ST Louis to FLL

[Whimsy]

I have not flown very much so please be patient with me. :)

 

I need to book a flight from STL to FLL in October. I would prefer non-stop and have found SW and AA have the only non-stop flights. I could book on AA now for around $250 a person. SW isn't open to that date yet. Someone told me when SW opens up their dates to October AA prices will come down. Is this true? I am just wondering if I should book now or take my chances. SW seems to run sales to Florida for around $79 each way pretty often but I like the idea of having my seats assigned and not worrying about trying to check in the night before while on the ship.

 

Also, do those rates only apply to the internet or can you get the same rates by calling the airlines?

 

There are quite of few of you who seem to be well traveled, could you please offer me some advice?

 

Thank you!

[hightownCO]

Hi Whimsy, I've only lived in the STL area a year now but have flown a lot over the years including frequent trips to Orlando.

 

I've found the best prices about 6 months out from when I'm looking to travel. But that doesn't mean that you won't find good fares earlier.

 

AA seems to change their rates every other day. I'd check them morning and night. It will be high one day and then rock bottom the next. In fact, I bought our tickets on AA for our April cruise and just after I bought, they went way down. Goes to show that as much as you try to get the best fare and beat the airlines at their game, they will often win!

 

Or go to one of the online travel agencies (like Orbitz) and set up a trip and have them notify you when the price drops below a certain price. I like them in that you can have them look for your travel dates as well as +/- up to 3 days.

 

October shouldn't be a high travel time to FLL. I would thing you could do better even with AA and certainly on SW if you wait for them to open the schedule to then.

 

There's some real knowledgable folks here like GreatAM and I'm sure you'll get good advise.

 

Good luck!

[D4]

If you keep watching Southwests' site, you'll be able to jump on the lowest prices when they open up that time period. You should save a lot of money, but you don't have assigned seats on SW.

 

I've never seen the competition lower their rates to meet SW.

 

If it would ease your mind, just book on AA now. But if saving $ is the key point, I'd wait and be checking SW regularly.

[Whimsy]

Thanks for the advice. I am going to wait for a while and take my chances. I just hope AA has a sale or lowers their rates so I know where I am sitting. Otherwise the lure of saving money on SW will be too tempting!