I booked. JetBlue fares come out later than other airlines, and they had the best fares I found, but not by too much. I also didn't find any significant fare difference between JFK or Newark for my dates. Frontier might give you some options, and if you're willing to go to Philadelphia, they have non-stop flights from there. It's worth looking into. Good luck! I saved $225 on JetBlue from JFK by booking a Monday AM flight as opposed to a Sunday 6:30pm flight (didn't offer any other afternoon flights) for my April cruise. Used my cc points to book a hotel, and got one extra day in PR. I also did not find fares much better from Newark, LaGuardia or Islip. Total $753 total for 2 people. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EeyoreRN Posted March 5, 2019 #9 Share Posted March 5, 2019 18 minutes ago, DKLI said: I saved $225 on JetBlue from JFK by booking a Monday AM flight as opposed to a Sunday 6:30pm flight (didn't offer any other afternoon flights) for my April cruise. Used my cc points to book a hotel, and got one extra day in PR. I also did not find fares much better from Newark, LaGuardia or Islip. Total $753 total for 2 people. Yes, I could have saved a lot flying Monday am, too, but that was not an option for us, as we can't take Monday off from work. My general rule is I'd rather pay for a hotel and extend my vacation than pay the premium for airfare at peak times. Can't always be flexible with times, unfortunately, but my preference would have been to do exactly what you did! To the OP, the more flexible you can be with your timing, the more you will save! Please let us know how it turns out! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kristmay Posted March 25, 2019 Author #10 Share Posted March 25, 2019 Just an update for everyone - I ended up booking direct, nonstop on Delta for $434/person. We arrive the day before our cruise, and depart the day after we get back (a Monday). I was satisfied with that price, especially for February and that Monday being a holiday. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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