Booking Flight June/July 2013

[mommybearx2]

We are considering a cruise for 2013. We need to wait until our children are out of school and are trying to manage our budget. We had originally planned to travel around the week of June 20th, but what we would love to do is go on a cruise including July 4th, but are concerned about the airfare. We will be travelling from Maine and are planning on a one way trip so we can spend few days in Denali. Can anyone comment on increase they saw in airfare by booking in July instead of June? There will be four of us travelling with hopes of other family members joining us.

[Keith1010]

If you are flying over the July 4 weekend you may see slightly higher prices but you will have to wait for fares to be posted on airline sites before you will know for sure.

 

Keith

[SusanL10]

there is so much fluctuation in airfare....among airlines, by days of the week you travel, etc. we are traveling to seattle next june for our cruise and acutally found better deals by booking one way flights. start researching now so you can get a feel of what the prices are, then keep your eye on them so that when you see a good deal come thru, you recognize it and are ready to book it.

 

it also helps to search travel websites such as expedia, etc but good deals can be found by going directly to the airlines website. it takes some time initiatlly to do the research but you can save hundreds. sign up for email alerts from the airlines and websites like expedia.

 

we happened to find $150 one-way non stop on Alaska Airlines from STL to Seattle. then for our return flight, we found a super saver deal with United, a one way flight with one stop. we were able to get those free with our United mileage plus credit card. be flexible with the dates you can leave. sometimes the cost savings in the airfare outweighs the night you may need to stay in a hotel.

[libtrek]

We're doing Alaska June 2013. I've priced Delta (hub Detroit) and prices were outrageous. We might have enough ff miles. But, we actually like Frontier. Going a few days early. I talked to a nice rep (amazing, huh?) and she said June flights probably won't be posted until December or January. She said that airlines (esp the smaller) are now waiting to post flights since there ends up being so many changes far in advance. So, I just check online every few days to check for prices. Good idea to sign up for alerts and sales and take advantage of frequent flyer miles. We also consider one way flights. Good Luck!

Lib

[mapleleaves]

A couple of ideas to consider

-check out the Alaska Airlines credit card. It provides a $100 companion pass once a year. Includes multi city trips if you're looking at a one way cruise.

- Alaska has a price reduction in October to coincide with the pfd check to Alaska residents.

[RAYJO]

We are considering a cruise for 2013. We need to wait until our children are out of school and are trying to manage our budget. We had originally planned to travel around the week of June 20th, but what we would love to do is go on a cruise including July 4th, but are concerned about the airfare. We will be travelling from Maine and are planning on a one way trip so we can spend few days in Denali. Can anyone comment on increase they saw in airfare by booking in July instead of June? There will be four of us travelling with hopes of other family members joining us.

 

We just booked Boston to Vancouver and reverse this week for cruise on June 28 2013, returning July 5 2013 on Air Canada.

[libtrek]

May I ask for a ballpark on this flight?

[RAYJO]

May I ask for a ballpark on this flight?

 

$600/pp

[Budget Queen]

I am assuming you are going to want to get home at some point, so you do NOT want to just look at one way fares. Multicity, frequently is less than one way fares. This is an option on booking sites to also compare costs with.

[biker1972]

ITA software can give you good info on pricing.http://www.itasoftware.com/

[mommybearx2]

So if I can find a flight now going from Portland to Vancouver with Air Canada and than return flight from Anchorage with US Airways or United at $630 a person, is this good? (This is a 6:00Am flight leaving and than a 1:50AM returning) I tried Seattle option leaving from Boston and can not find anything below $553 which means I still need to get hotel and transfer to Vancouver and than transfer from Anchorage back to Seattle. Not sure if it is just too early for more options or better price:rolleyes:. Or another way to ask is what is realistic price for air for people who have left from Boston or Manchester, NH or Portland or Bangor, Maine?

[Krazy Kruizers]

The last 2 years we have done Alaskan cruises, we booked as soon as the flights became available. We have very few flights out of our airport and I know there won't be any price redutions. If anything as the few flights fill up, the prices go up.

[libtrek]

We made use of ff miles to book one way flights. I always price that plus the multicity flights or round trips. Consider every option and every airline. Even made use of our Amtrak free trip points to get from Seattle to Vancouver. Took way less points than going from Detroit to Chicago.

[AkSusan]

So if I can find a flight now going from Portland to Vancouver with Air Canada and than return flight from Anchorage with US Airways or United at $630 a person, is this good? (This is a 6:00Am flight leaving and than a 1:50AM returning) I tried Seattle option leaving from Boston and can not find anything below $553 which means I still need to get hotel and transfer to Vancouver and than transfer from Anchorage back to Seattle. Not sure if it is just too early for more options or better price:rolleyes:. Or another way to ask is what is realistic price for air for people who have left from Boston or Manchester, NH or Portland or Bangor, Maine?

That's actually a good fare. I mean I can pay that much just going somewhere out of here to West Coast cities.

 

Our Permanent Fund Dividend (it's an annual check eligible Alaskan residents receive from the Transalaska Pipeline oil royalties), and with that the airlines, especially Alaska Airlines (which does flights from Boston via Seattle or Portland to Anchorage), usually have airfare sales.

 

Just checked the PFD Board meeting is September 26th and 27th, so, at that time the amount will be announced, and the sales start.

 

Susan in Anchorage :)

[mommybearx2]

Thanks for input. I enjoy researching cruise and excursions, but HATE booking my flight. I will keep checking my options and than often find I wait too long and lose out on a cheaper flight.

[scottbee]

Thanks for input. I enjoy researching cruise and excursions, but HATE booking my flight. I will keep checking my options and than often find I wait too long and lose out on a cheaper flight.

If you're willing to drive to BOS and fly from there; you can do two things involving Alaska Airlines to lower your price.

• Get their credit card, and the $100 companion cert that comes with it. First ticket normal price, second ticket $100. The only restrictions are it must be Alaska Air metal [planes] and it's not valid in 1st class. Even works for open jaw tickets like BOS-SEA-FAI / YVR-SEA-BOS
  
• Book your Alaska Air ticket early, and if the price drops, you can claim the difference back (in the form of a certificate for future travel). This might not be too useful for you on the east coast, but I do this all the time, and I'm always depositing $20 here $30 there into my AS account.
  

Also; try not to think about it being expensive; Boston-Seattle-Fairbanks is further than Boston-Zurich; http://www.gcmap.com/mapui?P=BOS-SEA-FAI%0D%0ABOS-ZRH%0D%0A%0D%0A&MS=wls&DU=mi

[Pisgah]

I bought two American Airlines tickets, Nashville to Seattle June 2013 for $450 each.