Airfare to Cancun

when we started looking flights from ATL non-stop were 330 and then they jumped to 650!! they recently went down to 270 and we jumped on them.

I signed up for email alerts at tripadvisor and orbitz and just kept a look out each week till they dropped. I'm sure they'll go back down...good luck!!

Not to knock any TA's out there,because some of them are fabulous and turn out to be life savers, but i feel your pain! I originally started with a non-bdw travel agent who is local and came recomended to me by a friend - and had the exact same experience! i was finding cheaper prices than her, notifying her, and then she would book it - however, ive since ditched her and am doing it all myself. TA in training i gues....

Did you end up booking through tripadvisor/orbitz or go directly to the airline and book through them? That's my problem I'm having. The rates on orbitz and such are GREAT, but when I actually go to the airline to directly purchase from them, the price jumps to $500-600, almost $200 more than the EXACT same flight/airline found on Orbitz. I don't get it at all. I'm having the same problem though. Flights were around $350 a few months ago and all of a sudden jumped and I try to book the flight all the way to where I can choose seats and guess what, the flight is practically empty! I can sit whereever I choose, I don't know where they get off pricing it so high when they've only sold 2% of total seats. And it says the 'promotional seats' have been sold out, huh, what?? You had 2 promotional seats and the rest are twice as much?

I'm going to keep checking every day. My thought is that the prices can't really jump much more past $600 during the summer months (can they??) and if anything they will stay that high or maybe go down once it's July (?). My wedding is still more than 6 months away, but I'd like to book my flight and inform my guests who still haven't booked asap.

Wish I would have booked when I first saw the tickets so cheap, but wasn't 100% sure on my dates yet...kicking myself for that! How long do you think rates will stay high for summer travel (even though my wedding is in November)...not sure why they'd increase those prices as well?

Here's a useful website: Airfare Deals - Cheap Flights - Airfarewatchdog

You can sign up to receive e-mail alerts of airfares to a city, from a city, or city-to-city. It will allow you to also pick how frequently you'd like the notifications. If you decide to surf/shop for your own rates, Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays are the best days for low prices. One more tip: occasionally if you find a great price on a site like Orbitz, Travelocity, etc. you can get an even better rate on the exact same flight if you go directly to the website of the airline carrier. They don't have to pay a commission and they pass the savings on to you. (My FI works for Continental, so I've got this info on good authority.)

we booked our room rates with TA Jill, but the flights I booked on Orbitz. I ALWAYS book on Orbitz and I've NEVER had any issues with them.
We're getting married in Sept, which is the super slow season. I think things start picking up in Nov (winter months) but I really believe prices will go down.
On the other hand, I've never booked directly with the airlines b/c I think their prices are so much more than other places. As I'm sure the TAs will point out, secondary bookings (i.e. orbitz, expedia, hotwire, etc) run the risk of being "bumped" if the flight or hotel gets full, but like I said before this has NEVER happend to me...even during high season and holidays. I just don't think it's worth paying $600 for something I can get for half the price!!

eeeeeeek. what a gamble! buying too soon...buying too late....missing a deal. ahhh