Booking Flight Advice - Christmas to New Years

[ZeonStar]

Pax is an abbreviation for passenger.

Some airlines, some fare types might offer a credit if the fare goes. Rarely offered on basic economy fares. The Covid waivers are gone. A PP gave the impression they are more common then they are.

You can spend 3000-4000 for optimum non stop flights. You can spend 1600 if you're willing to accept connecting flights, with not so great connections.

I see. So were you suggesting I possibly book the tickets for my family separately in your original post? Rather than as one big order? I hope I’m understanding you. Thank you.

 

[chicagodisneyguy]

I see. So were you suggesting I possibly book the tickets for my family separately in your original post? Rather than as one big order? I hope I’m understanding you. Thank you.

I think that is what the poster was suggesting. The only issue with that is if there is a schedule change or you get delayed on the travel day....when being accommodated your party might get split up. ie if you are all on separate record locators (as they call it in the airline business) and your flight gets cancelled...you and your wife could be moved to a SFO-ORD-MCO. You two kids might get moved to a SFO-EWR-MCO. If not booking all four in one go I'd recommend at least making sure each kid is with at least one parent. Airline algorithms seem to default to doing the stupidest options about 100% of the time.

My hubby and I do this all the time...but we have no kids and don't travel at Xmas or super busy times. In your case I wouldn't risk the hassle of being split up.

 

[_19disnA]

I guess my read is somewhat different. I interpret what that other person suggested was to book one-way tickets. For example, let's say Southwest has the best price/time for traveling to MCO, but American has a better choice for the return trip. I am not aware of any advantage to booking each of your 4 travelers on separate reservations. Regardless of what you end up purchasing, I would put all 4 people on the same ticket to avoid any issues if changes have to be made during the flight.

 

[EACarlson]

I wasn't sure how many airlines had direct flight so that's good info to know.

The non-stop thing is only for my wife, who hates to fly. Having to deal with changing plans, take-off and landing again isn't going to make things better. Still though, she does like saving money. So we'll need to weight our options.


Wanted to double back on this. Was $1600 for 4 people? Round trip? I tried to recreate the flight I coudn't find anything that low.

I went to Southwest.com put in your dates and airports and it was there for $384 per person RT. I'm seeing $378 right now connecting through STL and $384 connecting through MDW. Southwest's flights don't show up on aggregators like Priceline or Expedia, which you don't want to use anyway, you want to book directly with the airline.

I guess my read is somewhat different. I interpret what that other person suggested was to book one-way tickets. For example, let's say Southwest has the best price/time for traveling to MCO, but American has a better choice for the return trip. I am not aware of any advantage to booking each of your 4 travelers on separate reservations. Regardless of what you end up purchasing, I would put all 4 people on the same ticket to avoid any issues if changes have to be made during the flight.

No, @Lewisc was advocating for splitting the booking to save some money if there were less than 4 seats in the lowest available fare bucket. It's an advanced strategy that can save some money but also has a lot of headaches possible that I wouldn't recommend for novice travelers like OP. I would agree that you want all 4 on the same PNR or confirmation number to avoid issues if there is a cancellation or IRROPS (Irregular Operations) like those from weather or mechanicals.

 

[ZeonStar]

I went to Southwest.com put in your dates and airports and it was there for $384 per person RT. I'm seeing $378 right now connecting through STL and $384 connecting through MDW. Southwest's flights don't show up on aggregators like Priceline or Expedia, which you don't want to use anyway, you want to book directly with the airline.

Are you certain it was for Round Trip? I see those prices, but they are only for one way. Not to question you or anything, just not seeing what you are.

 

[ZeonStar]

Thanks everyone for the continued advice. It's been really helpful. We do not want to book the flights separate for each passenger, but I still appreciate the idea. I am however completely fine with the idea of booking the flight to and from Orlando separately. Makes sense to do that, really.

 

[EACarlson]

Are you certain it was for Round Trip? I see those prices, but they are only for one way. Not to question you or anything, just not seeing what you are.

You're right, that price is just for the flight on the 26th. I screwed it up. I've been looking at too many legacy airline flights where what it shows for the first leg includes the cheapest flight for the return.

 

[ZeonStar]

You're right, that price is just for the flight on the 26th. I screwed it up. I've been looking at too many legacy airline flights where what it shows for the first leg includes the cheapest flight for the return.

Not a problem. I'm not ready to book yet anyway. But I like knowing what options I can try. So, I still appreciate the help. SW IS cheaper than my other options, but at the moment, based on what flight times would actually work for us to and from there, SW is maybe $500 cheaper. At least at the moment. The best prices I have found RT so far is by having us leave Christmas evening and that brings the total using Alaska to about $3400. Scary expensive!

 

[ZeonStar]

To avoid confusion, a 'direct' flight is one that doesn't require a change of aircraft even if it involves a stop. That is not the same thing as a 'non-stop' flight which goes from your departure city to your destination without any stops along the way.

Just a quick message that I wanted to comment on. I actually did not know about this distinction, so thank you very much for sharing.