best time to book airfare....

[debbiebones]

We've just booked a week at BCV for November 7-14 and I'm wondering...in looking for a good deal, is it better to book airfare now...this far in advance or is it better to wait until we get closer to that time? Or is it all pretty much a "crapshoot"?

Thanks!

Deb

 

[LAH]

Deb,

I am wondering the same thing. We are going Nov. 13th-20th. Right now the fare is $211.00 pp r/t. I am pretty sure I could do better then that.

LAH

 

[beattyfamily]

IMHO, it's "a crapshoot".

I prefer booking early and getting it over with. I get my non-stops and times I want and I'm done.

You can wait and get a good deal, but you can also wait and pay a higher price.

It also depends on who you want to fly with. Of course, if you fly with Southwest or Northwest, it's better to wait. But if you like to fly Delta or AA, it may be better not to wait.

I always book early from Boston to Orlando and I've paid (round trip/non-stop) $100 (AA) last year, $181 this year (Delta), $215 (Delta), $170 (Delta), and $200. (Delta). As long as I'm around $200 I'm happy.

My flights are now $380 So I'm very happy with $181.

Hope I've helped you a little!

 

[CarolMN]

The best thing to do is figure out what a good/fair price is for the trip you want to take. Then grab that fare as soon as you see it. For example, I've found it doesn't pay to be "greedy" if you have to fly out of MSP.

Use Travelocity or something similar to get an idea of the better prices. If you watch the fares out of your home airport for awhile, you will soon be able to tell what a "good" fare will be.

If you post your airport, someone here can probably give you a good idea of typical "deals", too.

Good luck!

P.S. you are going to love BCV!

 

[LAH]

I'm not sure about Deb,but I live in NJ so I am right inbetween PHL and EWR. (50 min. ride to both airports)

LAH

 

[jel0511]

IT does really depend. What I do, is I always have an idea on what I'd like to pay, and then look for that fare. I usually don't book my tickets no farther than 6 months out. Also, take into consideration, by booking airfare VERY far out, you run a high risk of serveral schedule changes between now and your flight. It can wreck havoc on your nerves. As previous posters stated, get an idea on what you want to pay, and if you see it, jump on it. Most airlines don't offer their cheapest seats until around 3 months in advance. If you aren't traveling during a specific busy time, ie holidays, you usually can wait until then. Also, keep checking how full the planes are, you can easily do this in Expedia and not have to purchase a ticket to see the seat map.

 

[debbiebones]

we'll be leaving out of Detroit Metro, flying to MCO and I just checked on flights. Looks like for that timeframe, the best we can get right now is $275. Gosh, I'd like it to be a bit less than that...guess I'll wait awhile and just keep checking.

The GOOD news is, I still have some frequent flyer miles to use and we also have Traveler Miles which give you money off on flights so even if the price doesn't go down, I guess it's not so bad.

Thanks everyone!

Deb

 

[CSX2]

I had read somewhere that about four months out was your best bet barring waiting for last minute deals that may or may not appear. We found this to be true for our May trip this year but didn't book because we kept thinking the prices will go a little lower -- they didn't! We got lucky when South West ran a special that just happened to fall on our travel days.

I think the bottom line is there is no one best way to get the lowest price and you can drive yourself nuts waiting and watching. I agree with CarolMN -- figure out what a decent price is and book it when you find something close. Then forget about it since it seems everything to do with airline tix is non-refundable/non-tranferrable.

 

[TreeOfLife]

In my experience, I always booked pretty close to the 331 days in advance date. The rate maybe jiggled down to $10 but by the time it was closer to leave the rates were much, much higher.

So, book early! And get e-tickets. Watch the fares. If they do go down dramatically you can always get credit.

 

[loveswdw]

Once I make the hotel reservation I check EVERYDAY. Sometimes several times a day. I know its a hassle but many times the prices fluctuate from day to day. I found Delta last Sept. for $135 and kept watching the fare-- then went on Sat. morning and they had bumped it back up to around $200. Could've kicked myself for not booking but you just never know when its going to drop.

The cheapest I've paid for Delta (the only airline we've ever flown to Disney) is $125 rt. Pretty good! Keep hoping for cheap fares-- we are going in Dec. Haven't even started looking yet. SW is only booking through Aug. right now for the Click N Save. So, in my experience, its always cheaper to wait until about 4 mos. ahead. But it may just be a "location" thing. But I know SW runs those pretty good deals for Orlando quite frequently here. May try SW this year if Delta doesn't drop much in price.

Good luck with your search!

loveswdw

 

[Beast fan]

You may want to look into flying out of Flint, MI. I checked your dates with Travelocity, Orbitz and Expedia from FNT to MCO and found some "reasonable" flights (I don't mean changing planes in MSP) for about $235.

Granted FNT is a smaller airport, but I flew out of TOL and saved about $60 per person (the parking was also cheaper and closer). Just an idea for you to ponder.

 

[debbiebones]

Thanks Beast Fan! Maybe we'll look into that.

Deb

 

[erikthewise]

It's tricky. It seems that under NORMAL circumstances you USUALLY do better waiting until 4-5 months out and then grabbing the next deal that comes along. But if it doesn't work out, you may have a problem.

We're in a nasty quandry this year. We're departing on Thanksgiving weekend. We've never done that before, and unlike previous years, our only option for a nonstop is Southwest. IF we get SW when it becomes available, we'll be OK, but if not, the other flights may well be sold out or high-priced.

 

[twinmomto3boys]

Ok, this is weird but last year when I was checking SEVERAL times a day for air fares I discovered something strange. This was by checking Delta's website directly - Travelocity and Expedia did not show these fares.

In the morning air fare to MCO and Tampa (I always check this too) was the normal - around $200 from Dallas. At around 2 pm the round trip to Tampa dropped to $80 per person! I booked it, picked up my kids from school and checked again at 4:00 pm. It was back up to almost $200. I couldn't believe my luck. I booked these about 2 months before our trip. Had great choice of seats too.

 

[gonga]

The airlines are going crazy! take it from me....it can be outrageous one day then well worth it the next. Your best bet is to check the carriers all the time, keep it on your "favorites" or call a TA. If you book too soon in advance, you will drive yourself nuts because the airlines constantly change their schedules. A flight that was departing at 7:00 could change to 7:45. that's a big difference! If you book very early as your trip approaches, please check the flight#/Flight time, you may have to call your carrier and change. That was my experience on our last trip.

 

[jetsetter90]

Hi,

Just wanted to tell about my recent experience. I purchased tkts from NYC to MCO for Memorial Day weekend. I wanted specific flts so I paid $191.00 each, which was fine with me, we paid $260 over Thanksgiving. On Feb 9 DH decided he wanted to come so I went online and WOW the rate for the same exact flts was down to $165.00. I called Delta and they issued me a credit voucher for the $26. Great since we are going again in August I can use the credit then. This past saturday I started checking for our August flts, while I was checking I decided to check again on our May flts........the new rate is..........$135. I called again was on hold a little longer this time but now have another voucher for $30 each.

The moral of the story is If you are planning on flying in the next year, purchase your tkts at the price you are comfortable with but keep checking back.

TTFN

jetsetter90