Flying home for Christmas

[El Duderino]

I wasn't originally planning on going home, but now I'm toying with the idea.

Roundtrip to Chicago for about $1257 right now, with a stop in D.C.

Is that a pretty good deal? Should I buy now before fares increase?

(goddamn flights are expensive )

 

[Napoleon]

I would hop on that right now.

It will be US$1,500 in a week or two and more after that.

 

[Crema Americana]

That's not bad, I just flew direct to Miami for about that price. I probably waited a little too long to buy the ticket, but I've never seen it under a thousand in recent years.

From my experience prices do not go down as you approach the date, and they do tend to sell out. I was surprised to find the plane very nearly full in the middle of October.

 

[hepdoll]

Yep, what the others said. $1300 roundtrip seems about as good as you're going to get for that time of year, to me. I paid $1500 for a roundtrip to St Louis at Christmastime last year and I bought it far in advance. I never saw the price get lower as the date got closer and I think it topped out around double what I paid. I paid around $1200 roundtrip to St Louis last month, also well in advance, and I think it went up to around $2500 as the dates approached.

 

[bebero]

That's not bad, I just flew direct to Miami for about that price. I probably waited a little too long to buy the ticket, but I've never seen it under a thousand in recent years.

From my experience prices do not go down as you approach the date, and they do tend to sell out. I was surprised to find the plane very nearly full in the middle of October.

I'm flying to Miami next month and my flight was 550. I went twice before this year and I paid about 900. Right now on despegar you can find hundreds of flights under 1000 (final price).

 

[Crema Americana]

That's a nice website, but I don't really see anything significantly different from what I paid. I only fly direct which limits me to LAN, AA, or AArg. Perhaps I should have been more clear about the route.

I probably could have gotten a slightly better deal if I had bought earlier, but $1200 for a flight seems about standard... especially since it's a long stay and my return date is right around the holidays.

I'd rather pay more and not have to deal with connections and various Latin American airports if I can avoid it. Some of those deals have 24 hours of travel time! (without delays!)

 

[nolonelyplanet]

I'm flying to Miami next month and my flight was 550.

where did you find that? that's pretty cheap

 

[bebero]

super cheap! i got it on despegar in april. i'm flying tam airlines.
i don't mind having a connection in a latin american airport. i don't find them worse than american airports.

 

[citygirl]

Like Eclair, I don't do layovers and usually find my flights to NY or Miami are between 1200 and 1500 USD. Can't remember the last time I paid less than that.

Layovers can certainly reduce the cost but for me, making a long flight even longer + added stress of sitting in an airport + increased risk of flight delays and/or lost bags = not at all worth saving the few hundred dollars.

 

[El Duderino]

Well, I'm going to St. Louis (via Chicago), and it's not possible to get direct flights to St. Louis, or Chicago for that matter!

Thanks for all the input, everyone!