"Topic Of The Week" Dealing With Airline Ticket Prices"

[Steve]

This weeks "Topic Of The Week" question is:


"How are increased airline ticket prices affecting your trips to LV? " And "Are there any tips that you might have in order to find the best deals?"

[Boston_Bill]

This weeks "Topic Of The Week" question is:


"How are increased airline ticket prices affecting your trips to LV? " And "Are there any tips that you might have in order to find the best deals?"

Im probably staying home this year but its also partly because of the lousy 12 months Ive had. Last year I booked months in advance and it annoys me that airlines dont offer last minute deals.

[pdJY]

Check out DING! (http://www.southwest.com/ding/) from Southwest Airlines. You download a small application to your PC and when specials popup, you'll get a small envelope on the DING! icon next to your clock. Beware that these specials only last for hours, so you'll have to move quick.

Also, check out DealDetector (www.orbitz.com/App/InitDealEdit) from Orbitz where you input the details of your trip and the desired price, if a fare matches, Orbitz will send you an email.

[monorail41]

Airline prices from Midwest to Vegas have doubled in one year. We are taking fewer Vegas trips and more local trips to local casinos. With Vegas getting tighter and higher priced, might as well not pay airfare to lose our $. I watch kayak.com for cheapest prices by cities I select. You can ask for daily or weekly updates.
Shirley

[Sherry]

I don't have any clues how to get the best deal. I live in Battle Creek, MI so the closest airport is Grand Rapids. We always go to Vegas every October so I start checking in May for airfares so I wait, check, wait, check until I think the right fare has come along. Night flying is the cheapest. I booked a flight for 2 out of GR, non stop, leaving at 9PM arriving in Vegas 10:05 for $229. each. Returning on a red eye flight. I feel this is a very reasonable price. Prices since have gone up. I used hotwire.com

[madrejulie]

I ALWAYS just go with a package (from buffalo ny).

[VivaLasVegas]

Great topic Steve.

It is getting more expensive each year to fly to Vegas and the folks who have the hotels in LV will have to ease the pain by keeping the room rates in line and perhaps think about paying out a bit more to bring folks to Vegas.

We live in the Toronto area and get our flights out of Buffalo (2 hours away) saving some $200 per person in doing so but all flights are connecting flights to offset the cost.

With the Canuck buck getting closer to USA greenback it is helping with our tourist dollar as well. (does hell for the rest of the economy but not bad for southbound travel).

VLV (now under 3 months til Vegas)!!!

[dashiloh]

It was very frustrating to plan a trip for Las Vegas this year..we are very flexible and can go anytime...the cost of vacation packages doubled in some cases...sites offered good prices but the times to fly were really whacked out..We also have frequent flyer miles and every date I put in there were no seats available, but if you called and were willing to pay full price there were seats galore...I think we will only be able to make one trip this year

[togabill]

Still paying the same from Albany, NY to LV. I'm leaving in 2 weeks and bought the tickets 2 months ago. I'm sure they've gone up since. We only fly Southwest as they are the only airline out of Albany that is non stop. I have no idea of other prices. I do know that in 2003 Southwest locked in their gas prices for 5 years so maybe thats why they haven't really gone up in price much yet.
We will also be going out in Sept and I did see the price did go up to 124 from 99 - still not bad.

[neil]

Greetings All. I'm just blown away by the doubling of prices from the Northeast. I used to be able to get out of Hartford, CT. for $200-220 RT. Now, it's $400!! I know fuel costs have gone up, but not that inCRIMEntally. I used to average 4-5 times a yr. Now, I will NOT go unless I get an airfare below $220. I did get a $220 fare for 7/1-5/06, but the first day I don't get in until 10:30p local, & I leave on a red eye. Like most, I won't make the trip if airfares stay this high. Maybe Las Vegas needs to see how much it's supported by the non surrounding states. The casinoes should be subsidizing the airfares-but then again, the hotel fares should be cheaper too! The fools who are paying $ 150/night are spoiling it for the rest of us! Thanks for letting me vent. Neil Fahey

[nchikk]

I have found the best airfares are offered for travel on Tuesday, Wednesday and Saturday, especially if you book at least 21 days in advance. That's not to say you can't find a deal on other days.

I also check a lot of websites like Southwest.com, Expedia and Travelocity for fares and keep checking them every few days.

The best deals on airfares I have come across have been either with Southwest of one of the others IF it involves a red-eye coming back east.

[Steve]

We do have some great travel links at this site. I have really seen some great offers.

Since I do get my rooms for almost no charge, I only need to worry about airfare. I have used my Credit Card mileage for many free tickets. (It's funny how American Airlines never has any 25,000 miles award fares whenever I am looking to use my mileage points)

Prices on Orbitz, Travelocity, Priceline and at the airlines sites themsleves can fluctuate from day to day so I just go back and forth for a week or so and I chose the one that will benefit me the most relying on schedueling more than pricing. I did get a great deal from Southwest for my solo trip and I booked it only 10 days before I left.

Steve

[sonntex]

We're still going as much as ever, but it is getting tight.

Booked a flight on AWA on May 20 for a stay June 30 thru July 2. Leaving DFW at 10:15 pm and returning from LV at 10:50 pm. Even with these late flights it is costing us $557.20 for two tickets.

Booked a flight on April 4 for a trip for daughter and me for a stay from June 26 thru June 29. Leaving DFW on AWA at 10:15 PM and returning from LV at 12:42 pm. Total cost $517.20.

Booked a third flight on May 5 for a stay August 19 thru August 22. Leaving DFW on AWA at 10:19 pm and returning from LV August 22 at 10:50 pm. Total cost $263.60 because I used frequent flyer miles for my ticket.

This may be our last trip for a while. Have been looking at airfare for December and it is terrible. If we don't win a good bit on one of these trips our LV fund will be too low to book any of the high fares. We'll have to start saving again to build up funds.

Trips we were taking 2 years ago were about $370 total for 2.

When I book a flight I go to Orbitz and find the cheapest flight for the time we want to go then go the airline website and book the flight. Saves only about $20, but $20 is $20.

We have been frequenting the riverboats in Shreveport/Bossier City more the past year. It is a 3 hour drive for us, but we can get there and back on about $40 in gas.

At some point the LV casinos will have to start making deals with the airlines or travel agencies. Maybe one of them will buy their own airline. I'm betting on Harrahs.

[thegreek]

It will cut trips from 7 trips to 5 trips (retired) and will forget the increase. Rooms, Food, Shows, Rent-a-car, as well as Air has increased. I know prices need to increase across the board but wages and pension checks have not and will just cut back a little. Just last week gas $3.19 in Las vegas use to paying $289--$2.91at home. This cut out a few road trips. :mad:

[whobeme]

We fly out of Philly, always on US-Air, always early morning out and afternoon return, direct flights are a must, which I know sounds a bit over the top but it's the only way I could survive the flight. We go Sept/Oct for 7 nights, this year we booked Oct 1st. airfare has been over $800pp, the most we ever paid is $250pp, every week in the travel section of the paper it list round trip at about $220pp, I'm thinking I'm still to far out so I'm just keep checking every Tues and Sat. We got Paris comped for the entire trip so we're going no matter what but I just can't see paying double, I need that money for the slots.

[thegreek]

Frequent Flyer miles are mostly a joke--try to get two tickets and try to come close to your times out of the question. They can get you there and not back---then the dates you want or within a week are not offered. Airlines need to get ahold of things and not award soemthing that in most cases is useless. Next will be the increase from 25,000 miles to 35,000/40,000miles in a heartbeat and this is coming without doubt. American is he worst. :mad:

[Mulberryflash56]

Everything has gone up in price, to include airline cost....SWA is your best bet. Unfortunately, not all regions are served by this icon...Since I live ten minutes north of Orlando, I can take advantage of the fares that SWA offers for most major cities, except Atlanta. Matter of fact, I am off to Vegas next month for a week. My wife and I are receiving four nights comped by HARRAHS (two @BALLYS & two @ the mothership). We will spend the weekend in San Diego. I found cheap tickets (roundtrip) on SWA to San Diego (flying out of Vegas). I would have driven our rental car, but with gas prices high as a kite, it is more economical to fly with SWA and renting in San Diego a compact car from Budget for three days at a total cost of $32. If you work smart and make plans early, Vegas is still affordable and even more. Gene:)

[sandlind]

I Always Go With The 'red-eye' . It's Cheaper. I Book 6 Months In Advance And Look Weekly At Flights. A Package Is Not Always Cheaper. If The Flight Is More Expensive, Find An Off The Strip Hotel. It Will Be Cheaper, And You Can Even It Out That Way.

[Mr.C]

I have used Travelzoo.com, Travelworm, and Southwestair in the past. However. with today's situations, who knows? I will continue to travel ,and cut back where I can on every thing else!!

[thedude]

I use America West, they have a great fare finder that allows you to go 3 days forward or back, Southwest and Allegiant Air which serves smaller cities in the midwest and west to Las Vegas. Frontier Airlines also has good deals if you subscribe to their weekend fares, they will send you specials during the week. Seats on all airlines are tight

[weather]

Try www.allegiantair.com. They don't service all areas but we can fly for as low as $196.00 return and the big airlines charge us around $400.00. Used them for over 2 years and their service & planes are great.

[Tweeets]

I ALWAYS just go with a package (from buffalo ny).

We used to go with a package from Buffalo because none of the airlines offered a non stop flight to LV. However since Southwest started flying a direct flight out of Buffalo, in 2000, we find we can do better by booking air and hotel separately. Up until last year we were able to get a flight for under $200. Who knows what their new rates will be.
We also like the idea of canceling or changing reservations w/o any fees or penalties. The thing with Southwest is that they usually only post rates five months in advance, so you have to check often to get the best rates.

[Kaytieeldr]

When Allegiant started flying from Portsmouth to Orlando/Sanford, they said if there was enough interest they'd consider a Portsmouth>Las Vegas route. C'mon folks - I wrote my letter, let's everybody give it a shot! :teeth:

In response to TOTW - well, I wanted to go in November, but if the fares stay this high, it's going to cut back on ALL my travel. Looks like Amtrak to Washington DC again this year!

[Marla Chi-to-Houston]

My trips have definitely been cut, since I moved to Houston. Always got great deals in Chicago out of Midway either on ATA or SW. Now, I've been using SW out of Houston, have to take earliest flight out, and red-eye back to get under $220.00 . Except this trip hubby booked for me in July, and my return stops in Phoenix, then Houston, all of that to save $10.00! I've always flown non-stop, and always booked my own, but I think he just wanted me gone, since I'm limited to once or twice a year, rather than the usual 3-5 times in a good year!

[shamrock77]

Last week I booked a flight from Boston to LV with Jet Blue for $ 318, then last night noticed the same flights were now $ 70 less. Called JB and they gave me $ 70 voucher towards a future flight (good for one year). This is the second time I have booked with Jet Blue and they have given me credit.
I don't know of any other airlines that do this. I only live 5 minutes from Manchester airport but Jet Blue was cheaper then SWA, so I will drive the hour to Boston.
I just check airfare weekly and hope I get lucky and catch a sale.

[mrvegas]

I still drive down in motorhome to vegas 10 weeks out of the year.
But my wife flys down for weekends to meet me, using the "air miles" we get from our credit card purchases
Still very inexpensive to fly, and in a motorhome it's almost free once your there there

[smmoo]

So far the prices on Southwest out of Manchester NH have been the same since they started flying from there. Will be flying non-stop June 28 (7:20 am) return flight non-stop July 4(3:50pm). Orginally we were coming back on July 3, but since the 4th is a Holiday and SW was still running their Coast to Coast promo I rebooked and got the flight on the 4th for $8 cheaper which they gave to us as a voucher. Total for both round trip tickets $346.20. Modified our Dollar rental to add a day, which cost $2.50 more. Got two nights free at Red Rock for Wednesday and Thursday then called our host Amber who gave us the next four nights at Boulder Station - Fri-Mon free.

About three years ago I realized we do not travel often enough(3 times a year) to earn any frequent flyer trips from any airline, so I got a Capital One card and started charging everything possible on it every month, then paying the entire balance each month to earn money to pay the airline. You earn one dollar for each $100 charged which adds up quickly when you charge, food, cable, gas, heating oil, vets, electric, car insurance etc, etc, then write one check each month to pay the bills. So far we have gotten 6 free round trips this way, and the best part is, you pick the airlines and the dates, there are no black out dates ever because you book your flights and when the charge shows up on your CC just call and ask to use your accumulated $$ to pay for the flights you've already booked.

:)

[Simon]

Increased Airline ticket prices to Las Vegas don't affect me since I live in that city.;) Welcome to all to Sin City!

[Golddigger007]

This weeks "Topic Of The Week" question is:


"How are increased airline ticket prices affecting your trips to LV? " And "Are there any tips that you might have in order to find the best deals?"

Very much so. Until recently, it has seriously limited my trips out. I have three tips that I have been using very successfully:

1. Since locally I haven't been winning anything in the casinos (I'm in Chicago) I have instituted a "no win - no play policy" -- I am not gaming locally and saving the money toward my Vegas tickets. Using this tip, I have purchased 4 airline tickets and saved $$ to take to Vegas to game with (i.e. Vegas is where I seem to be winning and getting more comps and points); and

2. I have installed Southwest Airlines "Ding" software on my computer. Ding features special daily airfare sales on Southwest. DING fares only are available a few hours a day and several "sales" are posted by SW each day. I think SW is also giving out reward points if you install DING and keep it on your PC for a set period of time. From Chicago, DING often features discount fares to Las Vegas, Philadelphia (i.e. Atlantic City) and New Orleans. The last Vegas DING fare was $89/round trip and that was a significant savings if you could fly on the dates the DING fare was in effect. Here's the web page with information on DING: http://www.southwest.com/ding/what_is_ding.html

3. I receive email specials from American Airlines and United -- two big airlines out of Chicago that offer non-stop service to Vegas and Philadelphia. Often, they have private airfare sales only available via the email.

[MikeinChi]

It hasn't really affected me personally but I think it's had an effect on some of my friends. What I do to keep my airfares down is book as far out as I can. I booked my August trip in April and am paying around $240 which is $20-40 more than I used to pay from Chicago O'Hare on American. However, I'll bet those airfares will be over $300 within a month.

I think a good topic for next time is how the increase in HOTELS is having an effect on people's travels to Las Vegas. Those seem to have risen very quickly to rates that approach unreasonable!

[vegasmann]

well it affected mt 2 fold first i was planning a 5 day trip from Ny to vegas but the Airfare was around 400 so i spent 2 free weekdays in AC.
Secondly we usually go in oct for 12 Days but the air fare is still around 380Rt so we are going to go in early Dec when the room rates are cheaper to help compasate for the high air fare.

[honydo]

The airline fare is triple the cost of the gas and accommodation costs from Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Now each of my 2 week vacations are less time in Las Vegas and more time travelling. Thankfully I pay little or nothing for rooms and food so I have been able to continue bringing the adults in my family at least twice each year. I will still fly single each December for the NFR unless costs of airfare continue climbing. If it does I will drive to the PBR in October. That is my plan for 2006 at least.

[justal]

Best bet is to sign up for the email announcements from all airlines that you would consider using. Consider all airports that you can get to reasonably.

I go to LV 4 - 6 times a year and have been able to keep my costs down.

In January I got an airfare from Lansing MI, non stop round trip for $138.00

I frequently fly for $178 to $210 or very little more.

I often book packages that often are available with one person flies free types of fares.

Packages with downtown hotels (which I happen to like) are often available from Detroit or Lansing for around $500 for two people - air and three or four nights hotel.

Be patient but when you see the deals - act quickly. They don't last long.

Being on the email lists give you a much better chance.

[King of Kurtopia]

So far the prices haven't affected me. In two weeks my wife and I will be making our third trip to Vegas since December. We took 3 trips last year. I do a few things to make our trips affordable.

I use an airline credit card (Alaska) and put everything on it; mortgage payment, insurance, groceries, beer, all utility bills, etc. I also use restaurantrewards.com for dining point bonuses, etc. I seek points out like a game. Then I pay my card off in full each month. I have never paid a penny of interest to the credit card company.

When not using airline miles for tickets, I check out all of the airlines and look for deals...ie: buy before june X, tickets good through October, etc. You get the idea. I have Ding downloaded and check it daily. Here are some sites I also go to for great deals, but you have to check each day, even if you aren't planning a trip for awhile.

http://www.air-fare.com/
http://www.kayak.com/h/buzz/
http://mileageplan.rewardsnetwork.com/
http://www.flyertalk.com/
http://www.smartertravel.com/
http://www.webflyer.com/

I also make sure I don't pay for rooms when I go to Vegas. This helps when airline tickets get high, and I'm sure they're just going to keep getting higher for a while. Getting rooms is easy. Just play at the hotel you stay at. Don't play any more than what you planned on playing, just play most of it at your hotel. That's it...easy, eh?

My trip in two weeks consists of the following: 2 nights Mirage, 3 nights TI, $5.00 (for taxes) each for airline tickets (2). $50 food & beverage credit each night. All I need is gambling money and a bit more for food, as I like to eat well. That's it! Don't let the high cost of airline tickets make you stay away from what you like. Shop around, make the right moves, get the fre rooms, and have fun.

Sorry for rambling on so much, but I read several others that are letting the cost of airlines sidetrack their fun. It doesn't have to be. Check out some of the site I posted.

Kurt

[Lneck67]

We get some nice deals for free rooms but the airfare from NY is wacky Jet Blue was good but now it's a little pricey depending on what day you go. We go to Atlantis City more and we get two free nights at the Borgata it's a nice place and reminds me of Vegas since it's a little classy.

[Kruzer]

As someone else has already posted, packages are usually a good deal. I find taking the time to go to each airline's website is better than using one of the clearing houses. This year for the WSOP tickets went quick out of Pittsburgh. I did get NS R/T for $296 with Southwest but that is over $100 more than last year. Southwest's flight crews are a real good time. Especially if there are kids on the flight. Luckily I only needed two tickets this year instead of the 5 last year. But hey last year was all on one of the poker websites and this year I am going on my own bankroll. Hope to see you there Steve.

Kruzer

[vegasmann]

i think i going to try packages even though i like dealing with the hotels straight

[Robbylou121]

We try to fly out of Lansing, MI on Allegiant Air..they usually have the best deals but when we started to plan our trip this year we couldn't believe that price of 229 for the way out and 199 for the way back (when usually it was 99 for both ways.) Come to find out they had a "free ticket" deal going on, so we waited to see if the price would come back down...it didn't.

We were able to get a flight out of Detroit Metro, via Northwest's Website for 304 a ticket. (We could have gotten the same flight a few days earlier for 260 a ticket if we hadn't waited for Allegiant's deal to finish). We jumped at that price and it's a good thing we did. The price of the tickets now are over 500 each.

We were hoping to go back in October, but not this year. The airline prices are just too high. In years past we've never paid more than 220 a ticket. t-19

Update (5/23)...just checked out our travel times and the tickets now are 1,009 each.

[meldodds]

Southwest just started out of here in January, most of the other airlines are meeting or beating their prices. When fares are high we drive, but when both of us can fly for 250-275 total, why spend 11 hours on the interstate? When we can be in our favorite casino? If you are smart, you use your players cards and part or all of hotel is paid. We leave Saturday for trip #4 this year:D
LIFE IS GREAT!!:)

[Boston Low Roller]

I have two trips booked this year. I am using FF miles for both. I booked them 330 days out and still I had a hard time getting them. The cost from Boston is very high. At times from Manchester, NH on Southwest there are bargains to be had but they are rare.
For our July trip I still have not booked a room because the rates seem to be high there, too.

[NoRisk]

Not only are the airline prices getting rather high they are reducing services. Air travel is no better than our local mass transit.

Combined with these high prices and the casinos greed we will not be going to Vegas. The shows, restuarants, and payoff schedules on the VP machines make it to where your vacation dollars does not go to far. It is no longer a fun time.

We will stay home, save our money to take a cruise. They have gaming on board if we really feel like we have to play, and I think they are getting to have the same or close to the same payoff schedules on both VP and table games. If they are too out of line we won't play there either and will enjoy the cruise. We may even just take a Disney cruise and not have any gaming at all.

[parisbill]

We all better get used to it in the short term.

Airlines have greatly reduced the number of aircraft flying and increased their "seats filled percentage" on flights. Added fuel costs equate to higher prices and as usual... they exaggerate the increase for better profitability. In reality both air and hotel prices have been subsidized since 911 and prices will not come down for sometime. The other problem is that there are less hotel deals in LV as consolidation has taken place among the hotel/casino groups and the less expensive hotels on the strip are fast disappearing for new mega projects.

It's simply a business cycle that we all must endure with patience and creativity.

[talanhart]

Air-Tran out of Flint. Michigan no longer flies to LasVegas non-stop. I am so bummed. My last trip with them was free. Now I don't know what I am going to do for my trips. I booked a couple of Friends with Allegiant Air out of Lansing. It is their first trip so then went with a package deal. They are staying at Mandalay Bay. A little pricey, but not bad. $800 for air and hotel for two at the MB. The best thing about Allegiant is the flights are non-stop.

[cindyinnj]

We always fly Continental from Newark to Vegas (or anywhere else for that matter)! They are not the cheapest airlines, but they are one of the safest, well organized airlines I've used. Plus, they still feed you meals when other airlines stopped doing that... :D As far as getting tickets, I usually start looking to book my flight 3-4 months in advance so I get the best deal possible. Usually we pay approx. $500 per round trip ticket. (I'm sure the price is going up as I type this)! But, I don't want to drive to Vegas..:rolleyes: so....I guess we'll have to fly!

[artie]

i have only seen a 25% increase from the northeast - i fly out of newark, nj and just paid $250 round-trip with tax. i did a 21-day advanced purchase. if you can, get to one of the elite levels - continental upgraded me, which changes my state-of-mind from "i can believe i paid this much for this crummy seat" to "i wonder if i can squeeze in 3 movies before we land."

i often see cheaper fares from JFK and Islip, NY (Long Island). it's not worth the extra hour for me to get there, but if you can, check them out.

when to fly anywhere - tuesday, wednesday and thursday usually have the lowest fares. avoid sunday night, monday morning and friday - that's when the business people fill up the planes.

special case for vegas - if you can, fly on saturday - since most hotels discourage saturday arrivals, the planes are relatively empty and you usually can a good rate. you may have to stay at a non-gaming hotel (residence inn, courtyard, etc.) for the first night, but this will also save you at least $100-$200 for saturday night, which also helps with your overall travel expense.

[YSinAppleton]

We always fly Northwest out of Green Bay and have to connect in Minneapolis and then on to Vegas. In April we paid 264.00 per person round trip. Am checking now for our October trip. I check every day on all of the travel websites, especially Travelocity and also get their fare alert when prices go down. I find that if you check every day you will run into a fare sale, but sometimes they only last a few hours. We do have Allegiant Air flying non stop out of Green Bay for a cheaper fare, but they only have one flight back from Vegas and it leaves at the crack of dawn. Just got a travel fare alert from Travelocity for 223.00 round trip. Times aren't the best but am thinking about booking it - can't see prices going down anymore than that.

[rkbak]

I booked in February for my trip in April. I flew Southwest non-stop out of Columbus for $197 R/T for each of us. This is about the same as my previous years. I love Vegas!!!:

[TJDEWITTIOT]

I'm from a small, but rapidly growing town in Michigan (DeWitt, thus, the login name TJDeWittiot, as TJ is my name. Residence of our town and township don't know what to call ourselves-"DeWitters?" "DeWittions?" "DeWittoits?" -so I've settled on the latter. The last time our high school football team went to the state finals at the Silverdome, we had t-shirts that read: "DeWitt? DeWhat? DeWhere?".)
Anyway, we will definitely restrict our travel to Sin City this year due to airfare. We like Allegiant out of Lansing as others have mentioned as it is non-stop, and they have great seats with good leg-room. Spartan accommodations otherwise (Pay for all beverages and limited food) But even their fares have gone sky high (no pun intended) I'm certain it's due to fuel costs.
Otherwise we'll fly other close cities (Grand Rapids or Flint), but not Detroit (we don't like driving to Metro airport-we love living too much to risk our lives driving I-94).
I use Travelocity because they have a feature that will notify you by e-mail whenever a fare changes by a set amount you pick (for example $50) or if a fare falls below a certain level (for example you can set it to notify you whenever a fare falls below $200). You can list up to 5 airports with 5 different destinations. It will search ALL airlines, not just Southwest which seems to be Ding's limitation.
As far as frequent flyer mules, er I mean miles, forget it! Last time I had any luck with Northwest I had to book 8 months in advance with 4 stops and all bad hours! I swear we had livestock and autoparts occupying the cabin on our last leg!
And finally, (sorry this is so long), like others on this board have said, we haven't been doing well with our "gaming" at our Michigan casinos, so we are going to take a break for awhile and save up for the REAL DEAL -VEGAS, BABY!!!

[nitee3]

Hello, I'm going to vegas june 28 - july 3rd they ran a special on http://www.usairwaysvacations.com/travelagents/ 2 nights and airfare to many hotels i got the mirage and airfare for $384 weekend in mirage flying from NY. Airfare alone was 364 so i think i got a really good deal from this site. My girlfriend got 2 nights in flamingo one night free and other for 57. First night im staying in IP.

[SandyA]

I fly almost exclusively on Southwest because they allow you to rebook tickets with no additional charge. I usually buy tickets and then check daily to see if there are any drops in price; I then rewrite the ticket and just apply the credit toward my next flight. My February flight was free on a Rapids Rewards ticket; I got sticker shock when I started checking for our July trip - looks like it's going to be around $350 out of Hartford. Usually I have comped rooms, so it's only the air and car rental that are out of pocket expenses.

[wiley]

We were very lucky when we booked our flights for October. The fare is only a few dollars more than last year. The only change we made was to book our return flight for 3:40 p.m. instead of the 12:45 p.m. we have taken in the past because the price diffrerence was $40 each ticket.

Since we booked a few weeks ago, the price has gone up $125 rt.

We have no advice on how to find a good fare. For ourselves, we only go to LV once a year, so if we had to settle for a higher fare, we'd probably just figure it's part of the cost of the vacation.

[max bet]

I will actually fly to Las Vegas twice this year due to an unadverstised special on southwest.com I found earlier in the year:

$79 one way Non-Stop REFUNDABLE! from Providence, RI.

I went New Years Eve, and am flying again Memorial Day.

Since the flights were totally refundable, I booked many, many dates. When I called later to cancel the dates I didn't want, the Southwest operator even noted what a great rate I got.

Normally, I fly once a year using one or more Rapid Rewards Tickets.

[hunneybee]

my tip for finding the best price is to choose a few top airlines and check everyday. i have just booked 4 of us for oct. 21st to 28th., prices where from 289.00 to believe it or not 800.00 out of toronto . we booked nwa out of detroit for a total of 327.00 canadian i think i could have got us a little cheaper but it is nice to knw we have our flight since we had our rooms alre
ady booked at the IP. flint had some good prices but they all have stops .
:D can hardly wait whoo hoo

[bevierose]

We are in West Palm, FL area but fly out of Ft Lauderdale (FLL) since the price is that much cheaper on a package rate or airlines rate. This time we got a package to stay at Bellagio which is actually cheaper than a hotel of lesser quality and no changing planes. That's because we're leaving on a Sunday night and returning on a red-eye Thurs.night/Fri morning. The day of the week is important for you in selecting a flight since it is much cheaper than weekends. This time we are going on Delta; last time the package was America West. I will never change flights in Houston or Dallas again since I missed a flight out of there and also didn't get my bag another time until the next day. Take your bag on the flight if you change in those 2 airports. They book the changeover flights too close in time. If it is a thunderstorm or snowstorm, you will be out of luck.
We are going to LV instead of a European vacation this year, even though we go to LV 3 or 4 times a year beside this. That is because the other trips are way too expensive with the dollar down, and the fact that we are still in a war in Iraq. In Vegas there will be many tourists from Asia and Europe mostly, which is fine by me since they will spend in our hotels and casinos.
Good luck to all of you and Viva Las Vegas!

[geosin]

Last year flew Indianapolis to LV for $169 non-stop ROUND TRIP. This year same dates (in July !!!) it is $409. Only going to be able make it once this year:(

[fungirl]

I don't have to fly to Vegas (and rarely do so) so my trips haven't been effected at all! :) I have to drive 3 short hours to get to Vegas!

[Pickles]

Yes, the increased prices have impacted my Vegas travel.

We usually go at least twice per year, but have not been in almost a full year. We fly out of Dallas and have been spoiled by the $150 (or less) charter fares from Worry-Free Vacations that used to be frequently available. We have not been able to catch that price for a 3-night in a long while.

We now find ourselves taking alternative trips; for example, we just returned from a weekend in St. Louis (dirt cheap $78 RT fare on SWA from Dallas). What a great town!

It's a mixed blessing I guess, because we're seeing new places, but we do miss Vegas and all the great things it has to offer.

We'll get out there sooner or later, but the frequency of our trips has definitely declnied a bit.

[sonntex]

We now find ourselves taking alternative trips; for example, we just returned from a weekend in St. Louis (dirt cheap $78 RT fare on SWA from Dallas). What a great town!

We've been looking at those SL rates, too. We like SL. It has a lot of historical stuff to see as well as several casinos. We are thinking about making SL for Thanksgiving this year. We can fly to SL and fly our kids in from Chicago cheaper than a trip for us to LV.

[tigersharkjs]

:D We have recently moved to Golden Valley, AZ from the frozen North (Montreal). One of the factors in our choice of new location was proximity to Vegas. It's a leisurely 1 1/2 hour drive , over Hoover Dam, to Vegas.

We travel all over the world, but still Vegas is our favorite place!! Is that weirtd?? It's fun, relaxing, non-judgmental. It's just the easiest and most fun place to be in the world, in our humble opinion!

[TJDEWITTIOT]

We've been looking at those SL rates, too. We like SL. It has a lot of historical stuff to see as well as several casinos. We are thinking about making SL for Thanksgiving this year. We can fly to SL and fly our kids in from Chicago cheaper than a trip for us to LV.
Pickles and sonntex. Glad to hear St. Louis is doing well. I was a student at SLU (Billikens) over 35 years ago. It had some rough edges then, but I guess just like any big city, it had it's good stuff along with the bad. No casinos back then. Might have to go back.

Does Forest Park still have a zoo and art museum?

[leighw55]

I know Allegiant only has service out of a few cities. But if you live close to one of the airport they fly in and out of, their direct non-stop flights to Vegas are great. We flew out of Pasco, WA to Vegas in March. It was a nice flight and I just checked again for next month and they are still running flights for around $200 round trip per person. I am sure it is more from the midwest or east, but their price from Wa state to Vegas is still about $100 round trip cheaper than the other airlines.

[sonntex]

Pickles and sonntex. Glad to hear St. Louis is doing well. I was a student at SLU (Billikens) over 35 years ago. It had some rough edges then, but I guess just like any big city, it had it's good stuff along with the bad. No casinos back then. Might have to go back.

Does Forest Park still have a zoo and art museum?

I like SL because it reminds a lot of Dallas just not as big. The St. Louis zoo is supposed to be one of the best, lots of museums and the Budweiser Clydesdale farm along with a lot stuff on U.S.Grant and Lewis & Clark, big shopping mall. Pretty neat place and it's easy to navigate. Think I might like to live there in my old age.

[vegasdough]

I live in an area where I can choose from 4 or 5 airports all within a 3 hour drive. Over the past few months airfares have more than doubled for what I usually pay. I usually go to Vegas 4 or 5 times a year - but haven't been lately. With the weekend room rates as of late combined with the airfares, long weekends in Vegas are out for right now.

[gglawman]

Shreveport (and other cities, I think) now has Allegiant Airlines, whicn flies strictly round trip from Shv to LVS on Wednesdays and Saturdays. We went in Feb. for about $200 roundtrip each, which included seats on the two-seat side of the plane. ($10 per person each way)

The price is the same for our trip leaving tomorrow. We plan to go again in August, but have not made air reservations yet. We'll see if they increase.

[emmit1]

I fly out of Indianapolis, so I can choose from many airlines. Unfortunately since ATA went under the direct flights are harder to find. I got lucky in early March and booked two RTs for June 7 at $146.20 each. The rest of my party waited to book and paid a lot more. I got my low fares from an AA email. I recommend you sign up for every airline's rate emails.
I don't care for packages since we get free or reduced rooms from our favorite casino - the Plaza.

We usually go in March and selected other times, but this year is slow due to health. If next year doesn't produce reasonable fares we will be looking at driving to Tunica. It's about 4.5 hours from here.

[MissConduct]

I've begun to shop for my upcoming trip in October. Talk about sticker shock!! Last October I flew nonstop round trip for $176 on Song, which no longer exists. Delta wants $399, USAirways $380, SWA $339. Frontier has nonstops for $321. I know I can go through the difference ($150) in a short time in the casino, but I'd rather try for a return on my money than pay double to fly. Now I am struggling with booking now to protect paying double my last trip or wait and chance paying triple. Good thing I get R/F/B comped.

Edit: Oh to answer the original question: Yes it has affected the number of trips; I did not go as planned in April because of rising airfares.

[diceman]

our airforce son is stationed at nellis afb north las vegas. i had been searching for weeks for the best deal' and on 1 feb about 130 pm i was in total shock" orbitz.com had round trip non stop from philly to las vegas for a total of $ 408.18 for both tickets. of course i made the purchase. our dates were from 10 june thru 20 june. my son receives orders to report to school in new mexico from 5 june thru 20 july. we had to cancel our original tickets and order new ones at a cost of $ 343 a piece.it came out cheaper to do it this way because we were told by orbitz that in order to change the other tickets we would have to pay united $ 100 per ticket and orbitz $ 30 per ticket for a total of $ 260.00 + the difference in the cost of the new tickets. this is so unreal.

jeff from new jersey

[looking4abirdie]

You need to continue to book in advance...again w/a departure and return on Tue,Wed,Thur appear to be the best bang for your buck. SWA still shines if you follow these the booking time and days to travel. As for using the miles that continue to build on AA these appear to be almost worthless. I'v gone out as far as 3 months and still can not get a seat using them. I think it's time to change my citi card to one that does not have blackout seats or dates !!!

[Nancy from Indiana]

Looking at all airlines for "deals". I do have Ding for SWA. I also looked at and signed up for e-mails from all airlines except Quantas. We have 2 companion tickets for ATA (Indy's home town airline) which went bankrupt. Maybe the gas prices will come down & we'll all get really good deals.

[dreamcatcheril]

from Chicago
1) Air fares may change 2 to 4 times a day so check air line prices 3 times a day starting 6 months prior to the dates you want to travel.
1A) Check to see how full the plane is when checking prices.
1B) depending on how full the plane is ticket prices may drop at the 5 week prior to departure date( closer to 8 weeks now).
2) Write down the date you checked the price and the day of the week you checked and keep track of the changes. Many people reserve on Monday. The cheap seats are reserved, they have 24 hours to actualy buy or the seat goes back up for sale.
3) be flexable on the weeks you want to travel. You want to go in August does it matter which week? it's hot
4) be flexable on the days you want to travel. Is a Tuesday departure less than a Monday departure? Is a Thursday return less than a Friday return.
5) be flexable on the number of days you spend in Vegas depending on how often you go.
6) be flexable on flight times but not to the point it reduces vacation time to much. The cheaper flight leaves Vegas at 6:30 AM so what time do you have to get to the airport. Take into consideration extra time you may have in vegas, The $25 extra to leave for the airport at 4:30 PM. may be more enjoyable.
7) try and avoid weekends in vegas, the hotels have figured out when to raise prices, so have the airlines.
8) Stay away from big convension dates. People book air fare on company money.
8A) Stay away from the days before a holiday everyone wants to go, air and room go up.
8B) After everyone is back home from the holiday it can be empty in Vegas. Air and room prices drop
9) orbitz.com That will give me the major airlines to Vegas and prices all on one page. but there is a $5.00 charge so book directly through the airlines.
10) Package deals air and hotel, sometimes you get a good one sometimes you don't read the fine print.
11) never take a package deal paying for air and room if your being comped room and food. You already paid for the room in the package.
Good luck

[ajcarl]

Im probably staying home this year but its also partly because of the lousy 12 months Ive had. Last year I booked months in advance and it annoys me that airlines dont offer last minute deals.


Try www.site59.com They seem to have good last minute deals to anywhere in the country--especially LV And I DON"T work for them!

[jo45an]

:( The fares from PIT to LV are so much higher this year, it will make a 2006 trip very unlikely:mad: When I think back to last May and what we paid ($604 RT from PIT,nonstop on America West, with 3 days, 2 nites at Luxor, including an 8 pm checkout, for TWO people, I realize that my worst fears have come true, and the merger between US Airways and America West have forever driven up the costs at PIT.But, I will keep checking the fares, like everyone does, and try some of the suggested web sites! I'm so sad we won't be going this year, I'll be reading the Trip Reports constantly!!!!!

Joan in PA.:(

[BluPheat]

Yes, we have curtailed our Vegas trips by one. We generally go three times a year but have cut it to two this year. It's not only the higher fares but the whole travel experience that has worn us down. It's become such an uncomfortable, annoying experience that we're looking locally in South Florida for activities within driving distance. Between the TSA rules regarding passengers and luggage, the ornery airline employees, uncomfortable planes that seem to constantly be late, etc., it's just not worth the trouble or money. We'll be going to the Bahamas and the Seminole Hard Rock casinos for some of our gambling, when previously we would save all of that for Vegas. We tried on our March visit to at least make the luggage shipment go more smoothly as the airlines had misdirected our luggage 2 out of the last 5 trips. We used a company called Luggagefree.com who would ship the luggage to our hotel ahead of time but what a disaster that was. They delivered one suitcase and lost the other, the one that had our winter clothes and it wound up ruining our trip. They were not helpful to deal with either so I would suggest people avoid Luggagefree.com at all costs.

[ASTIDIXIE]

I know I "might" have bought my tickets a little too soon but I DO like things all taken care of & out of the way................SO................I bought them yesterday.

From Bos to Las $248.19 for November 29/December 7 with Delta thru Expedia

I am sure they will go down as they did last year when I went (then....they only went down another $5.00) but I would rather have them out of the way and now they are..............;)

I paid about $40.00 more than I did last year..............I really don't call that too bad ;)

So.............I don't think the prices changed my mind on going....PLUS I already emailed Bob Cohen @ the IP & he has arranged a room for me....:D

[harrop5783]

I echo the sentiments about slight (yet manageable) increase in prices.

Last year I booked Dec. 13 to 16 (Wednesday to Saturday) for Bally's through America West from Denver... Roundtrip for two with airport shuttle service ran about $540.

This year I booked through Vegas.com to fly America West from DIA and stay at Bally's, Dec. 9 to 13 (Saturday to Wednesday)... With an extra night tacked onto the hotel (not to mention the supposedly higher weekend room rates), I locked in under $650.

I think considering the extra night and the weekend fly-in, as well as the increase in the cost of fuel, I still got a good deal... and I love those nonstop flights.

[hipster818]

From John Wayne Airport in Orange County CA the cheapest is around about $185 per person on American West. Though the flight is less than an hour and a half long to drive the five hours it takes is cheaper. Everytime my wife and I go we always need to make that call. Convience and ease and cost of flying verses a long drive and having to get up early - save a few bucks - by driving. Because of having to make these sorts of calls we have not gone as frequently.

[tryon4]

We just returned from Vegas and our tickets on Southwest were $179.00 RT from Manchester NH. The best way to save money is to book as far in advance as possible. 6 - 9 months. If you set your vacation dates early enough you can play the waiting game. Always chech nearby airports that you can get to. Orbitz, Travelocity and Southwest offer a form of notice for you if you register and submit a price you are looking for (We always use $200.00 as a starting figure). The thing here is that you decide what price you are looking for. Check daily. Be ready to act as soon as you get that price because it can and will be gone in a matter of hours.
Sign up for airline notices of flight deals.

[shimmy]

I am also searching for a reasonable package deal but most are too expensive.

[harrop5783]

I am also searching for a reasonable package deal but most are too expensive.

shimmy, a lot of it has to do with when you plan to go. Go to the Web sites of some of the hotels you're thinking about patronizing, then check their calendar to see when room rates are at their lowest. I know the Harrah's properties are good about this.

[Steve]

Yoiu might want to check some of the Travel Links that are posted at this topic. I check them out on a regular basis and there are good deals to be found. The best way to bring them up is to click on any PAGE NUMBER that is in the rectangle page box at the top of the page or at the bottom of a post or reply box. (look below just under the EDIT and QUOTE icons)


Steve

[marmirdc]

I am in agreement with pdJY on the DING for Southwest Airlines. I have found some GREAT deals out of area airports to Vegas. We are in the midwest (Nebraska) so we have the luxury of checking out the larger airports in our area and are about a 3 hr drive from most of them. Kansas City and Omaha usually offer the best rates on Southwest and if the price is right, we will drive to KC( as we are in June) to head for Vegas($128 rt)...so if Southwest is in your area, DING is the thing to have!!!


Mr. Keno

[legalois]

Mr. "My Glass is Always Half Empty" was sure we wouln't be able to afford to go in October. We've been going in April and October and as soon as we rturn from one trip we start checking prices for our next one.

Mrs. "My Glass is Always Overflowing" has been checking every day and just booked USAirways/America West at $298.60 out of Philadelphia. This is the senior fare (yep, we're both oldies but goodies) and is about $100 more than we paid last trip.It IS a non-stop flight, however, and I'm afraid if we wait too long, prices might just continue to increase.

Now we've got to work on a decent room price, which should be another interesting challenge. Stay tuned.

Lois, looking forward to October.

[Bevhill1]

These prices are a little high but when I need to get away to my home away from home , I just save my pennies and try to find the best deal possible. :D