Why are flights to Denver, CO so EXPENSIVE right now?
My family was planning a trip from Illinois to Denver, but recently the flight prices have seemed to shoot up. We've tried looking for flights departing from Indianapolis, Chicago, and St. Louis and they are all about 400 dollars a piece. But the flights seem to get cheaper later in August?? Is there something going on right now in Colorado in these next few weeks that is making flights so expensive???
Air Travel - 3 Answers
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1 :
From the way it sounds, it seems like you are trying to buy a flight that leaves within the next couple weeks. This is when flights are becoming full and there is more demand than there is supply, and ticket pricess tend to rise. It has nothing to do with the destination, but just waiting too long to buy the ticket. For the cheapest prices, book your flight AT LEAST 2 months in advance.
2 :
This is how it works: The airline will take all the seats and divide them into "fare buckets". So maybe 30 seats will be in a bucket and they will sell them dirt cheap as long as they are bought x days in advance. The next bucket, maybe 30 seats, is more expensive but they allow flexibility, you can change date. The next bucket, maybe 30 seats, is even more expensive but can be purchased up to the departure date and allow changes. This is a great simplification but basically what the airline will do. They can of course every day change the buckets and transfer seats between them. You will see this on your ticket as booking class: M, X, Y, O, W or similar. Cheap seats are sold first, and then you can find seats in a more expensive fare bucket.
3 :
It is not just Denver. Airlines deeply discount tickets for a 14-day advance purchase. I suspect that you are trying to make reservations for inside the 14 days. Try using Southwest out of Midway airport in Chicago, or St. Louis or Indianapolis. They have a different pricing structure. Decide what days you can all go, and then go to Southwest's website and make your reservations IMMEDIATELY for the time you can all go. Regards, Dan
