Is anyone experiencing how crazy insane they are? For us it went up $200/person! That's a chunk of change.
Flying out of Philadelphia, Newark went up $600/person!!!!
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Is anyone experiencing how crazy insane they are? For us it went up $200/person! That's a chunk of change.
Flying out of Philadelphia, Newark went up $600/person!!!!
Yup. The ridiculous fares for PHL to MBJ have caused us to plan our winter vacation elsewhere. Last winter, American Airlines had some competition from Frontier, who had great fares. This year, Frontier cancelled the PHL-MBJ route, to my disappointment. With a monopoly on direct flights, AA can charge whatever they want. We're hoping to return to Negril during the slow season when the lower hotel rates will offset the high airfare.Quote:
Originally Posted by jan24
I wish Southwest would step-up and offer direct flights from Philly to MBJ. I know they have direct flights from BWI, but the 2 hour drive is not worth the savings to me as we live only 20 minutes from Philly airport.
Yikes, I just took a look at AA prices from Philly and they have skyrocketed. It was $440 for our November trip and now is about $615. Southwest has been running some ads on Philly TV, but they don't state what airport they fly from.
Regards,
Bob
In theory, you can fly Southwest from Philly to MBJ but you have to change planes in Chicago Midway or Orlando. What should be a 3 1/2 hour direct flight becomes 6+ hours. I realize a lot of travelers from the west coast and Canada have to change planes as a matter of course, but I guess I have been spoiled by the direct flights from the east coast. Plus, we have had some bad experiences with planes missing connections and getting stuck overnight.
I know it's a bit of a drive, but have you considered flying out of Baltimore. SW flies direct to Mobay from there.Quote:
Originally Posted by jan24
Non stop out of Charlotte was $705.00 in Feb. 2017, Ouch!! The only way to compensate for the pain was that we had enough air miles to pay for one ticket!
i was just looking ....i can fly.>> from up here for around 600.00...hmmm:( one stop in TO
That's crazy, I just checked and I can find fares from Detroit in Feb for under $400rt, closer to $500 in March. A lot of those connect in Charlotte (the worst airport in eastern US).
doesn't make sense , but I am sure glad , we can fly from Boondock , Maine , round trip , as cheap as anywhere north of Atlanta . around 400. again this Feb.
Great news pine tree john.....enjoy it while it lasts. Mike_D and never2many, thanks for the advice. We can save $400 total by flying out of Baltimore + 100 in luggage fees that we will not have to pay(southwest allows 2 free) + we will save about 100 in a parking if we INSTEAD just rent a room for about 120 at a park and fly hotel in Baltimore. We are considering it, the only bad part will be the weather???!!! It will be 3 hrs instead of 1 1/2, but worth it. We also are spoiled with the nonstop flight.
Thanks everyone for your input
I used to live in Baltimore and was fortunate to be able to fly out of BWI, PHL, IAD, or IAD depending on the cost. Now I'm closer to DC but would drive to Philly if the airfare/flight times were worth it. Fortunately flying to JA we can leave out of BWI, but I've done quite a few to Europe out of PHL!
Curious why the disdain for CLT? I think it is a great airport, easy to navigate and have never been delayed or had an issue at customs/immigration. My only issue is the crappy old US Airways metal that flies my way....... I just checked my dates for my next trip and I can do jetBlue for $460 RT LAX-MBJ, and with 34" of pitch this is a great value. AA is $600 RT, which is a bit high for an economy seat.Quote:
Originally Posted by TAH
Our group of is flying Southwest from Chicago Midway, Milwaukee and Orlando ............ all of these flights have had the prices go down on various sales .......... SW has no extra charges to change fares ............... we watch prices almost everyday and when it drops we call them for an adjustment.
The group flying out of MKE has saved over $500 per couple by just watching airfares. Us out of Orlando have saved over $200 per couple.
I have been watching air for 8 months and it just keeps going up out of Phila and newark.:(
Check different days of the week, I saved $1,600- on (4) tickets out of Mpls NS by flying Sunday VS Saturday.Quote:
Originally Posted by jan24
I booked my plane tix in sept from jfk-mbj roundtrip was $900 and change.
Wow $900+ RT JFK / MoBay??? That is expensive... Coach Class for 1 person? How much advanced purchase?? Jet Blue I have seen NYC - MoBay R/T for between $300 (low end) to $600 (high end) in Coach with 2 weeks and out purchase. Is your fare for travel during the Christmas holidays??
We have never had any problems with anything flying out of Charlotte except the prices.Hovering on and just above $700.00 pp,rt,sucks!!
We are flying from Boston in Feb through CLT and the tickets were $500 (purchased in Aug.) . I just checked to see if my sis in law can join us and same flights are $1200!
We have made a few connections through CLT (not to MBJ) and never had a problem. It's actually a nice airport and a manageable size if you have to run from one terminal to another.
Like Philly, CLT is a former US Airways hub so you are now stuck with AA for most of the flights. I have been watching the airfares as well, and have noticed they seem to be increasing. What's interesting, however, is direct flights from PHL to Cancun are now very cheap (in the low $300's, which is competitive with the low-cost airlines). Wonder why these flights are roughly half the price of MBJ flights for a trip that is a similar travel distance. Is the demand that low?
I think it's because the demand for flights to MBJ are SO high
...no need to run any kind of sales ...
those planes will fill up no matter what kind of crazy prices they are asking
As to Charlotte airport, it's fine as long as you don't have delays. If by some chance you get stuck there overnight, it is the worst. The entire food court shuts down at (I think) 10pm, and remains closed until 6am. Once you go through security, you are stuck. I happened to us last year coming back from the USVI's, and was the single worst airport experience we have ever had. There is no comfortable place to relax, I ended up sleeping on the tile/concrete floor for six hours of the 12 hours that we were stuck there. It was not an enjoyable experience, to say the least. Otherwise, yeah it's okay as far as being manageable size.
Wow...that's crazy. Just booked a few weeks ago out on JFK< non-stop $335 RT. Think the prices were similar out of Newark. If I remember Philly was always a bad airport. Haven't been stuck there for awhile - maybe thinks have improved
Amerikanskis,
We're flying round trip from Ithaca, NY for free! Get a Capital 1 Venture card and charge everything you pay for every month and accumulate 2 miles for every $1 US spent. Doesn't matter where you spend your $'s, 2 miles for each and every one. You'll be amazed how fast you rack 'em up. Also, Sign up for an American Airlines credit card on your flight home and they will deposit 50,000 miles in your miles account if you spend $3,000 in the first 3 months. Then go back to your Cap1 card. After a year w/o fee on the AA card, cancel it when the renewal fee comes due. We must fight back comrades! --Marblehead
Quote:
Originally Posted by Marblehead
Sounds like I may need to check into this. Thanks for the info!
You can make the adjustment yourself online, too.Quote:
Originally Posted by Captain Oil
The only way to do it.... It is amazing how fast you can rack up miles/points if you have a little knowledge. You can also purchase points at times that cut your cost way down. Some folks see that minimum spend requirements as unattainable, however services exist that you can pay a small fee to use where you can pay your rent/mortgage, etc. Fly first class for sub coach prices......Quote:
Originally Posted by Marblehead
Yup, I've been using the AA Mastercard for quite some time and the US Airways card before that (when they switched from USAir to AA, the benefits got crappier and the fees higher, but that's another discussion). Problem is, with higher airfares you need more miles to purchase those same flights. From my home airport, flights to MBJ are now at least 40,000 miles. It can take me quite a bit of time to rack-up that kind of mileage in credit card purchases. I have been meaning to check out the Capital 1 Venture card, but I was skeptical about how well their miles/points would work on AA flights. Thanks Marblehead & Booger for confirming that it works as advertised.
The AA card I have is the Aviator Red (Barclay Bank). I will likely cancel that card before they hit me with another annual fee and sign up for their Citi/AAdvantage card. That way, I can snag the 50,000 miles as Marblehead said. It seems AA is pushing their customers to that card, anyway.
This year we signed up for a Chase Sapphire Reserve card which came with 100,000 points after $4000 purchase in the first 4 months. Plus it came with lots of other travel benefits - airport lounge access (incl Club Mobay), travel insurance (incl med evac), lost/delayed baggage reimbursement, and more... It has a $450 annual fee, but you get $300 back for any travel expenses you charge to it. I booked the lodging for our upcoming Ja trip with it and the $300 was refunded automatically :) We always fly with miles/points and rarely ever pay for flights - other than the taxes and fees - it's the best! And cheers to Southwest Airlines!
I don't know where you are checking for prices, but there are many flights available in January for under $300.
$278 is the best I found. Always check Matrix Travel for the best prices.
That is true for many airports but not for Philly. Plug PHL to MBJ into matrix (or Google flights for that matter. same database; cleaner interface), then select "nonstop" flights. you will not find anything under $600 until you get to the end of February.Quote:
Originally Posted by Irie John
There is no mention of "non-stop flights" in the original post. I was replying
to the OP comments.
Your are right, the OP did not mention nonstop flights. As I had been monitoring prices from the same airports I assumed that airfares the OP mentioned were for nonstop flights. They are consistent with nonstop fares that I and others have found.
I often get sucked into to the low fares that pop-up on Matrix. Until I realize that the 1 stop flight is actually 8+ hour trip. For me, it's hard to justify the savings when I could be in Jamaica in less than half the time without the hassle of changing planes. Looks like all those cheap flights are JetBlue flights with long (4+ hour) layovers. The same is true for Southwest (which doesn't come up on Matrix or Google flights).
Mike_D wrote, "I have been meaning to check out the Capital 1 Venture card, but I was skeptical about how well their miles/points would work on AA flights." The Cap1 Venture miles are agnostic. You can cash them out, buy stuff or book travel anytime, anywhere - no blackout dates. I can't remember how many points we had to use, but I do remember that it was less than what AA required and our preferred return date was unavailable. The Chase Saphire is a good choice if you travel a lot. You can find reviews and recommendations online - Best Rewards Card.
Here is what we did: Got an offer from Southwest for 50000 points if we get their credit card and spend 2 grand in first 3 months. Got it and charged our room on it. Now flight from MDW to MBJ is about $180.00 for both of us. May have to try AA or Delta next time.
Outstanding card. I also like the Citi Prestige which pays for the 4th night. Great for a split stay in Negril where you can stay 8 nights and pay for six with two 4 night stays. No limit on the rate either, so you can stay at the Caves if you want, and you can also take advantage of any published rate on their site. So if they offer a 5th night free, and you get the 4th night reimbursed, you can stay for 5 and pay for 3. You just have to use the Citi concierge to book it.Quote:
Originally Posted by Marblehead
Okay I'm sold on this. That's awesome.Quote:
Originally Posted by booger
Hi guys, I used to work at itasoftware.com, aka the people behind matrix....they have the best info in the industry...even though they are now google. If you need help finding a fare pm me, and I'll see what I can dig up, just know when dealing with airfare, the direct route might not be the best route. Stay safe. Heading down in a bit to catch a few days off. Heya Rob and the boardies I know, Merry Christmas :)
matrix.itasoftware.com, you cant book through there, but they will point you to the cheap flights.
Are you from Marblehead, MA? I think I'm gonna do a LAS->BOS->MBJ for April I am from Lynn, MA