Plan ahead or wait a while?
 

For Christmas, 2011, Mrs Aeronaut and i have decided to give our kids (& grandkids) a one-in-a-lifetime Christmas present.... Disneyworld 12/26-1/1. (yes, it is expensive!). There will be a total of 9 paying passengers going MEM-MCO 12/26, returning 1/1. However, I'm not sure if we would be better off buying our DL tickets NOW (K, L Fares available outbound, Q, H Fares on return). I don't want to lose what value exists in the current "economy" pricing, but at the same time I don't want to book now only to find later that lower fares have become available. I know from experience that there have been times when I've booked at a higher fare only to find later a lower fare open up.... and I don't know how DL manages that process.

We also thought about pricing AirTran out of MEM or Southwest out of BNA, but their fares aren't even available yet..... so I told Ms Aeronaut that I knew where to get good advice. Any suggestions would be most appreciated.

thanks in advance.

I would wait. You have a lot of time are not likely to end up paying much more than that (unless something explosive happens in the Middle East that significantly drives up the price of oil). If U or T availablity opens up with good fares in the next 6 months, by all means grab it. Starting in early Fall I would begin looking seriously, and would probably only settle for $500 tickets about a month out if the planes are looking full. Plus this gives you time to comparison shop and see what Southwest and AirTran offer. Definitely no point in purchasing until you know what those fares are.

I'd wait. Typically the better fares for Christmas travel won't be available until inside 90 days from departure. Right now, most are priced high to see how many takers they can get. If you are really set on flights/times, I'd book in advance because it could go either way but in general you should be able to find better deals closer to departure....especially once other airlines load prices and DL starts matching.

FWIW...
 

I posted this in as an FYI in a thread about fees;

Exec summary:
Yes, there are fees and they're not going away. Be ready to embrace added fuel surcharges, higher air fares, and higher loads on top of the fees we're experiencing now. Book NOW if you have solid travel dates.

Full Commentary:
Fees are what they are and seem, pretty much, here to stay for all airlines. Like it or not, it is what it is. How each individual handles their reaction to it is their choice, whether it's choosing another airline or earning enough status to avoid many fees.

Fuel prices are going up rapidly, so expect fuel surcharges to be added very soon (visibly or not) if not already there. (Yes, another fee.)

Went to the NY Travel Show on Sat and listened to Rick Steves, then another talk by Arthur Frommer & his daughter. "Airlines raised prices twice during Q1 2010. It is Feb 28th....Airlines have raised prices four times in two months."

The key message was, "Airline prices are not going down. Be prepared for higher prices starting immediately. If you have confirmed travel you need to book, book it now and don't wait. It will NOT get better the closer you get to your dates. When you could wait to book two to three weeks out and still get a reasonable fare, those days are over (for now)."

This seems to be the case in reading other threads about some really outrageous prices for flights. Many are attributing these to Delta.dumb and the IT debacle that it is. I'm not so sure...

Suffice it to say I came home and booked our Xmas trip to CVG/SDF from NYC. Last year we paid around $350 each and bought them in July. This year, $313ea in Feb. Sure they'll fluctuate a little; but I doubt it will go any lower.

Full thread:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/delta...-airlines.html

Curious what fare class Crackerpup was able to book those tickets into. At $313 for NYC-CVG/SDF, I would have to imagine LUT. OP here is seeing very little L and no U or T availability. I'd hold out and wait for them to open up availability as was mentioned farther up thread. If T opens up, however, I'd jump on it, as crackerpup makes good points. I don't think you're going to see them revise down the prices of U or T fares, but they're probably going to make them available (or at least get L on both directions).

Yes, lower fares. Still, considering the destinations that are traditionally pretty high, and when you consider the dates/days booked, I think we did extremely well.

Friday, 12/23: LGA - CVG (L fare)
Monday, 12/26: SDF - CVG - LGA (T fare; only direct from SDF early am)

So the Friday before a holiday weekend and returning the day after Christmas and all for $313ea AI. Feeling really good about these tix. :D

Yeah, I would have jumped on those, too. They might never open U or T for two days before Christmas. Since I've been hanging around FT, I have a much better clue about what's going on with airfares. Not that they make sense, mind you, but at least now I know that only seeing H (and empty planes) seven months out should be a sign to wait and see if the other buckets become available. (Or, more likely, looking far in advance and seeing T all the way means BUY, BUY, BUY!)

Can you shift by 1-day?
 

If you shift your return by 1 day and come back on 1/2, you have 3 non-stop flight options, all L fare that take the tickets down to $367 ea A/I:

MCO to MEM 7:30a-8:39a 2h 9m (assuming the g-kids need to be in school, they could make at least half the day with this one)
MCO to MEM 12:10p-1:17p 2h 7m
MCO to MEM 5:35p-6:44p 2h 9m

Otherwise, you're looking at Q fares for $444.