Are flights generally cheaper 2-4 mos out or 11 mos out?

[luv2sleep]

Hear often that flights are cheaper as you get closer to departure vs buying them at 11 mos when many airlines release their dates/rates. In general is this true? Or is it always cheaper to buy at 11 mos?

 

[bookwormde]

Busy times no they are higher

Slower times yes

 

[Disworldluv]

As soon as Jetblue issued December '14 air prices, that day I booked tickets from Bradley to Orlando. Within 1 week the prices increase by $30 dollars. I
suspect, the prices will increase as more time goes by. I also filed our flight
plans on www.yapta.com. If the price decreases from what I paid, I will be notified. I then contact Jetblue and the difference is banked into an account which I can apply towards future flights. You are allowed one year to use the bank money to decrease a future flight.

 

[Skywise]

Unless demand drops during that time period, which is very rare anymore, the cheapest time is 11 months out (rule of thumb is the earlier the better)

 

[luv2sleep]

I'm traveling to Vancouver from LAX next summer to do an Alaska cruise. Since it's summer and cruising season I'm wondering how the prices will be. It's a high demand time.

 

[dis_guy]

Unless demand drops during that time period, which is very rare anymore, the cheapest time is 11 months out (rule of thumb is the earlier the better)

With the legacy airlines in the US I agree. Now having said that, recent prices have seriously gone up over what we paid last year. We booked our recent April trip in May of last year. We paid $443 per person back then. Looking at a similar trip for next year and the best I can see coming out now is $687 per person. It's enough for us to move our trip to November, hoping for better prices.

 

[Lewisc]

The rule of thumb suggests around 2 months in advance is the best time to purchase a domestic ticket. I'll give one link but I've read the same information in several sites and heard it at travel seminars given by "travel geeks".

http://www.cheapair.com/blog/travel...irline-ticket-heres-what-our-data-has-to-say/

Some exceptions. Best airfares might be as early as 11 months if the price of fuel increases higher then anticipated by the airlines. I'd consider booking earlier if you have zero flexibility. You absolutely need to fly in the day your cruise embarks. There is only one flight which works for you.

That said I book earlier. It's more relaxing knowing my trip is set. I'm willing to pay a, modest, premium for better flight times.

luv2sleep--A lot of people cruising from Vancouver fly into Seattle. You can transfer to the port in Vancouver via rental car, Amtrak or a "connection" bus.

The Seattle option makes the most sense if you're booking frequent flyer tickets, and Vancouver isn't available. Also makes sense if your flying with 4 or more people. I question if the savings vs the inconvenience are worth it for one or two passengers.

 

[NotUrsula]

Lewis is right. However, there are some exceptions that tend to commonly apply in the case of people who post on this board, because the majority of them are specific to flights to and from resort destinations.

Number one is holiday travel days. If you want to fly to a resort destination on the day before Thanksgiving or the Saturday before Christmas, then the earlier you book the better off you will be, because there is ALWAYS high demand on those days. Once upon a time, flying ON the major holiday was still a good bargain, but due to the reduction in available seats because of carrier consolidation, that is no longer true.

Number two is the travel days leading into and following local major special events. In the case of MCO, the Daytona 500 or the Citrus Bowl would be an example of this sort of thing that happens annually. In addition, there can also be one-time events such as major trade or political conventions that can cause flights to sell out early. (Remember that major airports draw a regional clientele, so if there is a big event happening within 100 miles of the airport, it's going to cause traffic. For example: the day before the 2012 Republican National Convention opened, MCO was slammed, even though the convention was being held in Tampa.)

Another exception is resort-destination flights that depart on a Friday afternoon and return on a Sunday evening. Again, demand for those is predictably high, so the carriers are not going to be offering many discount fare buckets.

 

[Greysword]

The rule of thumb suggests around 2 months in advance is the best time to purchase a domestic ticket. I'll give one link but I've read the same information in several sites and heard it at travel seminars given by "travel geeks".

http://www.cheapair.com/blog/travel...irline-ticket-heres-what-our-data-has-to-say/

Good link, Lewis. here is my take away, quoted from the last paragraph:

Unfortunately, there isn’t any silver bullet, best-time-to-buy, that you can mark in your calendar and not have to worry about. We constantly tell would-be flyers to search for flights early and often. As soon as you know you might be taking a trip, start checking fares. This doesn’t necessarily mean to buy early – in fact, most of the time we suggest waiting. But you want to become familiar with the market on your exact travel dates so you know what’s a good fare, what’s not, and what’s realistic. If you check back frequently, you will likely catch fares that are both on the high side and the low side, and you’ll have the right perspective to know which is which. Be ready, though. When you do see a good deal, you’ll want to grab it, as great fares don’t typically last for very long.

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

Read this:

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/04/travel/crunching-the-numbers-to-find-the-best-airfare.html

 

[Ofinn]

No way at 11 months out. Look for sales. Airlines run them all the time. I work for an airline and even at 6 weeks out the flights or 1/2 full or less. At 11 months out there might be 5-10 people booked on a flight. 1-4 months out is when airlines really start to push sales.

 

[luv2sleep]

No way at 11 months out. Look for sales. Airlines run them all the time. I work for an airline and even at 6 weeks out the flights or 1/2 full or less. At 11 months out there might be 5-10 people booked on a flight. 1-4 months out is when airlines really start to push sales.

Oh ok! That's great! I'm looking at west hey. Seems pretty reasonable even for this summer.