Another first-person story from an anonymous traveler, who paid too much. “I should have known better,” she admits – but, we’re all human, we all make errors. Learn from hers!
Yes, even before I saw Rick’s post on “Top 5 Tips to Get the Cheapest Airfare this Spring and Summer” – I knew that procrastinating was stupid. Really I did. Unfortunately, nobody put a gun to my head and said “get your ticket today”, and so I let it slide.
Big mistake.
Make that, two big mistakes. For some reason, I decided that this weekend event I had to attend in the Midwest required me to fly out on a Friday and return on Sunday. I could’ve gotten an extra day or two off, but nooooo. It didn’t occur to me to ask.
With the result that I made reservations on the two most expensive days to fly (well, they usually are) plus, I waited until just a couple of weeks before departure to book the tickets. Idiot. Somehow I forgot that there are fewer flights these days, and that other people might possibly want to travel when I want to travel.
Anyway, I’ve flown this route numerous times for $300 (and occasionally for a lot less). But I paid $500. On Southwest. You should have seen what the other airlines were asking.
I better have a real good time on this trip, that’s all I can say. Oh, I can also say, read Rick’s tips – and follow them. Seriously.
Hi Rick, need help with 5 r/t from NYC to ATH dep 5 jul ret 19jul .Please help me check fare over 1,000 r/t fares for July. Thank you.
Liz,
Unfortunately, there’s no magic that can make the current realities disappear, and I’m afraid prices are creeping up for transatlantic flights. Bottom line: prices are firm (look for $1000+ roundtrip to Europe this summer); and any sales will likely be few and far between and of short duration.
Do as I did – go to FareCompare at http://www.farecompare.com/ – where you can quickly and easily compare with other sites, just so you can be confident – and you’ll see what I saw: roundtrip fares for NYC-ATH are $1200+ roundtrip, for all of July.
Hope this helps,
Rick
Hi Rick,
My hubby and I are taking a cruise from San Juan, PR in August of this year. We hope to fly out there from LAX on Aug 21st and return on Aug 29th. I haven’t purchased tickets yet – hoping to see airfare drop BUT I know I shouldn’t wait too long. I also know these travel days (sat/sun) are not ideal but we have small children that we are leaving behind so every day counts for us.
In your opinion, how long CAN I “wait it out” for the travel dates I mentioned?
Dee