HRA: Easter 2013 - Best Check-In Day for Cheap Airfare

[komosatp]

Next year I'm aiming to do Harborside the week after Easter, arriving Harborside on Easter Sunday, or thereabouts. Which check-in day will be best to get the cheapest airfare? (I'll be calling at 8:59 AM at 12 months to book)

And to pay it forward: if you're school break is the week BEFORE Easter, then the Friday before (Good Friday) looks to be the cheapest travel day for airfare....I was following fares for this week (for 2012) in 2011, but then the school system changed when it has spring break in 2013. It used to be the week before Easter, but for 2103 it will be the week after. So I lost the opportunity to follow prices for this period since the system just made this change.

 

[komosatp]

Bump...Anybody?

 

[spencersmama]

Sorry, the only thing more confusing than timeshare exchanges may be airline fee structures! Too many variables to even try to guess. Maybe the people over at flyertalk.com might have a better idea.

 

[komosatp]

Thanks.

I'm hoping for some conventional wisdom, like at Christmas, when traveling *ON* Christmas Day is usually the cheapest. So is there a comparable day for Easter?

 

[ada903]

Usually Fridays and Sundays are pricier to fly than Saturdays - at least for domestic flights - because people who travel for a weekend will fly out on Friday and return on Sunday. So if your trip has a domestic leg, that may make it cheaper to fly on Saturday. But for vacations people prefer Saturday to Saturday check-in, because they only need five workdays off and they get another day at home before returning to work or school. I don't know that would impact Bahamas fares and make it more expensive to fly on Saturday. I would book either Saturday to Saturday or Sunday to Sunday. It is possible that flying Easter Sunday is cheaper because people want to be home with families that day.

Compare the fares for this year to get a clue - check out Easter week fares for 2012.

 

[komosatp]

So the booking window for my trip opened. Here are the opening bids RT DCA->NAS, non stop:

3/29 -> 4/5 (Friday to Friday): $384
3/30 -> 4/6: $398
3/31 -> 4/7: $363

 

[jerseygirl]

Not horrible for a holiday week. Seems to be only about $100 over normal, right?

 

[komosatp]

Not even $100. I haven't had a sub-$300 spring-break trip in more than 5 years.

 

[YYJMSP]

Not even $100. I haven't had a sub-$300 spring-break trip in more than 5 years.

must be nice to be on the east coast...

Fares from our corner of the world to the Bahamas at that time of the year are well over $1,100ea.

If we make our own way across to Seattle, then the prices are only $650ea. Gotta love the "taxes" and "fees" and exorbitant domestic airfare prices within Canada -- essentially $450ea to just get across the border.

All the more reason to collect and use as many points as possible...

 

[Twinkstarr]

So the booking window for my trip opened. Here are the opening bids RT DCA->NAS, non stop:

3/29 -> 4/5 (Friday to Friday): $384
3/30 -> 4/6: $398

Not bad. I would book them, Detroit-NAS is usually $400+ when it opens up. Just looked $600-700 YIKES!

I think we are going to go Thurs-Thurs(great thing with points) a few days in Orlando(debating using DVC or Wyndham) then we have 5 nights in a DVC Vero Beach 3br Beach Cottage.

 

[komosatp]

All the more reason to collect and use as many points as possible...

My fist five or so trips I used miles....but then FF rules were changed and you can't get decent priced miles tickets on Friday, Saturday, or Sunday during the high season.

I think we are going to go Thurs-Thurs(great thing with points) a few days in Orlando(debating using DVC or Wyndham) then we have 5 nights in a DVC Vero Beach 3br Beach Cottage.

Harborside only has check-in days on Friday, Saturday or Sunday, so being flexible like that isn't an option. Maybe during off season you'd be able to book with StarOptions, but I think it's incredibly hard to get HRA during spring break...if possible at all.

 

[Twinkstarr]

My fist five or so trips I used miles....but then FF rules were changed and you can't get decent priced miles tickets on Friday, Saturday, or Sunday during the high season.

Harborside only has check-in days on Friday, Saturday or Sunday, so being flexible like that isn't an option. Maybe during off season you'd be able to book with StarOptions, but I think it's incredibly hard to get HRA during spring break...if possible at all.

I know that's why I tend to use my DVC points for spring break if we don't go skiing at LT. For some reason Detroit-Denver for spring break is usually very well priced for Sunday flights, since LT is Sunday only check in. I've paid under $400pp for flights to Denver(not crack of the am flights and this is on Delta too).

We looked at buying HRA a few years ago, but the ability to get to NAS easily put me off(only direct flight to NAS on Sat from DTW, and that books up right at 331, :hysterical: at trying to use miles).

 

[YYJMSP]

My fist five or so trips I used miles....but then FF rules were changed and you can't get decent priced miles tickets on Friday, Saturday, or Sunday during the high season.

We haven't run in to that exact issue.

Our problem is usually with Aeroplan (AirCanada), we can find flights, but they don't usually offer more than 2 seats in Business Class at a time, and there are 3 of us travelling.

We have better luck with Aeroplan on to another Star Alliance carrier. They don't seem to be as stingy about how many seats are open for points bookings.

So far, not as bad with Economy bookings, just weirder routings sometimes.

Another part of the problem is our location -- we have to fly to one of three hubs (Vancouver, Calgary, or sometimes Toronto) before we can get out the rest of the way, and quite often the planes to these hubs are small, so very few seats available for points bookings.