Last year I attempted to plan a flight from NY/PHL for March of this year. Prices were about $400-500 but I never went. Now I'm trying for March of 2015 and prices now twice as expensive. Am I crazy? Will I ever see those prices again?

In early 2013 some friends and I decided we wanted to take a trip to BVI. We decided March of 2014 would be perfect. I looked up some flights (we'd be departing from anywhere near NY/PHL and arriving in BVI) to gauge the cost. I had to look up flights for Feb 2014 since March was too far away, but flights were about $450 round trip.

Months later, around October of 2013, I looked up flights again, this time for the exact date. The same $400 to $500 rates showed up, but some stuff happened and we decided to cancel the trip. Now we're looking to go again but bump it up a year (March 2015). I'm looking up flights and they're all about $1,000+. If I really dig I can get some low $700 ones. What happened? Am I crazy? I know I saw cheaper flights last year. Should I look at another time of year? Or am I out of luck?

I'm obviously pretty new to booking flights/travel. Are flight prices really that unstable? Anyone have any tips for traveling to BVI from my area?