Air Fare Just Doubled!!

As some of you know, we are booked (actually re-booked) and already have tickets for J&E in 2021, but are hoping space opens up on a different departure that year, so we can switch.

Delta's 330 day booking window for the alternate departure opened up two weeks ago, so I have been following fares. When I just checked I discovered the business fare is now DOUBLE what it was last night!! (it is now $7400 per person!! ) :o

If it doesn't go back down, we may keep the departure and flights we have- I'm not paying that!!! It could be an error, but I won't know for awhile. The price spread between non-refundable (what we always get) and refundable tickets is less than usual, which makes me think there is a glitch. In these crazy times, who knows?

Comments

  • AlanS - That is literally a case of You Snooze, You Lose. You went to bed, then woke up and the price had doubled. A veteran traveller like yourself knows that airfares can change every few hours, certainly everyday. When you get a fare that falls within your acceptable parameters you have to leap and then never look again (unless you want to driver yourself crazy).

  • edited May 2020

    Not a case of snoozing, hands tied, just sitting here helplessly watching the good fares disappear. It was a no-win situation- since we are only on the waitlist (no confirmed spots) for the alternate date, there is absolutely no way I would book flights for it! I've taken chances in the past, but not like that!

  • I have used Google Flights in the past and it has worked fairly well. You can save various itineraries and get an email notification when fares change.

  • AlanS - in the past, I've watched fares for a while before booking. In my experience biz class tends to be more stable, but it will jump for a few days to a few weeks then go back to where it was. Just keep watching it.

  • In our experience oVer the years, every time you look at the same flights, the fares go up. The system recognizes your email and knows you will eventually want to book

  • THat's why it's best to use a search engine like google flights or kayak to do your research. If you want to use a specific airline's web site, open a private browsing window and don't sign in.

  • edited May 2020

    JohnS
    7:06PM

    I have used Google Flights in the past and it has worked fairly well. You can save various itineraries and get an email notification when fares change.

    I've looked at Google Flights, too, but find it doesn't meet my needs. If I book Delta flights, which I do almost all the time, I'm doing it with Delta not with any of the discount outfits or consolidators. Many of the discount sites are owned by the same outfit, e.g. Travelocity, CarRentals.com, Expedia.com, HomeAway, Hotels.com, Hotwire.com, Orbitz, Travelocity, trivago and Vrbo are all travel fare integrators owned by the Expedia Group. (At one time they also owned TripAdvisor!)

    In my particular case, I have been tracking a limited number of flight combinations on the Delta website, so I don't need a search engine or integrator. It should be interesting to see if and when the fare comes back down. In the past there has not been a lot of fluctuation in Delta's business class fares, other that a steady increase as the departure date approaches- which is when you can typically see a fare that is double what it was at the start of the 330 day window.

    This is all an academic exercise anyway if we don't get off the waitlist for our preferred alternate departure. I just want to be ready especially since I just learned, at least in one specific case, that we may have only two days to make a decision once we are offered spots on our alternate tour departure.

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