Airfare

[Leigh123]

Sadly for me I live in Pittsburgh, and that airport is one of the most expensive to fly out of.
Priceline is really not an option for me since the last 4 days on my trip is on a cruise and I can't take the chance of the flight being before deboarding....any suggestions on cheap flights? Thanks.

 

[TravelSheryl]

It is no longer expensive to fly from Pittsburgh to Orlando since Airtran began serving PIT late last year. If you are finding high fares for your travel dates, then it just must be those specific dates.

I just entered random August dates at US Airways website and got non-stops for a total roundtrip fare of $196.50. In fact, US Airways non-stops were cheaper than Airtran.

 

[Beverly Lynn]

we often have low fares on usair from pit to mco. in fact I just got some fares for 150 per person on usair non stop. and out of pittsburgh I would never fly air tran....not just personal experience but also as an employee I can tell you that they have yet to have flights be on time. service is pretty bad on them out of here. Midway has some pretty good flights out of pittsburgh at decent prices too. if you go to usairs home page you will see that on their promotions they have some of their low fares posted...and come on over to the transportation board as we are always posting of the air fares over there!First inaugeral member of the wdw resort cheerleaders! yeah baby!

 

[buzzlightyear]

To find sale fares to MCO, go on usairways.com. Enter PIT & MCO. Then check the box that says my travel dates are flexible. This will bring up several sale prices. Click on them, & enter the dates you want on the calendar. You can also try flying into Tampa (TPA) I usually get cheaper fares, or better flight times to TPA. Its about 1Hr 15 min. ride to WDW.

 

[travelcoupons]

Originally posted by Beverly Lynn
we often have low fares on usair from pit to mco. in fact I just got some fares for 150 per person on usair non stop. and out of pittsburgh I would never fly air tran....

Air Tran IS the reason you have low airfares. If everyone refuses to fly them and other low-fare airlines, as you do, low fares in PIT will be short lived. Read : http://www.planebusiness.com/ubb/Forum3/HTML/000474.html

 

[Beverly Lynn]

well I got these kinds of fares before air tran even came into the pittsburgh airport! sep of 1999,feb of 2000, may of 2000, dec of 2000....all before airtran ever came here! and they were all 150.....except for this past feb when I got it for 129......so YOU can't say air tran was responsible for the lower fares......you just have to know when to look and when to buy them. thankfully 14 yrs as a reservationist for uselessair has helped me tremendously.......

 

[travelcoupons]

Sorry, I phrased my response wrong. Airtran, Midway and Vanguard are the reasons PIT has low fares .
If you don't believe me, go to Travelocity and use the Dream map. Here are some domestic routes in the U.S.that show up under $200:

PIT-MCO (Orlando): $188 (Served by Airtran & Midway)
PIT-MIA (Miami): $198 (Served by Airtran & Midway)
PIT-FLL (Ft.Lauderd.): $188 (Served by Airtran & Midway)
PIT-PBI (W.Palm Beach) : $198 (Served by Midway)
PIT-TPA (Tampa): $188 (Served by Airtran & Midway)
PIT-ISP (Islip): $ 94 (Served by Airtran & Midway)
PIT-MSY (New Orleans): $149 (Served by Midway)
PIT-SAV (Savannah): $148 (Served by Airtran)
PIT-ATL (Atlanta): $138 (Served by Airtran & Midway)
PIT-MYR (Myrtle Beach): $178 (Served by Airtran & Midway)
PIT-CMH (Columbus):$127 (Served by Midway)
PIT-MEM (Memphis): $198 (Served by Airtran)
PIT-GSO (Greenville): $148 (Served by Airtan)
PIT-PHL (Philadelphia): $169 (Served by Midway)
PIT-NYC (New York): $ 94 (Served by Airtran & Midway)
PIT-PVD (Providence): $155 (served by Midway)
PIT-RDU (Raleigh): $148 (served by Airtran & Midway)
PIT-STL (St Louis): $188 (none)
PIT-MCI (Kansas City): $118 (Served by Vanguard)
PIT-CHI (Chicago): $ 94 (Served by Airtran)
PIT-OMA (Omaha):$148 (none)
PIT_DSM (Des Moines):$148 (none)
PIT-DET (Detroit): $177 (none - short trip)
PIT-SDF (Louisville) $157 (Served by Midway)

As you can see, almost all the routes with EVERYDAY low fares are served by one of the above airlines in addition to the bigger carriers.
If you check fares to cities with similar sized airports and distances that are not served by Midway/Airtran/Vanguard, you will find higher fares on a regular basis. I wasn't able to use Florida airports as all the major airports are covered by the low-fare carriers:

PIT-BNA (Nashville) $209
PIT-CLT (Charlotte) $251
PIT-TYS (Knoxville) $228
PIT-LIT (Little Rock) $257

 

[Beverly Lynn]

but before any of these came to pittsburgh we still had the lower fares. its just when they come out you need to grab them. I've been booking airfares here in pit since 1986.........and they haven't been as high as some people say they are. you just have to know when to book. regular fares are 196.50 it has gone as low as $98 round trip on usair. if you know when to book then you can get it! I just know when usair loads the fares into the system and this is why I know when to book it. and did you know that travelocity is the exact same server that works usairs web sight? now of course the fares have gone into the 200-300 mark but that depends on when you book it. remember one very important thing...inventory is the biggest part of what fare you get. and did you also know that vanguard cancels 85% of their flights out of pittsburgh? and midway is just starting out here and sir tran only sells about 10% of the seats at the lower fare and then man do they jump up in price! since I was employed by them I learned an awful lot about them and their fare practices......and one other thing you neglected to mention in your fares above...how many of those are connecting flights and how many are non stop? at least usair will be non stop. and many many people would rather spend the little extra for a non stop than to have to change planes especially in atlanta!

 

[travelcoupons]

Originally posted by Beverly Lynn
but before any of these came to pittsburgh we still had the lower fares. its just when they come out you need to grab them. !

Exactly what I'm talking about....you had to wait for a sale or travel on certain days/times.

and air tran only sells about 10% of the seats at the lower fare and then man do they jump up in price!

Like all airlines do. Let's say you have a job interview in Jacksonville on Tuesday and return the next day that you just found out about and have to get to.
A fare check on ITA shows....(No nonstops avail...all are one layover)

Airtran has 6 options available at $381 RT
Next best price without switching airlines is
Delta at $683 RT and US Airways at $793 RT.

I just picked a random example. I think you will find similar results for other short-notice trips. AND if airtran was not around these fares would be over $1000 like they are at other major airports that do not have competition.

Competition is good, that is why I spread my business around. I'm flying US Airways for the first time in June out of MSP .

I agree, you do have to research the backgrounds of airlines such as Vanguard. I was wary of them and never flew them because I thought they might pull out of MSP or fold. Sure enough, they pulled out the first of April. (Fares on the routes they were serving in competition with Northwest shot up overnight, too.)

 

[Beverly Lynn]

just some simple facts you can't always get the cheap last minute fare from air tran. I had some people come up to the counter and the seats we had for last minute were exactly the same price as usair. believe me when I tell you that they do have some high seats to sell. and those are all connections no non stop or direct. you have to change planes. and then the airports that you have to change planes in are not great choices.
one thing I will say for usair it taught me how to find the lowest air no matter what!

 

[Buzzrules]

I would suggest, if you're worried about the flight times that you would get through Priceline, that you extened your vacation by one day. Say your cruise ends on a Saturday--get a hotel for Saturday night (through PL if possible!), and buy your air tickets for Sunday. Hopefully the money you save on the airfare will help to make up the added expense of an extra vacation day.
Good luck.

 

[Gillian]

leigh - That usair flexible dates tool mentioned above is really helpful! It is very easy to see what sale fares are available for your general time frame. and then to zero in on specific days when you can get the rates.

I usually shop around on the internet & then call my travel agent. She always seems to find the same fares or sometimes a little better. I have an infant so I can't book online (at least not with US Air)

So Beverly, we're flying US Air in September. Can you upgrade us?

 

[Beverly Lynn]

its a possibility I can get the upgrade!.......I'm trying to get the upgrade for me too! LOL

 

[fostrmom2mny]

You guys have the possibility of some really great rates out of Pitt. Now in OKC, I've not been able to find a decent rate to MCO. SW hasn't opened up their rates for the end of Nov. yet, but that's my only hope. When it gets that time I'd like to enlist some help from some of you experts out here

 

[travelcoupons]

Article in Time Magazine related to this same topic:

The Airline Anti-Trust Case That Wasn't, and Why You Should Worry


http://www.time.com/time/columnist/donnelly/article/0,9565,108489,00.html

 

[Beverly Lynn]

hey Travelcoupons what do you think will happen when deregulation ends???????? it will be a fun time to travel then........

 

[LisaRex]

Travelocity offers a service called FareWatcher where you can type in the locations and they will notify you you via e-mail when this price fluctuates +/- whatever dollar amount you choose.

For instance, when I first checked a few weeks ago flights from Columbus to Orlando were running about $215/roundtrip. I told farewatcher to notify me if the price fluctuated by more than $25. Voila! I got an e-mail saying fares were being offered for $165. I booked them immediately and now we're all set.

Good luck!

 

[wheatenwalker]

Beverly Lynn, When exactly do they put the fares in to the system or is that classified info? Seems like they jump around day to day and as soon as we resolve the GF issue, I will be buying our tickets for August (from Buffalo). Thanks