Best time to book flights

[Native NYer]

What is the best time to book flights in order to get the lowest prices? We're headed to WDW mid-August, most likely 8/10-8/23. My options for nonstop flights are Delta from LaGuardia or JFK, American from JFK, or JetBlue from LaGuardia or JFK. Right now, Delta is the cheapest. JetBlue's schedule is much better as they have lots of flights from JFK to MCO everyday. Does JetBlue typically lower prices? I'm wondering if it would be best to wait until after the new year to book flights.

TIA for your help

 

[sam_gordon]

IMO, it depends on how well you like to gamble. We booked about a week after tickets were available for our trip (330 days out) and got $144 RT on Delta. Now the same flights are $250+ RT.

I'm sure there will be others following me who will advocate waiting until 3-4 months from the trip, but I'd rather have the tickets booked and paid for.

Granted, Delta is known to change schedules (and they did in our case) but you can work that to your advantage. When we booked, the cheaper flight left in the evening (5:30P). Delta changed the schedule and I was able to book an earlier flight (that would have been more expensive) with no added cost.

Bottom line, it's all a gamble.

 

[Missytara]

Book very early in the morning on Tuesdays or Wednesdays. It will go up slightly as the day progresses, but not that much. Thursday is a hit or miss with price drops.

Friday through Monday is normally higher posted prices. It is most likely because families are home altogether and can plan out their trips much easier.

Since I travel alone, it doesn't matter what time of day I book. I trended it for a few weeks last year and it seemed to work great.

 

[dudspizza]

Personally, I have booked at many different times. I set a price that is my target and when I hit that target, I buy. After that, I monitor for any schedule changes on a regular basis.

Duds

 

[Native NYer]

IMO, it depends on how well you like to gamble. We booked about a week after tickets were available for our trip (330 days out) and got $144 RT on Delta. Now the same flights are $250+ RT.

I'm sure there will be others following me who will advocate waiting until 3-4 months from the trip, but I'd rather have the tickets booked and paid for.

Granted, Delta is known to change schedules (and they did in our case) but you can work that to your advantage. When we booked, the cheaper flight left in the evening (5:30P). Delta changed the schedule and I was able to book an earlier flight (that would have been more expensive) with no added cost.

Bottom line, it's all a gamble.

So far, Delta is the only one with fares under $200 per person. We need 5 tickets, so that's a pretty good deal. I need to just make a decision

Book very early in the morning on Tuesdays or Wednesdays. It will go up slightly as the day progresses, but not that much. Thursday is a hit or miss with price drops.

Friday through Monday is normally higher posted prices. It is most likely because families are home altogether and can plan out their trips much easier.

Since I travel alone, it doesn't matter what time of day I book. I trended it for a few weeks last year and it seemed to work great.

Thanks for the tip! I'll make sure to check fares on Tuesdays and Wednesdays

Personally, I have booked at many different times. I set a price that is my target and when I hit that target, I buy. After that, I monitor for any schedule changes on a regular basis.

Duds

That's a good way to look at it. Right now, my target is to try to get airfare for 5 from NYC under $1500.