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INTRODUCTION Sometimes it seems like booking a ticket to Orlando, Florida (MCO in airline code speak) has more in common with buying stocks than it does with vacation planning. The prices of tickets seem to fluctuate randomly, and, although after the fact it's clear to all the industry observers why the prices have changed, nobody seems to be able to predict the changes in advance. And like investing in the stock market, getting good prices on tickets requires research and effort. At the very least, you need to know what the various fares are for the flights so you are interested in and if you're paying on the low end or the high end of the prices. The even more adventurous can try to time the market for air fares, just as stock pickers try to time their purchases in the stock market. And people who can travel on the spur of the moment can keep an eye out for super bargains and, with a little luck, find themselves flying to Orlando for roughly the cost of a complete collection of Snow White Disney beanies! NOTE: This document discusses techniques for people looking to research airfares on their own. You may find that packaged vacations provide a better overall value than booking airfare, hotel, etc., on your own. Investigate all your options thoroughly! Tip
#1: Keep your Options Open
Most people tend to look at flights from a given airport, on a specific date, around a specific time. Fair enough - that's when and where you want to go. But if you can be a bit more flexible in your travel, you might find some really good deals. Often the biggest win will come from looking at flights from several airports, not just the biggest/closest one. A lot of low-cost airlines use smaller airports - for example, Southwest flies out of Providence, RI, which is accessible to many people who might otherwise fly out of Boston Logan. Make sure you know what airports are within a few hours drive of your home and look at flights out of those airports too. A chart listing some of these smaller airports is below. Even if you don't want to fly a low-cost airline, you can still often find flights on the majors that are cheaper because of the competition. For example, at times US Air will offer you a cheaper ticket from Allentown, PA to Orlando than from Philadelphia, even though the Allentown ticket will take you through Philadelphia! Just keep all costs in mind (including your time, transportation to the airport and parking at the airport). If you're doing-it-yourself with online reservation systems, you'll probably have to do several searches to look at all the airports around you - the systems won't automatically spot bargains at nearby airports for you. On the other end of the trip, if you're going to rent a car in Florida , think about slightly further out airports in Florida such as Tampa, Melbourne or maybe even Jacksonville. It might make a big enough different to be worthwhile (and pay for the rental car!). Just make sure you take into consideration the extra costs this might entail (I'm told rental cars can be more expensive in Tampa, and you'll be burning up more gas). In addition to being flexible about your choice of airports, be sure to investigate alternative times and days of week for your flights. Even if you don't really want to come home Monday at 6 am, it doesn't hurt to look. And you may find that bargain fare that makes it worthwhile. Tip #2: Know the Fares When you get a quote on a round trip fare to Orlando, it's nice to have a frame of reference for evaluating it. Take a look at one of the various Internet reservation systems and find out what the airfares are 4 and 6 months from now. Even thought this isn't when you actually want to travel, it's worth doing this search so you can figure out what the standard leisure fares are. Alternatively, many reservation systems. Some websites, like Kayak.com, will consolidate all known fares for you. Our experience has been that this is a great first step, but always check the individual airlines. Sometimes you can do better.
Once you know what the going rate is for a leisure-class ticket, you have a solid basis for comparison. If somebody quotes you a fare for about the same price, you're not being taken to the cleaners, but not cleaning up either. With luck and work, you can occasionally find tickets at a discounted rate. Tip #3: Keep your Eyes Open for Bargains The fare you can get 6 months from now isn't likely to be a great bargain; bargains tend to show up either when the airlines are having trouble filling their seats or when a price-war breaks out. To spot those, you need to watch what's happening in the industry. Sometimes the fares are only available for a few days or even only a few hours, so it pays to check frequently for specials that crop up. Remember Tip #2 - Know the Fares! I was checking Delta out of Dulles, VA once and stumbled upon a $98 roundtrip fare. That's the lowest I think I have had ever paid at that time! By the time I finished closing my mouth and convincing myself that it was a roundtrip fare, I had lost almost all my flight options -- they went that quickly. I did, however, manage to snag one roundtrip! Occassionally airlines will give bonus frequent flier miles for booking online. Most reservation systems have news reports that will help you spot bargains. Many major newspapers online also offer up-to-date airline bargin news..check your favorite and bookmark it. Tip #4: Subscribe to Airline Internet Specials Generally on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, the various airlines send out an email announcing heavily discounted, last-minute airfares for the coming weekend. Many of these airlines serve Orlando and may offer you a very cheap weekend trip. You typically have to fly out on a Friday or Saturday and return on the immediately following Monday or Tuesday. Take a look at the airlines which serve Orlando and offer last minute deals - if they serve your local airport(s), sign up for the email! Southwest is unique in that their weekly specials aren't limited to flights for the coming weekend; instead, you can often book trips weeks or months ahead. But the special fares are only available for a few days, so even if the trip is months away, you have to book quickly. Be sure to sign up for Southwest's DING Specials - they are time limited but you can occassionally get a great price! Some airlines may send you a special email from time to time with a bargain flight elsewhere. It seems that just about every airline is offering or is about to offer email specials these days. The table below lists the ones I know of - if you find others, please let me know!
The list of airlines offering weekly specials tends to change; even if an airline which serves Orlando and your local airport(s) isn't listed, check their web site anyway. Note: These specials can usually be booked only at the airline's web site and will not be found in online reservation systems. Tip #5: (Have Junior) Take Grandma Seniors can sometimes travel at a deep discount by buying "senior coupons" from airlines. Many airlines allow seniors to take along an "underage" companion at the senior rate. So, if junior and Grandma both need a vacation ... send them off to WDW together! Use caution when purchasing these tickets, Grandma might end up spending 8 hours en route on what is normally a 2 hour non-stop flight. Tip #6: Have Junior Fly a Student Fare If one of your family members is a full time student (usually over 18, but sometimes as young as 14), some airlines offer discounted student fares as well. It doesn't hurt to check! Below are just a few links for reservation systems. There's a million of them out there. One thing to know: there are only 4 actual general reservation systems in this country, and all the myriad of internet reservation systems eventually just route your request to one of them. So although each web site promises that it will find the best fare for you, the truth is that they can do no better than the reservation system they use. It's also important to note that not all airlines are listed on many reservation systems -- like good priced and almost everywhere flying Southwest. So beware, there's no one-stop shopping! Comparative shopping is important, one source is not going to provide you with consistently low fare options. Decide which 3-4 sources are best for your travel needs and check them weekly.
See also Other Resources below for more possibilities.
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