Delta Flights A LOT more expensive today!!

Has anyone else noticed that flight prices have jumped up?

I want to book but I need to wait until mid April before I get my companion ticket awarded.

I've been watching the airfare every day from Minneapolis to Miami late Jan 2014. At the beginning of this month it was $540 from a Friday to a Sunday the following week. Then a week ago it went to $580...and then today it jumped to almost $1000. What is going on??:eek:

I looked at the seats and no one is booking so it's not like it's a popular flight yet? I just don't understand how this works!

If you are looking at seat maps to determine that "no one is booking" this is very inaccurate. I am guessing the lower fare classes have sold out, thus only leaving the ones at a higher price.

Keep looking. You may find that the airline will release more seats in the lower fare class.

Flights are more expensive on weekends. Tuesday mornings are the best time to book. I got rt from Seattle to Sam Juan for 415, a few days before it was 579. Just wait until Tuesday morning and check again, you might get a nice surprise. Then if course flying any day other than Friday or Sunday is good.

Flights are more expensive on weekends. Tuesday mornings are the best time to book.

This is simply not true.

Well I guess I'm lucky then, Tuesday is when I get flight deals from airlines in my email and book cheaper flights than days before. It's when I've been able to snag $140rt tickets to LA, which is about $60 less than usual. Might not be true every week- but most flight deals I've ever gotten have been Tuesdays.

If you are looking at seat maps to determine that "no one is booking" this is very inaccurate. I am guessing the lower fare classes have sold out, thus only leaving the ones at a higher price.

 

Keep looking. You may find that the airline will release more seats in the lower fare class.

How many lower fare classes could there be to sell out so soon? We're 10 months out. And it's not just one flight...all of the flights 2 days before and after the flight I was looking at went up. I think that's very strange. I doubt that many seats were bought since yesterday on such a large number of flights.

A couple other questions...how often do they release more seats in the lower fare classes?

How many lower fare classes could there be to sell out so soon? We're 10 months out. And it's not just one flight...all of the flights 2 days before and after the flight I was looking at went up. I think that's very strange. I doubt that many seats were bought since yesterday on such a large number of flights.

As 6rugrats posted, looking at airline seat maps is a VERY unreliable way to determine how full a plane is. You need to use tools like ExpertFlyer, KVS or a couple of others (all paid services) to REALLY see how full a plane is. Seats could be totally sold out-the plane could be full or close to it. Could be no one has picked seats yet, particularly if there are cruise groups or tour groups on the plane.

There can actually be 10 or more economy fare classes. Did you stop to think that the cruise lines and tour operators purchase LARGE quantities of flights and late Jan is PRIME time to Florida (MIA particularly if the tours continue on to Central/South America)? And if the cruise lines and tour operators are SELLING their tickets now, for every cruise line/tour operator ticket that is sold, one less publicly available ticket is cut out.

Just as an example: For your flight, a cruise line had purchased in bulk 25 tickets. And a large group decided to book the cruise and used 25 tickets for air. There went 25 tickets off of YOUR airplane. The airline has NO incentive to sell "CHEAP" tickets anymore. Their sophisticated yield management systems and all the fancy algorithms that compute airline "yield" believe the tickets will sell at higher prices. So there go the CHEAP tickets.

A couple other questions...how often do they release more seats in the lower fare classes?

NO guarantee they will for all the reasons I posted above. Don't know your exact dates but it certainly looks like a lot of Delta tickets from MSP to MIA are sold out the last part of January for the lower fare classes (this from Expertflyer).

I've been checking fares about every other day for our cruise at the end of the summer and noticed the same thing. Living near a Delta hub the times on Delta are far better than other airlines. I probably should have booked this because the reality is we likely won't get below the $600 mark. I'm kicking myself but the same thing happened 3 years ago on a trip to Germany and that time the price did drop about a week after it shot up.

Flights are more expensive on weekends. Tuesday mornings are the best time to book. I got rt from Seattle to Sam Juan for 415, a few days before it was 579. Just wait until Tuesday morning and check again, you might get a nice surprise. Then if course flying any day other than Friday or Sunday is good.

How far in advance did you get your RT fare to SJU...sounds like you got the kind of fare I'm hoping for next March 2014 LAX-SJU or am I delusional to think anything like this is possible (be kind everyone) :eek::confused:

I've been checking fares about every other day for our cruise at the end of the summer and noticed the same thing. Living near a Delta hub the times on Delta are far better than other airlines. I probably should have booked this because the reality is we likely won't get below the $600 mark. I'm kicking myself but the same thing happened 3 years ago on a trip to Germany and that time the price did drop about a week after it shot up.

At this point I'm hoping the prices will come down to the $600 mark...otherwise I'm going to have to change our cruise dates:(

I'm not even going to wait for the companion fare ticket...if the prices come down (hopefully Tuesday) I'm going to book. The companion fare is only good for the lower fare tickets and those are likely to be gone by mid April!

At this point I'm hoping the prices will come down to the $600 mark...otherwise I'm going to have to change our cruise dates:(

 

I'm not even going to wait for the companion fare ticket...if the prices come down (hopefully Tuesday) I'm going to book. The companion fare is only good for the lower fare tickets and those are likely to be gone by mid April!

If you are going to forgo the companion ticket.....look at Southwest. Right now round trip (on a random date I picked) is $372....and you don't have baggage fees.

Sorry - I just relooked at your post and you are looking for January 2014....SWA isn't booking that far out yet.

I purchased two round trip tickets in early March and paid $237 each. I don't know what happened it is usually over $400. Also, it is still high season to Miami. I found the fares through Kayak.

At this point I'm hoping the prices will come down to the $600 mark...otherwise I'm going to have to change our cruise dates:(

 

I'm not even going to wait for the companion fare ticket...if the prices come down (hopefully Tuesday) I'm going to book. The companion fare is only good for the lower fare tickets and those are likely to be gone by mid April!

You might find many more options flying to Ft. Lauderdale instead of Miami. The airports are not that far distance wise and Delta has more flights into Ft. Lauderdale than Miami.

I purchased two round trip tickets in early March and paid $237 each. I don't know what happened it is usually over $400. Also, it is still high season to Miami. I found the fares through Kayak.

I hope you DO REALIZE that Kayak sends people to a LOT of consolidators anymore-CheapOAir, BestFares, Mobissmo, Vayama, etc. etc.

These are NOT the same tickets you would purchase direct from an airline. They generally carry HEAVY restrictions-NON reroutable, NON Endorsable and bottom of the barrel for rebooking.

IF you purchase one of these kind of tickets, you are NOT the airline's customer. You are the customer of whomever purchased the bulk tickets and RESOLD them to the end consumer.

The RULES governing these tickets can be ANYTHING the airlines and the INITIAL purchaser (the consolidator) AGREE to. Some are VERY, VERY stringent and you have very little ability to recoup a trip if there is a glitch.

I wish you good luck and HOPE your Kayak search pointed you to an AIRLINE website. Otherwise, who knows what kind of ticket you purchased!!! Kayak DID NOT used to send you to the "cheapest" priced ticket. They used to be honorable and pointed you to the BEST priced ticket with full airline perks and benefits.

Good luck in your travels. IF it is a consolidator ticket and you purchased STRICTLY on PRICE before reading the fine print, ANY glitch in your travels MAY have perilous consequences for your travels. Buyer beware. ALL airline tickets are NOT the same-even on the same flight to/from the same destination.

Good luck!!!

If you are going to forgo the companion ticket.....look at Southwest. Right now round trip (on a random date I picked) is $372....and you don't have baggage fees.

 

Sorry - I just relooked at your post and you are looking for January 2014....SWA isn't booking that far out yet.

I was going to mention this too...I just picked a random Friday to the next Sunday in October on Southwest, and it's $421.60 per peson, round trip. When you factor in the 2 free checked bags, that's quite a savings, even compared to the $540 you saw.

As above poster noted, they aren't yet booking into January, but I would have to think it wouldn't be hard to get a decent price when they do.

I was going to mention this too...I just picked a random Friday to the next Sunday in October on Southwest, and it's $421.60 per peson, round trip. When you factor in the 2 free checked bags, that's quite a savings, even compared to the $540 you saw.

 

As above poster noted, they aren't yet booking into January, but I would have to think it wouldn't be hard to get a decent price when they do.

Why would you think Southwest would be CHEAPER than other airlines? Their business model-be the CHEAPEST on the day they OPEN THE SCHEDULE. The other airlines have SOLD OUT their cheapest fares by then. So yes, it APPEARS they are cheaper but as a general rule, there were cheaper fares to be had BEFORE WN opened their schedule.

Southwest is changing RAPIDLY. They HAVE NOT been the lowest fare airline for quite a while. Once they lost their fuel hedges, they lost their advantage in the market place. People are still drinking the Kool Aid. Be prepared to pay bag fees and other fees on the lowest of the Southwest fares.

Direct from their CFO:

"Here's what Tammy Romo, Southwest's CFO had to say about the airline's commitment to maintaining its no-bag-fee policy:

I don't think our brand is Bags Fly Free, that's not who we are. As I mentioned, our brand is the affordable fares that you get with Southwest and the friendly, warm service that you get from our employees. So I don't think—an advertising campaign is not your brand. So at least, that's my belief. And we'll continue to look at our plan and adjust as we need to meet our financial objectives.

Many of Southwest's longtime customers would argue that the "friendly" aspect of the airline's brand image includes, centrally, its relatively fee-free approach to pricing. Romo's remarks confirm that the former and future faces of Southwest will be very different. In the months ahead, Southwest flyers will no longer be free from fees."

Why would you think Southwest would be CHEAPER than other airlines? Their business model-be the CHEAPEST on the day they OPEN THE SCHEDULE. The other airlines have SOLD OUT their cheapest fares by then. So yes, it APPEARS they are cheaper but as a general rule, there were cheaper fares to be had BEFORE WN opened their schedule.

 

Southwest is changing RAPIDLY. They HAVE NOT been the lowest fare airline for quite a while. Once they lost their fuel hedges, they lost their advantage in the market place. People are still drinking the Kool Aid. Be prepared to pay bag fees and other fees on the lowest of the Southwest fares.

 

Direct from their CFO:

 

"Here's what Tammy Romo, Southwest's CFO had to say about the airline's commitment to maintaining its no-bag-fee policy:

 

I don't think our brand is Bags Fly Free, that's not who we are. As I mentioned, our brand is the affordable fares that you get with Southwest and the friendly, warm service that you get from our employees. So I don't think—an advertising campaign is not your brand. So at least, that's my belief. And we'll continue to look at our plan and adjust as we need to meet our financial objectives.

 

Many of Southwest's longtime customers would argue that the "friendly" aspect of the airline's brand image includes, centrally, its relatively fee-free approach to pricing. Romo's remarks confirm that the former and future faces of Southwest will be very different. In the months ahead, Southwest flyers will no longer be free from fees."

Delta is probably still the best bet for me...I have a Delta credit card so bags are free for us and I charge everything on the card so I have approx. 100,000 miles...so about $1000 off our total fare. I know that sounds like a lot but when you have 4 people and the total of the whole vacation we need every discout we can get:rolleyes:

Delta is probably still the best bet for me...I have a Delta credit card so bags are free for us and I charge everything on the card so I have approx. 100,000 miles...so about $1000 off our total fare. I know that sounds like a lot but when you have 4 people and the total of the whole vacation we need every discout we can get:rolleyes:

I had the same problem on some airfare on Delta I was pricing to Singapore and returning from Auckland. I watched the fares a while and one day the prices shot up to the stratosphere. Those prices remained for 2 or 3 days then lowered back to the prices they had been earlier. Just be patient. They could come back down and you will be able to determine if you are comfortable with that price. Then buy them and don't look back!

I also have the Delta credit card and appreciate the free bags on my domestic flights. Good luck with your airfare quest!

I had the same problem on some airfare on Delta I was pricing to Singapore and returning from Auckland. I watched the fares a while and one day the prices shot up to the stratosphere. Those prices remained for 2 or 3 days then lowered back to the prices they had been earlier. Just be patient. They could come back down and you will be able to determine if you are comfortable with that price. Then buy them and don't look back!

 

I also have the Delta credit card and appreciate the free bags on my domestic flights. Good luck with your airfare quest!

Thanks...that makes me feel a little better...I'll just continue my daily checks...

I wonder what causes that type of fluctuation:confused:

Why would you think Southwest would be CHEAPER than other airlines? Their business model-be the CHEAPEST on the day they OPEN THE SCHEDULE. The other airlines have SOLD OUT their cheapest fares by then. So yes, it APPEARS they are cheaper but as a general rule, there were cheaper fares to be had BEFORE WN opened their schedule.

 

Southwest is changing RAPIDLY. They HAVE NOT been the lowest fare airline for quite a while. Once they lost their fuel hedges, they lost their advantage in the market place. People are still drinking the Kool Aid. Be prepared to pay bag fees and other fees on the lowest of the Southwest fares.

 

To test your theory, I just priced a ticket on Southwest from MSP to FLL on Friday, May 10, returning Sunday, May 19 (the same days of the week the OP stated). The total round trip: $396.60. I'm pretty sure Southwest didn't open the schedule today for flights in May.

And as for your comment about bag fees, people have been saying that for 5 years.:rolleyes:

We are also flying to Fort Lauderdale at the end of January. Last week we bought tickets on delta for $380 each. The next day they were down to $355. Now they are over $500. Luckily we had delta miles to use also so wasn't so expensive for us. Just keep checking!

To test your theory, I just priced a ticket on Southwest from MSP to FLL on Friday, May 10, returning Sunday, May 19 (the same days of the week the OP stated). The total round trip: $396.60. I'm pretty sure Southwest didn't open the schedule today for flights in May.

 

And as for your comment about bag fees, people have been saying that for 5 years.:rolleyes:

You missed the point. Just because you can get a ticket for $396.60 TODAY for a flight about 6 weeks from now DOES NOT mean there weren't flights in the $300-350 range when the legacy airlines opened their schedules sometime in August/September LAST YEAR.

We have databases full of comparison flights from our main transit points (NYC, LAX, MCI, MIA, IAD, etc. etc) comparing Southwest to the legacy's. We RARELY find that WN is cheaper than the legacy's UNTIL WN opens their schedule. And at that point in time, the CHEAPEST of the flights have already been sold by the legacy airlines. From some smaller airports, a different story because a lot of the legacy's have just given up on some of the smaller airports.

As for the bag fees, when if comes from the CFO of a company, much more weight than just "airline rumors".

To test your theory, I just priced a ticket on Southwest from MSP to FLL on Friday, May 10, returning Sunday, May 19 (the same days of the week the OP stated). The total round trip: $396.60. I'm pretty sure Southwest didn't open the schedule today for flights in May.

 

Today, I see flights for these dates and routing on AA for $376 RT. And, these flights have been available for purchase on AA since around middle/late June 2012. So, odds are, AA was offering lower fares than this sometime between last June and today.

I charge everything on the card so I have approx. 100,000 miles...so about $1000 off our total fare.

Just a word to the wise...using the pay with miles feature is a lousy use of you SkyMiles. That's only a penny a mile, which is a bad rate of return on your credit card spend. You'd be far better to be getting award tickets instead.

Of course, YMMV.