Do plane tickets go down or am I screwed?

Was planning on going from Wichita, KS to Portland, OR on the 3rd of July. Would like to come back the following Sunday, the 7th of July, and would like afternoon flights for both.

Ticket prices have gone insane. Economy flights, just get me there, prices are hanging around $900. I'm on a budget like most anyone and this seems like crazy pricing.

Is there a way to determine if more flights will be added to the schedule to bring prices down? Am I screwed on this? I've been using Kayak.com and Google Flights along with others like Priceline and I don't like the numbers I'm getting for this thing. Trying alternative airports like Kansas City, playing with day, etc and to try and be in Portland for the 4th and the following weekend is looking to be crazy expensive. I'd drive but I don't have tons of vacation to burn and I'm possibly going to need all of my available vac time in October.

Thoughts? Does this seem doomed or should I just be patient and see if something comes up, etc?

You've waited until 3 week before a holiday. Ticket prices will always be insane then.

My wife is flying to Denver from Tulsa later this month. No stops. And waiting this long it still came out to ~$550 roundtrip. Or only $100 cheaper than it will be to fly us to Jamaica in November around Thanksgiving.

Try flying earlier to get ahead of the holiday. Put in the same criteria for the 1st or 2nd. Otherwise... yeah. Screwed.

Another place to search. I found out about it here, and I remember being very excited about it, but I haven't had occasion to use it.

http://matrix.itasoftware.com/

It appears to have a neat ability to show what it's found in terms of variation of departure and return dates without re-searching. It looks like you might be able to save several hundred dollars by staying a few days longer if that's an option.

If your timesd/dates are a little flexible, it's worth trying Priceline's "Name Your Own Price" feature. If they don't accept it, you're not out anything.

It's worked well for me with hotels, but I don't have that option with flights because if buying more than one, they can split up passengers and I always travel with my 11 year old.

-Rob

This was my first try on Orbitz:

Kansas City - Portland 7/3 - 7/7
- $616 on Frontier
- $648 on Delta

You are going to have to be flexible on the flight times. Be flexible on days and you might save more.

Flights from Wichita are expensive, drive to Kansas City.

Oklahoma city might even be cheaper....

In reply to jeffmx5:

Found a flight coming back on the 8th to/from MCI for $480 via Kayak. About to pull the trigger. That drive from ICT to MCI & back stinks, about 3 hours from my house to the airport up there, but the costs are way down if I go that way.

Thanks.

Doh! Your screwed.

They do sometimes go down, but in this case, yes, you're screwed. :)

Make sure third party cookies are disabled and clear your cookies when revisiting airfare sites, I have been told that it has an effect on the prices you are quoted. J

Hipmunk is also a nice site. Even includes Amtrack.

Jcamper wrote: Make sure third party cookies are disabled and clear your cookies when revisiting airfare sites, I have been told that it has an effect on the prices you are quoted. J

True if you've been browsing expensive stuff some sites will use that info to gouge you. Looking at supercars lately?

GameboyRMH wrote:

Jcamper wrote: Make sure third party cookies are disabled and clear your cookies when revisiting airfare sites, I have been told that it has an effect on the prices you are quoted. J

True if you've been browsing expensive stuff some sites will use that info to gouge you. Looking at supercars lately?

Ha, no! One of my professors does digital forensics for different police departments, worked in defense, etc.. The class was half electrical engineers and half computer science students, we went over all of the ins and outs of tracking, privacy, security, and all that stuff. Lots of good discussions, and this was something that she mentioned once.

I already have one basket case car, last thing I want to adopt is an expensive basket case. Jeff

Be willing to accepted crappier flight times, add KC & OKC to your possible airports. Look at each indivdual airlines site as well. Southwest.com come has their weekend getaway deals. But they are one way, so double the fares.

Finally, try Priceline name your own. Bid what you actually want to pay, and if its rejected, add $50 until you get it or run out of budget.