BOS-LAX-BOS - Feb 18 prices are exorbitant
 

Hi all,
im trying to grab tickets to LAX on Feb 18 and returning on the 27th. However, prices are extremely high (600-700s). I've never seen this route this expensive so far out. On the reverse direction, LAX-BOS-LAX, flights are $300+ for the same weekend. The seat maps (even though it may not be a good indicator) do not show fully booked seats. Does anyone know what's going on that weekend? Are there conferences or meetings at this time? If you were me, would you wait or just suck it up and get the $600+ tickets. Thanks!

School holidays in much of the Boston area are the week of the 19th. I don't believe there is a comparable holiday in LA that week and, if there were, nobody would be going to Boston in February. It is simply high demand for BOS-LAX and not high demand for the reverse.

Also President's Day week

OP's profile says DL Plat AmEx, so partial PWM might be an option

It's school vacation week in Massachusetts (and I also believe in ME, RI, and CT). Every "warm" and ski destination will be exorbitantly priced for early in the week departures. NH, like with everything, does their own thing and school vacation week is the week after. You may try MHT because of that, but really MHT draws so strongly from Massachusetts, I would be supprised if it were any cheaper.

School vacation this particular week and then again in April the week of Patriot's Day (Marathon Monday)

Since when is $600-$700 for a nonstop RT flight "exorbitant"?? A little high, sure..

I'd go so far as to say that the $300ish fares are a great deal and the average is closer to $500

This past summer, I bought a one way walk-up fare on a Friday from LAX-BOS for $230 on AA, 1.5 hours before departure. This is a highly competitive route with 5 airlines serving it. It is rare to spend more than $350 three weeks out without some sort of holiday or event if you are flexible on flight times. I would consider double the normal fare "exorbitant." Now if OP were buying two or one week out, $500 would be more normal and $600-$700 would be just a little high. If he waits, I would not be surprised to see this fare jump to $800 or $1,000.

President's day weekend is a mid-winter school break for many parts of the country. We are in Michigan, and our kids used to get the Th/Fri before (along with Monday) off and we would typically go to Florida. The only real way we found to beat the higher fares was to leave on Wed and return the following Tue.

Ding, ding, ding @:-)
February 18 is the Saturday of President's Day weekend. THE most expensive weekend to travel in the US from the cold NorthEast to warm destinations (such as LAX).
I also can imagine that DL rather sells BOS-LAX-X (Australia perhaps?) then just plainly BOS-LAX. And if just BOS-LAX, DL will demand a big premium.
Checking right now, I see the cheapest fare is $741 on DL (MA3UA0MP, TAUNA0MP).
First class is COMPLETELY SOLD OUT.

I would snag that $600 RT fare... B6 is also pricing competitively on those dates at $653 RT in Y ~$1,400 in J/Mint and ever more flying into their hub in LGB.

Thanks so much, everyone!

i guess I'm being cheap here. I saw that the one way trip back to BOS on Feb 27 was only 12,500 miles. I'll just pay the one way flight to LAX on Feb 18 as it is ~400-500 bucks. The return flight on the 27th is at an inconvenient time, though, as I have to be at work the next morning. I was hoping to SDC or SDS on an earlier flight(s). It's originally booked as LAX-DTW-BOS red eye. I'll have more options earlier in the day if I have to SDS as a PM, keeping the same routing via DTW, right? Would you risk it and do this? Any advice is greatly appreciated. Thanks again, everyone!

You should try New York to South Florida. $700-800 unless you want to fly at off hours or fly Spirit.

If you fly out the next afternoon you can cut the price to $484 on Jet Blue roundtrip.

Thanks, folks!
I unfortunately have a course to attend that Sunday up until the following Sunday. Therefore, I need to either leave that Friday or Saturday.
I totally forgot about Presidents' Day!