Best time to book airfare...

[jsgrand0]

Hello! I was wondering when you all booked your airfare? How far out? I've heard about 4 weeks out, but not really sure. Hoping to find a good deal! First time flying, guessing we will go with Southwest since bags fly free! Seems as though it would be the all-around cheapest.

 

[jsgrand0]

Sorry! This may not belong here...but it goes along with me doin' my happy dance that my vacation is getting closer!! well...5 months to go!

 

[tinkerbell60]

We are going in July and I just booked airfare this week. Southwest has been having some good sales for summer. Last week the fares went down to $84 each way but I did not book it in time and they went up to $172, I kept watching this week and sure enough, they went down again so I booked it. I have read that fare deals are released on Tuesdays and so that is when you should start watching......

Good luck! Finding airfare can be frustrating.

 

[jsgrand0]

Thanks for the info! Also...where are you (all) flying from? I am flying from St. Louis and am hoping to get rt airfare for $200 each...might be expecting too much though...being we are travelling Saturday-Saturday.

 

[tinkerbell60]

We are flying from Pittsburgh - Saturday might be a little tougher but just keep watching.....We are flying on Tuesdays so the rates are a little less.

 

[btrash]

i used expedia 2 months before

 

[tinkerbell60]

When I was looking for fares on Expedia, I noticed a column with a little yellow tag that said "bargain fares" - they were excellent although they don't tell you the airline or exact times until after you book it. However, I could pretty much figure out that it was a nonstop flight on Air Tran - based on what I had been researching. This was my next step if Southwest airfare did not come down. Just a hint - I had never noticed that before.

 

[moniqueelaine]

The sooner the better is my motto..LOL...The last time we went we flew AA..never again if I can fly Southwest..I paid triple what I would have paid if I would have flown SW soooo mad..LOL..I learned after flying SW to Vegas last summer that from now on it is SW no matter what

 

[tinkerbell60]

SW also does not charge for bags. I have seen that Air Tran may have "better" prices but by the time you add the baggage fees, they are not that different.

 

[candykisses]

I book as soon as I see an airfare I'm comfortable with.

We fly Southwest and I've been watching the fares for a while now. Our trip is July 14th. The fares have been as high as $204 OW and as low as $86 OW. I booked at $94.

 

[WDWdreaming09]

I book whenever I see around $200 a person. I figure won't get much cheaper than that and then you risk not getting seats on a good flight. Just book 2 for a tad over $400 total on non-stop flights. Was happy with that.

 

[SolPlyr]

It really depends on you and what you're comfortable with paying, especially since you can't get a full refund with most airlines. By that, I mean they still want to charge the change fee before refunding the difference.

In any event.... we are going for three weeks starting on June 14. We booked our flights in January. I believe we paid about $350/ticket. We then had a huge schedule change. As a result, we re-booked with no change fee. As a result, I think our ticket value went up to about $390/ticket. I keep checking our flight to see what the price is now. At last check (a few days ago), our same flight is now going for something like $890/ticket.

 

[DisneyLover25]

I was in the same predicament for our upcomming trip!

I think it really depends on where you're flying from and whether or not the price of gas is going to increase or decrease by the time of your trip. DBF and I booked our upcomming trip in January and I literally checked the plane tickets every day or two until I could settle with a price that I was happy with.

Southwest does generally have really cheap fares, but in my case Jet blue was almost always cheaper. Keep in mind if your flying with children that Southwest now makes you pay to pick your seat on the plane (they used to do first come first serve, but now since they allow people to opt to pay for their seat, I wouldn't risk not sitting with my family). Also, I did notice that it's much cheaper to fly from Tuesday to Tuesday and that the airlines generally reduce prices for the week on Tuesdays.

I read on the Disboards a while ago that six weeks out on a Tuesday was the best time to buy. However, I monitored the prices (Jet blue, Southwest, and Delta are the major airlines around here) and they didn't fluctuate that much AT ALL from January through March. I settled with a price that ended up being $10 more than the cheapest I saw during that time (this was before the six week out deadline I gave myself). Looking back, I'm glad I didn't wait because the prices sky rocketed ever since! :

 

[WDWdreaming09]

I just checked the prices for the flight I booked weeks ago. It is now almost double! Again, pick a price you are comfortable with and jump on it. The price may go a little lower but it may go or may fill up.