Airfare

How far in advance should I book airfare for midMarch? Finally, returning to my favorite island after 5 years away. Flying out of PIT, fares at best are $660 RT

Now. The sooner you book the better you are.

It really depends. If you are happy with the fare, book and don't look back. Fares go up and down all the time, so if you're not happy with the fare, you could wait longer.. How far is it to Philly from where you live? Did you check fares from there?

We booked February over a month ago.

Over 200 miles from PHL, airfare the same amount from there

As Carol stated, book when you can live with the fare. Personally (I fly from Dayton OH), I would jump all over the $660 fare. I am paying $720 for a Nov. trip on Delta (after AA totally screwed the schedule) and now the same flights are $1725. Over $1000 more. This is why you do NOT wait if you can live with the fare.

And then ever look at the fare again, lol.

Absolutely!! Because as sure as the sun is shining, if you DON'T book, the airfare will go through the roof and if you do, it will go down drastically next week!

$660 isn't really gross from that location....could get worse.

That was just about the one way return on JB in January to BOS...now $727 with no bags one way return

That's a pretty good rate. We are in Hershey and can train or drive to PHL in about 2 hours. We booked over a month ago for Dec-Jan time frame. Yes, it's AA but have chosen to overnight at Marriot that is connected to PHL airport and go nonstop to SXM early next day. We will likely stay at hotel again on our return trip to avoid late drive or train back home that night.
I'm sure you will enjoy your return to SXM and they will appreciate your return as well.

According to Marketwatch (whatever that is), the best time to buy your air fare when flying from the states to the Caribbean is exactly 207 days before your planned departure. How they know that I have no idea, but this sounds good. So, let's say you were planning to leave on Sunday, March 15, 2020 for St. Maarten, then the magical date for the lowest air fares would be precisely on August 22nd which is one week from this Thursday. So, you're really close. I might wait another two weeks and see what gives.

660 is reasonable..i just paid aapx. 665 R/T from Boston on jet blue from sunday to tuesday (9 days) with direct outbound flite on sunday
better options on weekend, but more expensive too

When are you travelling? I can't find Jetblue direct flights from Boston on Sundays?

There's a direct on Sunday March 15 $369. I know because we're booked on it.

Thank you SammyM that date is so close!

This may be obvious but you can get a rough idea for how the fares are moving around by using the flexible fare option and look at each month between now and when you want to travel. We just booked EWR to SXM for 2 weeks, Wed 1/22 to Wed 2/5/2020. on United. $371 RT Basic Economy. We have the Mileage Plus Explorer Cards so we each get one bag checked free. We also paid an additional $70 to reserve all seats and $58 for travel insurance through United (AIG). It's a lot less expensive if you can travel mid week.

I like alternativeairlines.com to find the best option then go to the airline website to book.

As always the NYC area is the cheapest area to fly from, although I am still somewhat stunned that we were able to book AA nonstop from Miami for $270 PP for next June. That was including assigned seats. AA apparently has reduced their fares from Florida substantially since Jet Blue started flying from Ft Lauderdale.

Competition has a habit of doing that. I was very pleased with the JB airfare we had gotten for our June trip even though it was a 3.5 hour drive to get to FLL. It saved us over $1000.

deputy--we always have to drive at least 3 hours (for FLL ) or 3.5 hours (for Miami). Even a connecting flight from Tampa or Orlando through Atlanta on Delta requires a 2 hour drive for us, so 3 hours or 3.5 hours isn't much longer.

True. Unfortunately I have an airport really close by, Sarasota-Bradenton International (SRQ), but it's a small boutique airport. Fares are expensive because Delta and American are the two main airlines and everything has to go through Atlanta for Delta or Charlotte for AA.

In September 2018, our 40th anniversary trip to SXM was from SRQ and we splurged for first class with Delta. Those 2 tickets were $2100 however coach was still $1500. Most of our trips out of SRQ previously had been to visit family or friends in New York and Jet Blue has non stop service from SRQ to JFK so the idea of driving to Tampa or Fort Myers to save a few bucks was never even a thought.

I guess we became spoiled/accustomed to having a really close airport and even the other two I mentioned were only an hour to an hour and a half drive. We were going to vacation this past June with friends from Nashville however for medical reasons they had to cancel. We had already booked the new FLL to SXM route on Jet Blue so we went on our own. The reason we booked that route was for super savings. Flying Delta from SRQ to SXM in coach would have been $885 pp r/t or $1770 for both. That Jet Blue from FLL to SXM was only $330+/- pp r/t for a savings well in excess of $1,000. So for us the 3.5 hour drive was unusual but I realize that your being in central Florida leaves you in a position of having to make a long drive for just about any airport.

I'm still trying to nail down tickets for April from PWM and have found airfare quite a bit higher this year. $801 has been the cheapest for basic economy on AA. I can save a bunch on JB by driving to Boston, but the park and stay there offsets any savings. I really don't want to wait any longer than September, which travel experts have said to be one of the best months to book. Has anyone else found that to be true?

Personally, I have found the best time to book is when it is a fare you can live with and that is regardless of the month, day of the week or time of day for booking. Fares do fluctuate but I do not buy into a lot of what is published as to when the best time to book is. With reduced options for most of the country, waiting will often result in a higher fare.

Like you, I could have driven 4+ hours to another city for JB but the parking and a hotel stay on each end of the trip wiped out any savings.

Refer to my earlier post in this very thread as to what has happened to the exact itinerary I booked back in May. Had I waited to book, I doubt I would be going now.

How much is a bunch? If you park/stay a little further from airport prices go way down. Chelsea and Revere have lower prices than airport or close to airport. We always compare rate to just park with park/stay/fly since airport is only an hour away but we alway seem to end up staying night before. I think we're paranoid about storms. We used to use Hampton Inn Revere but once tried Hilton Garden closer to airport. This coming March that Hilton Garden is more $ than Revere and Chelsea is even less. All offer free shuttle to airpot.

Yes, i personally have never found any of the booking theories to work for me. Last summer i kept an eye on fares regularly and bought when they dipped a $100. a piece one day. My drive to Boston is about 3 hours, and if i leave a day earlier and return a day later i can save $300, but spend it back on the lodging, but at least i'm getting more vacation!

I've also have been holding my breath that the fares don't go the wrong way, so i should lock it in soon.

Thanks for your input

RonDon, i cant remember what the price was near Boston, but it was an economy motel and was like $389, and the saving on fares was $300. I park and fly one night at a Ramada in Portland for $89, which is an awesome price, 24 hour shuttle and good restaurant.

I thought of looking a little further away, bust just haven't yet.

Thanks

One thing I do see with some regularity (at least from the pricing for where I fly from), if the fare ticks up slightly from a price I have been considering, it will often drop back down within a few days. This usually happens well out from the travel date and with good seat availability. I have also found when the fare is shown as "only 3 seats available at this price", that is often true until or unless more seats are released at a given price. When I bought back in May this happened and the fare never got back close to what I paid.

Like you, if I were considering a fare and saw it drop $100 (or even less), I would be all over it as it can easily go up.

I wish Southwest would add SXM as a destination.

https://www.southwest.com/international/

Funny, they go to Belize and two places in Costa Rica, but not SXM, yet. "They say" it's coming 'soon'..

We booked JB flights for March 2020 in August. Now I see cost go up and up and up.

We got a good price on JB for Oct. out of JFK. $129 pp one way, so all in, it works out to be less than half the price we usually pay.

I guess Southwest's plans to add SXM were postponed after IRMA.

2017 article

https://www.thedailyherald.sx/islands/63767-southwest-sights-set-on-st-maarten-in-2018

Probably won't happen until airport is 100% ready. They can only handle so many flights as it is now.

NOW!!!

There was an article I read somewhere not too long ago that the PJIA was pretty much already at its max as far as landing slots went and in the season it’s actually already over-taxed. All those high flyers heading to their private yachts and to AXA and StB have to have room to land and park, too. I can’t imagine how they can possibly add additional runways given the natural topography never mind up-grading the existing terminal to accommodate more traffic. But as they always say, where there’s a will there’s a way.......

Sat on booking New Years! Damn still no non stops out of Boston? Beside PVD anyone from Cape have other suggestions??

Since I live in Houston, I hope if they start flying to SXM, one of their routes will be HOU-SXM. As it is now my wife and I can’t afford airfare anymore to our favorite vacation spot SXM!

I'm confused. I can find non-stop BOS to SXM on Saturdays and Sundays. What do you mean still no non stop? Never has been any from PVD. Have you tried HTFD?

I heard that was why L'Esperance airport Grand Case wanted to expand to accommodate those planes but Irma got in the way

RONDON... great times on 15 march flite.....i got it, but got the return flite as well and 665$ was more than reasonable as far as i am concerned

Last year JB put on a second flight that left at noon but I didn't want to taken a chance that they might not. What surprised me was the SAT March 14 flight has Mint seats. Waste of room to a place lots of people travel so maybe that day will get the second flight.

I thought at one point there was daily non stops. Just not on the weekends. No hartford too far for my daughter and son in law. They live out on Cape Cod and trying to fly out 12/27. I suggested they just fly to JFK! Get in the car at 2am!!! They have to fly home on 1/1 as she is a teacher.