Plane Tickets, is this normal??? (prices changing frequently)

[akdillard]

DH and I decided we would splurge and go back to Vegas this year. Looked at plane tickets through various carriers and decided we would book Delta. Also decided we would book plane tickets and hotel separately rather than using Travelocity again. So, yesterday it was going to be 866 for the two of us to fly out. I go on today and look and it is 1400 for the two of us! I am sure about the numbers from yesterday because I must have checked 100 times because I was so excited! And I have rerun todays a thousand times also.

Is this normal? The prices on Travelocity haven't changed at all. I am in panic mode here because from the looks of it, our trip just went from great to "Can we do this?" HELP!!!

[shoppingfever]

Wait and look again next Monday or Tuesday evening, or late, late in the evening. Prices vary ALL the time. We are constantly looking for tickets to Hawaii and it amazes us by how much it goes up and down, by hundreds of dollars at a time.

[mudechevy]

Have you checked AirTran? They have really good deals but budget service.

[dcofsc]

You might want to clear your cookies before going back to any travel sites including Delta. The same thing happened to me with prices when we were going back to Vegas. I later read that they install cookies and you will get a higher price after a few searches.

[tokanm]

This just happened with my coworker..they were going to St. Martin and she found great
prices on their flights..the next day they had literally doubled :eek:

She now learned if you see a great deal, don't wait jump on it right then

[MandaJo111]

Yep, happens all of the time.

Travelocity offers Fare alerts. You enter in the info and it will notify you when it reaches a certain amount or drops at all (depending what you put in). I still shop around when I get a low rate, but it is nice to be alerted when the price drops. http://travel.travelocity.com/mystuff/RetrieveFareWatcher.do?Service=TRAVELOCITY

[freesia39]

are your dates flexible? moving it up one day or back one day could make a huge difference.

[pottsie66]

Yes, it is normal but INSANE!!!

[alimfp]

Yep, totally normal. I agree about clearing cookies. And look allllll around at different sites to compare prices. Search at different times of the day and different days.

[akdillard]

Thanks everyone. Was wondering if clearing my cookies would work, so I will try. The first fare I found on my work computer, the one tonight was on home, so I will try again tomorrow! Unfortunately our dates aren't flexible as it is for the Saturday after Thanksgiving (hopefully I still have money left after Black Friday;)) I will try all the suggestions tomorrow! Thanks again!

[figarotigger]

Definitely clear out the cookies and try again. United Airlines is another one that raises the prices when you search again for the same days. I've found by clearing the cookies or using a different computer, I get the low or even lower fares back on the SAME DAY that I had the first time. If I do not clear cookies on United, the fares are AlWAYS higher. I have not had this problem with Southwest or US Airways. only United. I'll keep it in mind if I travel somewhere using Delta.
Have you checked Expedia?, sometimes I get different results with them than Travelocity. I also always check the same flights as the travel services directly with the airlines websites and sometimes find a cheaper flight.
Don't despair, the advice about Tuesdays does hold true for most airlines.

Just saw you were booking 5 months out!!!!!! Even for that weekend it is early for sales.

[onecutemoocow]

Im a travel agent and I have had the prices go up while booking an airline ticket. Told the customer one price but by the time I enter in all the info (less than 5 minutes) the price goes up and some times by 100's!

[jerseygirl]

chnges in an hour - I found a great airfair but need to get dinner going, etc. So I came back to the PC just 1.5hrs later and it went up $130. In the past I've had my flight close out while booking....grrrr

[akdillard]

I checked this morning and prices are still sky high, but Travelocity is still about the same. The price on Delta's website for 2 tickets is actually higher than the price of the same two tickets and hotel for 5 nights on Travelocity. I just really wanted to book separately because I had issues with Travelocity last time.

And i know it really is far from now, but I am so....anal I guess. I am the exact opposite of a procrastinater...I need it done NOW! Ha ha

[MandaJo111]

I checked this morning and prices are still sky high, but Travelocity is still about the same. The price on Delta's website for 2 tickets is actually higher than the price of the same two tickets and hotel for 5 nights on Travelocity. I just really wanted to book separately because I had issues with Travelocity last time.

And i know it really is far from now, but I am so....anal I guess. I am the exact opposite of a procrastinater...I need it done NOW! Ha ha

You are not alone. I am dying to book my trip for October, but DH doesn't know what time frame he will be able to take off. We are basically planning a family reunion for my side of the family and a smaller type reunion for his side around that so I want to hurry and book the cabins and the hotels along the way.

[AndreaInNC]

Did you try and see what the prices are with Delta Vacations? Airlines will discount their airfares when you purchase a package program. Go directly thru the airlines websites to get to their vacation packages.

[Jenh1973]

I just booked an international flight on Monday with a travel agent. He told me as of Tuesday there was going to be a $140 fuel tax surcharge by all flights coming in & out of the U.S. I've used this travel agent before, so I don't think he was telling me just to get my business.

[lbuzz52]

You might want to clear your cookies before going back to any travel sites including Delta. The same thing happened to me with prices when we were going back to Vegas. I later read that they install cookies and you will get a higher price after a few searches.

i recently booked a trip from vegas. i booked thru nwa vacations, but researched on many sites.
i checked every day, and from multiple computers. there was an occasion that the price was 200 more on my parents computer as the same time i was checking on my home computer- i had checked on there computer the day before, but had not checked on mine before. i checked for a few days straight, and found that they went up a bit daily and finally dropped about 150 and i snagged it. immediately after i did, the prices went back up a couple hundred bucks becuase of "seat availability" . i was checking about 3 weeks before departure. but for me, it ended up being 1-2 hundred cheaper to book as a package.
also, many of the hotels were offering free slot play- but they didn't really make it clear on the reservation sites that these were bonuses for new sign ups and not current members.
have fun!

[akdillard]

I just booked an international flight on Monday with a travel agent. He told me as of Tuesday there was going to be a $140 fuel tax surcharge by all flights coming in & out of the U.S. I've used this travel agent before, so I don't think he was telling me just to get my business.

See and this is my concern, that it will just get worse than it already is. But luckily I am not going out of country!

Checked Delta's vacations section. It was SO expensive. I am just going to keep looking!

[kranky]

Also check flights from other airports near you. Might be able to save a lot just by driving a couple hours to a different airport.

[w1df10wr]

The last two years, I looked through all the different sites for 6 weeks and Wednesday night always had the lowest prices. There was a travel website that had suggested that would be the best time.