How to find cheap flights to FL?

[kmack]

we are planning on visiting my dad in Ft. Myers at the end of Feb., flying from Boston, and i can't seem to find a flight under $450..we went last year and i don't remember it being that expensive. we need 3 tickets and i feel like for that kind of money we could go to the caribbean or something :rolleyes: aside from expedia and travelocity, are there other sites i can look into? i also remember when i lived in NYC i found some travel deals through the NYTimes but i can't remember exactly how i did it. any info would be greatly appreciated!

[jennylou]

We looked all the time searching for flights to FL for our cruise in February. We ended up getting some for $250, but we're going down a night early (not a bad idea in case of bad weather) and staying an extra night. Even the extra money for hotels was still saving us money. When we first stared looking over the summer, flights were still around $750.

So, perhaps try some different days, if you can. Also, try flying to/from nearby airports.

[kmack]

our dates are pretty flexible so i will try that, thanks. i also forgot to mention that we are flying with an 18 mo. old so we have to have a non-stop flight. we were thinking of using DH's frequent flyer miles but for some reason the tickets will cost 50K miles instead of the normal 25K for a domestic flight, it's just crazy!
i am glad to know they were still expensive in the summer when you were looking b/c i thought it was just b/c i had waited too long...

[jennylou]

Totally understand about the non stop flight, we are flying with a 6month DD and my neice (it's a big family trip) who will be about a year - we all decided we HAD to do non stop, it would have been different if it would have been a longer flight, but for a 2 hour flight, it would make the day way too long to have to stop over somewhere too. :)

[HeatherFL]

What airport are you flying into? Are you going into Southwest Florida Int'l? Are you willing to drive a little? It might be cheaper to fly into St. Pete/Clearwater (PIE), Sarasota (SRQ) or Tampa Int'l (TPA.)

Jet Blue might have good fares from Boston to Ft. Myers. Right now I'm seeing $248 round trip per ticket if you leave let's say Feb 28th and go back home March 3rd.

~H.

[IrishEyes]

We just got tickets from Baltimore to Ft. Myers for travel at the end of March for $300 each. We're going Southwest. Airtran also had similarly priced tickets.

[HeatherFL]

Southwest doesn't fly in/out of Boston. Totally bites!

[EJH]

Southwest does fly out of Manchester NH, but I don't know how convenient that is to you.

My ILs use "booking buddies" a lot with great success.

DP just booked a business flight to Miami and it was $600 to get a non-stop from Boston to FL. RIDICULOUS.

[Sol]

Have you tried mobissimo? www.mobissimo.com

I am not sure of the airports, but if it's BOS <> RSW I see a fare for $225 with one stop through Continental, and $358 nonstop through AirTranAirways.

[Ericka_Jarett]

I was going to suggest Southwest, they have some great rates right now for travel everywhere. Sign up for Dings if there is an airport close enough and you can get a good deal.

We did a connecting flight with our 3 month old, wasn't too bad, sure it's a bit different with an older child, but you flight shouldn't be more than 2 hours since yours in MA.

Good luck

[jesseybell]

We always fly on JetBlue direct from Boston to various places in Florida. But seeing that it is the height of the season with college and school vacations, the flights could be atronomical. We just made reservations for May and they were only $190 each.

[twinnyme]

I gave up. My 2 y.o. DD and I were going to go to visit my parents in Orlando for a few days mid-month. They are right now in Miami, at their apartment, and we were going to go to Disney for a few days to meet with them and with my aunt/uncle, cousin and his family. Aunt and cousin's wife are teachers so they're going on School Vacation Week, and had planned the trip a while ago. We just decided to go recently. Despite searching for weeks via every possible way (different dates/times, flying into Miami and driving up with my parents, using various travel sites, etc.), I couldn't find anything that was direct (I agree that it's important with a child, at least IME) for anything less than $450 each for that week. The best I found was Southwest out of Manchester. I (unfortunately) decided not to go in the end. But if your dates are a little more flexible, maybe you can still find something for a good fare. I hope so! Good luck!

[HeatherFL]

JetBlue still seems the cheapest at $248 each for end of February.

~H.

[EJH]

and IMO Jet Blue is the best airline to fly when you have kids. We've done it several times and every time the crew has been great, great changing tables too!

[HeatherFL]

And apparently, they have some really good chocolate chip cookies! :D ;)

[skyblu]

Argh, I'm going through something similar. Unfortunately, I HAVE to go during school vacation week (in April) because my son is in 3rd grade. I'm looking at flights from Boston, Manchester, or Providence (Southwest flies from PVD too).

I'd rather fly direct not so much because of my son, but because I refuse to do an itinerary that has me going to Florida through Ohio or Chicago. It makes no sense!

Let me know what works out best for you. Good luck!

[kmack]

thanks everyone...turns out our dates werent that flexible due to DH's work schedule (mar1-mar6). we ended up getting tix for $318 each from jetblue, not great (since the day before we got around to booking them they were about $275 each) but better than $450! now just need to prep for taking an energetic toddler on a plane for 3 hours :rolleyes: