Alaska Air Questions

[v3cruiser]

Im keeping an eye out for airfare for our alaskan cruise next year and prices have stayed the same if not gone up a bit even though when I look at available seats no seats have been sold. 

 

How many days out have you bought your airfare? Any airlines offer price protection? Is there a sweet spot to buy?

 

Thanks!

[CruiserBruce]

This belongs on the Cruise Air board, here:

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/77-cruise-air/

 

There is NO magic time to buy air fares. You need to do your research, find a price you can live with, book, and don't look back. Fares for next summer should all be out (maybe exception: Southwest), so it is possible the cheapest fare buckets have already been exhausted.

 

Seat maps on air line websites are famously bad sources for determining how a flight is selling. Not everyone picks their seat when booking, particularly if they are booking through a cruise line, or trying to avoid paying seat choice fees, when airlines have those.

 

More specifics would help us. Flying from STL to ??? When??

[diesel1973]

I typically go to Alaska anytime in June till August. I start checking fares in Jan. I check every day as they can change from day to day. I also book when I think the fare is low but that always is not the case. If the fare goes down Alaska Air will give you future credit for one year. No problem for me as I go every year at least once. They are a very good airline to deal with .( I fly n/s from Chicago)

[Gardyloo]

Look at the Alaska Airlines-branded Visa card which will give you a bunch of Alaska miles at sign-up but which also provides you with an annual $99 "companion certificate" - one passenger pays the going price, the companion pays $99 plus taxes (usually $122 total) on any Alaska Airlines ticket - round trip, open jaw, one way.  So if the fare from St, Louis to, say, Seattle is $500, the price for two would be $622, or $311 per person.  Alaska miles are also very useful - many partners and decent redemption rates.  

[no1racefan1]

Well in today's air travel environment, I booked my Alaska flights as soon as they were available to book, so about 11 months in advance. They have gradually increased in price since then. Maybe they'll get cheaper at some point but I didn't want to risk watching them just go up and up having not purchased.

 

[Italy52]

I always book our Alaska flights ASAP to ensure we get the flight times we want.  We go to Alaska each year and I can tell you that our flights have always been full.

[LEMJMcC]

I booked ours on August 17, 2023 for our July 2024 Alaska cruise.  I checked back in a month to see if fares had changed and they went up about 50%!...