Is booking airfare in December or January cheaper- going to Hawaii in March?

Question

I have been cking all the travel sites, orbitz, expedia, cheaptickets and several airline sites. Anyway, I noticed the price jump like 25.00 since December 1st hit- anyone know if the prices will drop after the holidays even though my trip is in March? Help- on a budget!

not going during spring break week

Answer 1

March tends to be a little cheaper. December and January the flights and hotels are filled with tourist, so the prices will be higher. Book at least 30 days out. Hawaiian Airlines runs good fares (229.00 round trip from LA to Honolulu). Also try Aloha Airlines. Eventhough you did not mention it, October is also a slow month for them and prices will be cheap then too.

Answer 2

The longer you wait the more it WILL go up. These are based on availability. They are running fewer and fewer flights to encourage people to book in advance. Last min. deals will soon be a distant memory.

Half of the reason the airlines are in trouble is because they didn't realize how many people would wait. You said the price went up. I can tell you it has nothing do with the date of Dec. 1st hitting. It is all based on availability. The more seats that go the higher the price and there is NO way of knowing when it will go up more. You can wait till after Jan sure, but again I would bet good money you WILL pay more and it could be a lot more to.

So book now for best pricing. I respect the fact you are on a budget, but if that is the case if you wait to long you might end up not going if it goes outside your budget further.

Have a Great Time and remember March IS Spring Break!

Answer 3

I travel to/from Hawaii multiple times a year. After the recent earthquake I had to go back to check on damage. Last minute ticket was over $1,000. However there is a Billy Joel concert on Maui around the 17th. As recently as two weeks ago I found tickets to Maui for less than $400 where I would be flying within a month.

The answer depends on the airline. I have seen Hawaiian sell last minute tickets for less than $500. United tends not to. Generally, as noted above the longer you wait the greater the chance seats will be snapped up, fares go up and your choices diminish.

Including Honolulu, tickets from the West Coast that are around $500 - $600 would be the "norm". Something less than that would be a great deal. Over that would be something like ski week or spring break.

Consider buying your ticket BUT continue to monitor the airline's website. If you can find the SAME itinerary for less, call the airline and they will issue you a credit of the difference for future travel anywhere they fly. If prices increase then you did your best.

Aloha