Best time to buy airfare for NYE trip?

[TraceyPoppins]

Experts,

We are planning a short (crazy) trip over New Year's. I am checking all the travel engine sites as well as the airline sites daily. Some blogs say to wait for better fares, some say book it now. Prices are $150-$200 more than we've ever paid, but we've always traveled in the spring. Dates are not flexible as DH has a meeting and kids return to school 1/2/18. Any inside tips from those who travel around the holidays?

 

[Marionnette]

Experts,

We are planning a short (crazy) trip over New Year's. I am checking all the travel engine sites as well as the airline sites daily. Some blogs say to wait for better fares, some say book it now. Prices are $150-$200 more than we've ever paid, but we've always traveled in the spring. Dates are not flexible as DH has a meeting and kids return to school 1/2/18. Any inside tips from those who travel around the holidays?

If your dates are fixed and there's no possibility of them changing, then pull the trigger when you see a fare that you can live with and don't look back. You're traveling at THE peak period for Disney. Airfare is not going to be cheap, regardless of the airline you choose.

 

[ohionola]

We are going on a Cruise that starts right before Christmas and goes until NYE. To fly to Miami or FLL it was 2-3X more than normal prices. One day they dropped down to about $75 more than normal and I bought them. They stayed that price for about 3 days before going back up. I think it is just that time of the year that airlines do not discount flights.

 

[Garebear]

Traveling during the holiday season will almost, all the time cost you more just because of the demand. If you don't have it, try the Hopper app. It's not going to magically make your flight cheaper, but it is a great tool that updates you on the lowest predicted price for your dates and location. Sure, it might not help, but it doesn't hurt to try. It's best to get your flights set now before prices go up more. Best of luck!

 

[SandyinMonterey]

When I lived on the West Coast and would fly to WDW, it would always be during peak holiday season when my daughter was on school break. Doing that 10 plus years, prices always climbed year after year. I think the best way to go about it is know your budget, what you're willing to pay for airfare, when you see that price...pull the trigger.

 

[TraceyPoppins]

Traveling during the holiday season will almost, all the time cost you more just because of the demand. If you don't have it, try the Hopper app. It's not going to magically make your flight cheaper, but it is a great tool that updates you on the lowest predicted price for your dates and location. Sure, it might not help, but it doesn't hurt to try. It's best to get your flights set now before prices go up more. Best of luck!

Thank you, I did install Hopper yesterday! I'm leaning towards buying soon and being satisfied with the safety of having seats at all!

 

[TraceyPoppins]

When I lived on the West Coast and would fly to WDW, it would always be during peak holiday season when my daughter was on school break. Doing that 10 plus years, prices always climbed year after year. I think the best way to go about it is know your budget, what you're willing to pay for airfare, when you see that price...pull the trigger.

Thank you! I think we will buy sooner than later...the hard part is knowing when to buy before the inevitable climb!

 

[jujubiee4]

We went last year around Christmas time combined with WDW. I looked at my past notes
and i started booking everything in June and was done by July early Aug? Rest of the year
i watched to see if flights i booked went cheaper and they never did. I got really good deals
booking early out.

Good luck.

 

[Bbguy5]

USe kayak and setup alerts for airfare.

 

[TraceyPoppins]

We went last year around Christmas time combined with WDW. I looked at my past notes
and i started booking everything in June and was done by July early Aug? Rest of the year
i watched to see if flights i booked went cheaper and they never did. I got really good deals
booking early out.

Good luck.

Thank you, this was very helpful! I took your advice and booked today! Today I actually found the lowest fare I've seen in week! It was $70 cheaper per person than the next lowest I've seen. I believe you that it probably won't go much lower during such a busy travel time. Thanks again!

 

[TraceyPoppins]

Thank you everyone for your helpful advice! I got lucky today and nabbed a fare that was $70 less pp than any fare I've seen in weeks. I took everyone's advice and locked in. 6 1/2 months to go!!! (Crazy to think that we're almost halfway to Christmas )

 

[ohionola]

Just as a follow up, my airfare that I got for $200 a few weeks ago has now jumped to $350.

 

[TraceyPoppins]

Your post made me curious, so I checked the current price of the flight I booked. It is $200 more expensive today