Flight prices

[Kezzabel]

I am hoping to go to Florida Easter next year, but I can't work out a rough idea of flight prices. A lot of flights don't become available to buy until about May this year, but I wondered if anyone has any experience of travelling at Easter??? How much can I expect to pay (we are 2 adults, 2 kids, aged 11 and 8)?

[Simon Veness]

Hi Kezzabel. In years gone past, a rough guide would have been just to look at the current prices for Easter flights (i.e. 2008) and add a little bit for inflation. However, with the way oil prices keep jumping, there is no guarantee prices will be similar in a year's time. You might be able to get a ball-park figure by looking at the upper end of prices at the moment, but it's hard to say how much of a guide that would be. The bottom line remains, the more you check, even just getting prices for as far ahead as you can right now, the better idea you will get of what a good price will be when flights do go on sale.

[dmrevis]

Simon hits the nail right on the head there. In years gone past it was a fairly safe bet to take last year's price and simply add on about 5%. However with the price of oil going up by the day by next year the difference could be massive.

If it was me personally i'd book as soon as the flights become availible, making sure your booking is FINAL and you are not liable for any rises in surcharges, fuel costs etc as some airlines and holiday companies charge you more if fuel goes up etc.

By next easter oil could be $200 a barrel, making the cost of aviation fuel, and therefore flight prices anyone's guess.

[LeonieM]

We're traveling in the school Easter holiday, ie one calendar month today (!!!!!). However this year is unusual in that Easter and the school holiday don't coincide.

That said, we booked our flights through a third party literally the day the allocation was released, meaning we got our flights for £469 each. When I checked Virgin's website a couple of months later, they were showing at £830-odd!!! So, no matter what the price is going to go up to, if you can get your flight booked virtually immediately, then you should get a good deal.

[KeriandSophie]

I take it we got a good price on our flights then.. £299 each! :cheers:

[Tiggers Friend]

That is an excellent price, we paid more than that and I thought I'd done well (£340ea with Virgin on 23rd April). Who is it with if you don't mind me asking and when did you book?

From what I've seen scheduled flight prices follow a similar pattern, that is they start high, curve down over a period and then start to increase again. The airlines know people will book as soon as the seats are released, once that slows they'll decrease the prices and then once they reach a point were they are making a profit they'll push the prices up.

However, this assumes that you the passenger are flexible when you travel and it is not true for holiday periods such as Easter and Christmas, nor the July/August school holidays.

[LeonieM]

I think we only got £469 (3 days earlier would have been £499) because they hadn't realised at that point that the school holidays would be that fortnight! I'm sure that's why the prices almost doubled!

If we could have gone 2 weeks later, then we could have saved a fortune. This is why we're not doing a hotel this time - we paid £819 last time. They wanted £1299 for 10 days at Easter, and there's no way we can afford that!

[KeriandSophie]

We're booked with Thomas Cook through a company called Broadway Travel. They have excellent prices, we paid £1200 total cost altogether for two weeks for the two of us to stay in Four Points Sheraton Studio Hotel on idrive (a very nice hotel). That price includes all flights, hotel, transfers, all taxes and extras etc. I thought that was pretty good.

Broadwayfloridausa dot com :happy-thumb

[mellymouse]

I am hoping to go to Florida Easter next year, but I can't work out a rough idea of flight prices. A lot of flights don't become available to buy until about May this year, but I wondered if anyone has any experience of travelling at Easter??? How much can I expect to pay (we are 2 adults, 2 kids, aged 11 and 8)?

First Choice have released their flights for April 09 on their website. Travel City's fly drive packages are available for 09 as well.