Airfare to Las Vegas

[STEVIE]

Hi,
Ok, I need your advice.
I posted earlier this week wanting to know what time SouthWest opens for future flights. We have a timeshare reserved in August at the Elara resort in Las Vegas. For about the last month I have been looking at airfare daily on Travelocity and Expedia, and all of a sudden two days ago the prices increased about $150.00 per flight. I was actually expecting the fares to come down. Why the sudden increase? I thought flights to Vegas would be more affordable in August since I have read the temperatures at that time are well over 100! In any event, this is the first time we are visiting Vegas and I am wondering if you all know if prices will come down and if we should wait to reserve our flights. I am now worried if prices will continue to increase and if that is the case I may need to cancel the trip if it becomes too expensive.
Thanks, Sue

 

[Passepartout]

I was not aware you could search for Southwest flights on Expedia or Travelocity. I just use www.Southwest.com Who knew?

Jim

 

[bogey21]

I was not aware you could search for Southwest flights on Expedia or Travelocity. I just use www.Southwest.com Who knew?

I don't think OP was insinuating that SW flights appear on Expedia or Travelocity. The way i read the post is that OP had three somewhat unrelated thoughts (1) When does SW start posting August flights? (2) I have a reservation in LV in August. (3) Cost of flights on Expedia and Travelocity for the period in question have increased. I see no connection between (1) and (3) other than the need to expand the search.

George

 

[STEVIE]

George,
You are exactly right. Maybe I didn't make myself clear at the time I posted.
I am looking for flights to LasVegas in August. I have been watching fares for the last month or two on Travelocity and Expedia. A couple of days ago the price soared by at least $150.00 for each seat. I am still waiting for Southwest to open their dates which should happen by next Monday. I just thought August was considered off season for Vegas and didn't expect the airfare to be so expensive.
Sue

 

[Passepartout]

Ahhh, I was confused. I hadn't shopped SW fares for a while now, and thought something new had happened. I knew they didn't play nice with the booking engines, but maybe that had changed.

Hope you find something you can afford, Sue.

 

[gnipgnop]

Southwest will start posting flights for August starting Feb. 4 th. I am also looking for a flight in August and found this info. On their web page.

 

[Jimster]

fares

I seldom find it advantageous to wait to buy a fare. Many things can happen. Airlines have different fare buckets -each with a different price. When one bucket fills that price is gone. Obviously, the lowest fares fill first. Likewise, as you get closer to the date of departure prices usually go up because you get inside the 14-21 day before departure time limit set by many airlines. SOMETIMES, a day or two before the trip the price will go down to fill the plane or SOMETIMES an airline will run a sale, but dont count on it. If you can get a reasonable fare 6 months out- take it. The risk is too great. If you cant afford the trip 6 months out, look for a different destination. You can also look on Kayak.com and get a sense for how the prices vary. Personally, I want to know how much i am spending as soon as possible. Dont be penny wise and dollar foolish. In the specific case of LAS, remember that is one of the 12 airports in the US with substantial competition from many airlines. Prices never get too high lest they are undercut by another airline. Also I think your perception that the prices should lower in August is probably not true either since LAS is a connecting airport to many smaller airports. Another option is to look for a charter.

 

[PStreet1]

I'm a fan of Kayak.com for keeping track of airfares.

 

[Passepartout]

Spirit flies La Guardia to LAS cheap, but it's really a charter bus with wings. Might be worth checking, though.

Jim

 

[MichaelColey]

There have been several threads (including one recently) about "when is the best time to buy tickets". If your trip isn't until August, I suspect you have plenty of time still to catch a sale. I wouldn't buy airfare that you think is too high right now.

 

[x3 skier]

In my experience, the only time I save a great deal of money is the after Thanksgiving Business Class fares to Europe where the fares drop from over $5000 to less than $2000. Those are worth waiting for.

Saving $100 on a fare while not peanuts, in the context of a week's total vacation costs is a small percentage unless a family or group of more than two is flying. Then it might be something to spend time on chasing. Still, they are just as likely to go up as down. So if you see what you think is a good fare, buy it.

Somewhere in Farecompare.com there is a track of the history of fares between cities. It gives an indication of when fares may drop. OTOH, as the financial firms say, "Past performance is no guarantee of future results".

Cheers

 

[MichaelColey]

Saving $100 on a fare while not peanuts, in the context of a week's total vacation costs is a small percentage unless a family or group of more than two is flying.

It really depends on the family. For us, travel is a significant portion of our vacations. Our timeshare exchanges typically cost us around $250-$400/week, rental cars are typically under $200/week, food is typically comparable to at home so I don't count that, and entertainment varies (often free, to as much as $500/week [like if we get WDW APs and end up going 5 weeks]), but airfare is usually our biggest expense. If we get $200 tickets (which we can often do domestically), that's $1000.

We vacation A LOT, so every dollar counts. While many of our friends probably think we spend a fortune on our trips, some probably spend as much on a one week "once in a lifetime" trip as we spend in a whole year.

 

[STEVIE]

Thanks for all the replys.
Michael,like you, airfare is probably our biggest expense.
We are a family of four, and I was surprised to see the fare increased to almost $600.00 each. This was NOT for nonstop flights and then there is the added fees of checked luggage. I will continue to check prices and wait for Southwest to post for that timeframe.
Sue

 

[amanda14]

Are you tied to Southwest? I am thinking maybe you would fly out of the regional airport in RI? If not, then I would look to Jet Blue. I used to fly SW religiously but they fares from MacArthur on LI made the cattle car experience less palatable PLUS Jet Blue was coming in cheaper WITH parking at a long term lot near JFK. Believe it or not the TV scenario with Jet Blue and 3 kids is a plus even with Ipads, Pods etc. Still cost is usually the driver and Jet blue has been better. We are going to LAS via Jet Blue in late July and it was 257 there and a little more on the return.

 

[Ron98GT]

George,
You are exactly right. Maybe I didn't make myself clear at the time I posted.
I am looking for flights to LasVegas in August. I have been watching fares for the last month or two on Travelocity and Expedia. A couple of days ago the price soared by at least $150.00 for each seat. I am still waiting for Southwest to open their dates which should happen by next Monday. I just thought August was considered off season for Vegas and didn't expect the airfare to be so expensive.
Sue

NOT! We have something here called air conditioning and most of the resorts are known for their swimming pools.

In the summer, including August, the kids are out of school. So most families, like yours, are going to fly to Vegas during the summer.

Another thing about Las Vegas, remember that we have an International Airport, so a lot of connecting flights go thru here.

With most airlines, I get the cheapest flights when they first come out, 9 months out. The only exception I have experience with is Hawaiian Airlines. We fly non-stop to Hawaii from Las Vegas twice a year and the prices drop the closer we get to our flight date. Only problem is that seat availability also drops the closer we get to flight date.

I just did a quick check of Allegiant, Southwest, Cheap Tickets, Kayak, and United. I looked for flights between Hartford and Las Vegas. For reference, I picked the 1st week of August for Southwest and for the others I used the second week of August. By far, United is the cheapest. Cheapest round-trip airfare per person was about $425 with one stop.

Not sure what kind of prices you have seen or have been expecting. Over the last few years, I've found it cheaper to fly with the major carriers than SW.