How far in advance do you buy airline tixs?

[mrs. magoo]

Hello,

How far in advance do you usually purchase airline tickets? We are traveling in early December and I am beginning to price out tickets. I am worried about the prices only going up because of the price of gasoline. Right now I can get tickets for the 7 of us for $1800 on Jet Blue. Air Tran is about $1700. My husband keeps telling me to wait, but I am a big time planner and am getting a little worried. I am just wondering when everyone else purchases their tickets.

Thank in advance.

kathe

[ceecee]

We haven't gotten ours yet for Sept. I've been checking and the prices seem to be the same. A few months ago, they were lower than they are now, but with Delta having problems we were afraid to book then, Airtran and Delta are the only airlines with non-stop flights from our airport.

[mking624]

We're traveling in the beginning of August and we pruchased our tickets in April. But then again, we found a deal that was WAY too good to pass up. However, there have been times we waited until closer to our travel date and still got a good deal.

[Puffy2]

For Atl to Orlando I was used to being able to get $59 each way - but with the gas prices up, I haven't seen anything below $69 in months and usually $79 is the lowest offered. Given that, I went ahead and bought for Nov. at $79 each way. Normally, I wouldn't buy until about 3 months out but the airlines are releasing flight schedules earlier it seems. Like I said, I've been watching trends for several months and the lowest offered has been about $79 each way for awhile now.
You could do an experiment, and check out what airfares are for your city for dates a month out, two/three months out and five months out and your dec. date - compare and that should give you an idea of what you can get the fare for. December is a busy time too - especially if you are around a holiday. Friday and Sunday travel will always cost more.

[vossjemi]

Well, I waited and I'm not so sure that was a good idea. Our trip is sept 17-24. In Jan, air out of MCI and STL was about $206RT. I probably should have booked then. Since then its skyrocketed, getting close to $300 and over on some occasions. When SW came out with their schedule yesterday, I nabbed 6 tickets for $216.90ppRT out of STL....which is almost $11pp more than the prices in Jan. I still hope for a better deal from SW, but am kicking myself for waiting. Even if I get a better deal, I'll have the difference in credit which means I'll have to use it in a year or lose it anyway. Ugh!

[Taja]

I fly Southwest from PHX to MCO and have booked early and late. The one nice thing about Southwest is you can change segments of your flight if a better rate becomes available, and they will issue a SW credit that must be used within 12 months from the original booking date.

I changed my flights for December, 2004, 3 times after I booked, and ended up with a nice credit that I'm using in August for a flight to Las Vegas. :)

[Flanigan]

We are going Nov 27-Dec 3 and we booked our flight through Delta yesterday. I'm glad we waited a little while because the price actually went down from 226 to 178 so we ended up saving around $100 for the both of us. :banana:

[barb45]

That's a great question - I've been watching for December flights from New Brunswick and haven't seen any specials yet. They seem to be advertising specials for the summer right now so I am going to hold off for a bit.

[heathriel]

I got my Jetblue flights as soon as November became available. I'll call and get a credit if the price goes down, but with gas prices as they are, I'll count myself lucky that I got my tickets when I did.

Another thing to consider: The evening flight on my departure date is already more than 3/4 booked, 6 months out.

[eeyore45]

I was listening to Peter Greenberg on the radio a few weeks back, and he said 45 days before traveling was plenty! :confused3 Of course like others, I knew the 'lowest' fare from Chicago to Orlando, found tickets app $40 more than that and booked... $150 RT... and I think its a bargain!!

(Peter Greenberg is the Travel guy from the Today show)

[Disney Ella]

I try to buy tickets 5 or 6 months out as I have to work around everyone's work and school schedule and have specific non-stop flights I want to get on. (The flights have changed in the past, but I've been lucky and the change has never been more than a few hours.) This time, we're flying Air Tran in October for $178 per person. I really like the times, so I hope they don't change much.

[Savin4Disney]

I bought mine in Feb. for Nov 19-25 (Thanksgiving week) I got them for 217.40 each. Now they are about 433.00 each.

I have only seen them at 212.00 before I bought them. Never been that low since I bought them.

This was my first time buying tickets. I was happy with the price. I was planning on spending $250.00 for each of us.

[Georgieut]

Hello,

How far in advance do you usually purchase airline tickets? We are traveling in early December and I am beginning to price out tickets. I am worried about the prices only going up because of the price of gasoline. Right now I can get tickets for the 7 of us for $1800 on Jet Blue. Air Tran is about $1700. My husband keeps telling me to wait, but I am a big time planner and am getting a little worried. I am just wondering when everyone else purchases their tickets.

Thank in advance.

kathe
I bought our tickets little over 3 months out for $258 RT on delta out of SLC I just looked and the same flight is now $408. Now when you buy 6 tickets that would be bad. You can have sites like expedia and others to email you if the prices drop to what you specify. Got a great deal in April 2 weeks out before trip to NC and the next day it went up 100 bucks. Hope that helps take care good luck.

[golfgal]

Traditionally tickets are the least expensive 21 days before the flight. THey stay low for only a couple days so you have to watch.

[mrs. magoo]

Wow,

Thanks for all the replys. I am continuing to watch the prices. How does the credit system work for Jet Blue? I just thought you were out the money.

Thanks again

kathe

[heathriel]

Jetblue will give you a full credit of the difference in price and attach it to your trueblue account (if originally booked online or attached to one) or to a record locator. Every time the price drops, you can call back up and get another credit. The credit is good for a year from the date you get it - but you don't need to complete travel by then, only purchase a new ticket before the credit expires. Also, Jetblue credits are fully transferable, so you can sell them on eBay.

[mrs. magoo]

Thanks for the information. that is great to know.

kathe