Best time to book flights?

[homeschoolmomof4]

Is there a best time to book flights to get a cheaper fare? My two youngest and myself are flying down to MCO from IAD December 11th and I've been watching the fares and they keep going up. I'm starting to panic because at one point I could have gotten all three of us there for around $500 and now as time draws on I've seen the prices creep up to $750! Would it be wise to book now before it goes up further? Or should I wait to see if prices go down as our trip draws nearer? We normally drive down so I'm not really familiar with how prices change over time. Thanks!

 

[zamboniman333]

We are flying down on Nov 30 from MSP (Minneapolis) and are in the same boat now playing the waiting game. For the flights we want (3 tickets) we are lokking at $1,000.00 but if we would have book around the 1st of march we could have done $600.00 (on delta plus bag fees) so we are waiting for SW to release their Dec flights on June 15th to see if that helps drive down the cost of the other airlines. Not sure who we want to fly with. Only reason to go with Delta (for us is for the miles). Good luck to you and happy hunting

 

[homeschoolmomof4]

Good point about SW. Hopefully when they release their fares, the competition will drive the rates down.

The waiting game is killing me!!! Glad to know I'm not the only one!

 

[zulaya]

It's hard to know what will happen. Sometimes things go down, sometimes they don't.

I'm flying from MSP on Nov. 27. I'm waiting as well. Right now, the roundtrip fare is $334 per person on my ideal flight schedule on Delta. Not really an acceptable fare for me at this point.

I think the airlines are trying to fill their summer flights and they aren't worrying about how full the planes are in Nov. and Dec.

Southwest is supposed to release their new dates on June 10 last I saw. I, too, am hoping that we'll see some significant movement in the downward direction.

Bottom line: You have to get the flights at a price that you can live with. Then don't worry about it later. It's totally a crap shoot if you get the best price. Sometimes you do, sometimes you don't. Just buy it at what you can live with.