Booking the same flight

[slip]

I'm going to Hawaii on 2-14-12 to 2-29-12, already bought my tickets. My DD
is going with but she's only staying for a week. She'll return 2-22-12. She has
her tickets already and is on the same flights as us on the way to Hawaii. She'll
be returning by herself.

My son couldn't go with because he didn't want to take all his vacation from
work in February and have a long rest of the year with no vacation left. Last week
his boss asked him if he would take a seasonal layoff for the month of January. He
said no but was willing to do it for the month of February. That way he can go
with us and still have all his vacation. They told him they couldn't tell him now
but when they get closer to February, probably the 3rd or 4th week of January
they would let him know.

My question is, will I be able to book the same flights we have that close to the
departure date? Do they ever just fill up and they don't sell any more
Tickets? Luckily, at 22 he has a level head and has a nice amount of money
saved in the bank. He bought his own house at 19 and the layoff will not hurt him
financially. His company has a slow time every year from January to April. This is the first time
he's had a chance at taking the layoff.

This would also be the first time he's ever flown and obliviously it would be
nice if we could all fly together.

 

[Passepartout]

Go to the airline's site and see if there are available seats and if so, book one for him. Of course they sell out and don't sell more, but usually the airlines sell more than they have seats for- it's called overbooking and happens all the time. That would probably work better than asking here.

Good Luck. You are still 6 weeks before departure but I wouldn't dilly dally too long.

Jim

 

[slip]

They do have seats left but the tickets are about $1,000 and of course if he
finds out in 3 week's he can't go he would be out $1,000.

 

[Paumavista]

I'd take the chance

and wait to book the ticket. You don't need the "unused" ticket if he can't go and even if that flight is totally booked (I'd be surprised it's booked completely 2 weeks before departure) - the ticket may cost more....but heck there is even the chance the ticket price will be less.......and IF the flight is totally booked it's not the ONLY flight and it sounds like he'll have plenty of flexibility given all that free time to find a different flight arriving around the same time/date.
Have a great trip....hope everyone can make it!!
Judy

 

[isisdave]

Why do you need the same flight? I'd just put an ongoing search on one of the websites that do that, and if something reasonable pops up +/- 1 day, you can consider it.

 

[Passepartout]

Seems like if you HAVE to have a particular flight, whether for business on short notice or for pleasure to a vacation site, the airlines know it and price accordingly. I've noticed going to certain Mexican (resort) cities that the Fri/Sat flights that coincide with vacation move-in/out days are more expensive than other days. Our Mazatlan vaca next Spring moves in on a Thursday and the flights are over a hundred $ cheaper than Friday. It pays to shop the flights as well as the resort.

Jim

 

[slip]

Thanks for all the replies. It doesn't have to be the same flight but obviously it
would be nice to all fly together and this will be his first flight so it would be
better to be with him instead of him being by himself.

I think we will wait and if he can go we'll hope there's still tickets for our flights.
If not then he'll have to go solo.

 

[BevL]

Personally I'd wait. I mean, I understand it's nice to fly together but he's 22 years old and sounds like a fairly mature person. Presumably he's going to have to take a flight without you at some point and I wouldn't be willing to pay out money for a non-refundable ticket I might not be able to use.

 

[MabelP]

Hi!
You may even want to try Priceline.

 

[Talent312]

I took my first flight alone at about that age.
The flight was only half full, and a pretty attendant gave me a lot of attention.
She also plied me with a few free drinks of liquor. It was a fun flight.

If he schedules his flight to arrive after yours, you can help him with his bags.

Seriously, the closer to flight time, the higher the prices will be 'cuz generally, its business travellers with large expense accounts that book in the last few weeks. IMHO, his should get the best price he can now, and if he can't go, cancel and pay the outrageous change fee to have the ticket rewritten for a time a when he can.

 

[slip]

He would probably rather to go alone if he gets the pretty flight attendant.
I've been watching the prices for the last 2 months and right now they are about
$50 cheaper that what we paid. It's always been cheaper on Tuesday and
Wednesday. I'll see what happens in a couple of weeks. Right now he's not
worried if it costs him an extra couple of hundred but of coarse he would rather
not pay more. He'll just be super happy if he could go.

 

[x3 skier]

Took my first flight by myself @ 13. It is not as though it is a trip to Antartica in a Whale Boat.

If you buy a ticket and can't use it, you would get a credit to use later, usually with a rebooking fee. So you might loose $150 or so if the son does not make the trip.

Cheers

 

[T_R_Oglodyte]

Your travel dates (Feb 14 and 29) are mid-week, not weekend. I would say there's an excellent that the flights will not sell out, since the weekends are the peak travel days for Hawaii. Even if either or both of your specific flights sell out there almost certainly will be availability within one or two days, so he can catch up with you.

Also what happens as the flight gets closer is the airline will close out the lower priced fares. What that means is that often the only remaining fares are for fully refundable tickets. Keep checking fares, and if it reaches that point on your flights you might as well go ahead and buy the tickets if it reaches a point where only refundable fares are left.