Chiro1979

Hello experts! I am taking my parents on a cruise in January for their anniversary and am looking at flight options. I've already booked the cruise, so my dates are firm.

I'll be purchasing 3 tickets and want to fly F PHL-FLL. Current pricing is around $750 per person. I don't fly a ton, and very rarely on AA. In general, is the F pricing fairly consistent, or would I be better off waiting? Obviously no one has a crystal ball, but I'm just wondering if I should purchase now or hold off. The first cabins are pretty small, so I don't want to wait too long and have only more expensive fares available or not have 3 seats on the flight I want. At the same time, if $750 is a high fare and is likely to drop, I'd rather wait a bit and try to save money! What would you guys do? I figured better to ask the experts. Thanks for your help!!

pmanchuk

I can't say specific to FLL but I fly between MIA and BOS quite a bit and F on that route averages anywhere between $680ish upwards of $1,200 depending on how far in advance I book. Personally for flights between NE and SFL, anything under $1k I would consider a good deal and will book without hesitation.

chfenton

Don't forget to check MCO if you don't mind the drive---while I'm sure it varies based on season--I'm flying paid first one way MCO to JFK next Saturday for $236.

pmanchuk

Being that it was mentioned (about central FL), I would add a disclaimer for anyone considering that option and then driving to keep in mind the time of 3.5 to 4 hours on the road between MCO and South Florida one way. I'm surprised by how many people - often times my own family - think "oh, it's all in the same state, it can't be that far"... usually when they want me to just pop up to see them for lunch, etc. Also in this particular case for the OP, being that they'll be going on a cruise that I'm assuming is leaving from Fort Lauderdale, if it were me, a little extra spend would be well worth it to be landing in FLL which is about a 5 to 10 minute taxi ride to the port (especially with parents in tow).

arlflyer

Yeah...driving between MCO and FLL? To save a few bucks? No thanks.

Being a native Central Floridian, I always get that kind of thing from folks who aren't from FL..."OMG, you're from Flaaaahhrida (in Long Island accent), my grandparents live in Bocaaaa". Yeah, I'm actually closer to Savannah than Miami. Key West? Further than Atlanta.

To OP: $750 direct PHL-FLL in F is what I would call "reasonable". Wouldn't surprise me if it dropped a good bit for some reason or another; also wouldn't surprise me if, especially in January, seats got bought up and the remainder shot through the roof. Keep in mind that AA has a lock on that route as a nonstop, so they have pricing power in that regard. It seems from your post like this isn't going to make or break your family's financial position, so if it were me I'd probably just book...

tphuang

Just checking google flights
https://www.google.ca/flights/#searc...0;q=phl+to+fll
It looks like about normal pricing.

If $750 is too much, you can always just fly B6 and get EMS seating for probably $200. The pitch is comparable, seat is obviously narrower and don't recline as much. You can also use the saved money to purchase whatever food item you want on board.

jcatman

Fly into FLL, and arrive the day before the ship leaves port. You don't want to miss your cruise.

TEBraniff

...

A bit off topic but we were in FLL recently and noticed the street traffic for those mega cruise ships was miles long and police everywhere trying to undo the snarl. How in the world do they manage to not miss a cruise if they drive to the provided parking?

McSam18

Another PHL flyer here. You're booking way too far in advance to get a good deal. For AA direct, you can usually get RT F tickets to FLL in the $550 range, if not lower. If you're not set on flying AA, Delta always comes in and undercuts AA F prices (with Delta you need to make a connection unfortunately). If you're flying in the day before your cruise, Delta may work for you. I've seen them as low as $395-$415 RT in F.

C17PSGR

That's not a crazy price -- it's roundtrip?

MCO is cheaper but not a viable option. You might compare MIA or PBI as alternatives -- particularly if flying in the day before. I've had a couple of last minute flights that I ended up using PBI instead of MIA because of very significant price differences. It's a little hassle but there are lots of Uber options in South Florida.

mvoight

Seriously, is this what people do to fly First? Go through the hassle of car rental, traffic, tolls (rental car company toll fees -- assuming you don't have a Sun Pass.. A Sun Pass can save you money on your first car rental in Florida... )

It's fine if you like taking long boring rides down the Interstate for 4 hours or so....But, given the short time it takes flying PHL-FLL, do you really want to spend 4 more hours in the a car? If I thought the FC price was too high, I would fly economy before I would think a car segment from MCO to FLL is a good deal.

rickg523

It's a calculated risk. The fare may go down to $650 but there may only be leftover single seats spread around the cabin. I recommend if you want to wait, invest in an app like Expert Flyer and live on it, watching cabin counts and fares closely.
But because this is a special occasion trip, I'd pick the seats I want - research here on FT can augment and sometimes correct SeatGuru to help with your selection - and buy them as soon as I could.

C17PSGR

Not sure when you're flying but I just plugged in some random dates into Google flights. Looks like PHL to MIA is usually around $100 per ticket cheaper. $300 in savings will certainly pay for an Uber select to Fort Lauderdale and a nice dinner, with some money left over.

pmanchuk

Not to mention I swear AA can read my mind... when there's multiple departures on a route I'm booking, the one I want/need is always at the higher end of the range - usually at least a couple hundred above any "bargain" fares. So my guess is if there's anything in that $500ish range, it'll be the timing that wastes an entire day or means you have to wake around midnight to make the early morning god-awful departure.

Also, it seems on east coast routes, when the prices bump up (because inventory is getting lower), they jump a minimum of $150 if not more, hence why I typically won't hesitate if it's under $1k... and if it happens to be $750 or less, my fingers will be in autopilot mode typing in the cc info and clicking buy before I can even think about it.

I'm not saying there isn't a chance of pricing lowering a tad from the $750 between now and then but I'd say there's a higher likelihood that it'll go up... particularly as this case is for January (when there's a high demand for tickets escaping the cold north to FL - now if it was middle of hurricane season, that's a different story).

Again, it's really about personal preference in what you're comfortable spending... this isn't specifically directed at the OP, but just a generalized belief I have which is if a $100 or $200 difference is going to "break the bank" on a domestic ticket where it causes hesitation, then alternatives as mentioned above (i.e. B6) may not be a bad idea.

Regarding the option of flying into MIA, I would say just be mindful of date/time for the flights... if you're looking at a taxi, Uber, or whatnot, the drive can be done in about 35 to 40 minutes on the weekend... but if you need to make that transfer on a weekday during morning or afternoon rush hours, it's a whole other monster (upwards of an hour and a half if it's "just rush hour traffic" vs. the near daily inevitable multiple lane closures because someone thought they could text, eat, talk, change radio stations AND style their hair all at the same time... but forgot about the driving bit and hits the wall )

SOOOO long story short, my suggestion is take the reasonably priced direct flight to FLL where you're 5 to 10 minutes from the port... and seriously less stress than other options of alternative airports, traffic, possible connections, etc.

C17PSGR

I missed the January part ... and reran on google flights.

Looks like $629 RT to PBI throughout the month, $720 to MIA, and $729 to FLL.

PBI is 45 minutes to the cruise terminal. If you overnight before, there are lots of great options.