Book now or wait?

[Mom B]

We have a family Disney trip planned in January 2010. We have 4 groups leaving on 3 different days...1) DH and me, 1/7 - 1/17; 2) DS, DDIL, and 3 DGKs ages 15, 14, and 2, 1/10 - 1/17; 3) DD, DGD, DS, and DD's BFF, 1/10 - 1/17; 4) DD, DSIL, DGS age 4, 1/14 - 1/17. All returning the same day. I booked the first 3 groups and got a good rate ($194 - $199 MSP - MCO), Groups 2 and 3 together on the same flights, although I ended up getting a different airline for Group 1. For Group 4, the prices have now jumped to $260 - $309 and up for the same flights, different dates (it would be nice if they could fly home with one group or the other, at least). Should I just deal with it and take what I can get? Is it risky to wait and maybe not get anything? Will the rates be likely to drop again, or will they just keep going up from now to January? Any expert advice??? I apologize for the lengthy writeup but wanted to give as much info as I could in case it makes a difference. TIA!!

 

[JanB]

You are booking 5 months out. As a rule, you still have plenty of time to wait.

If you are looking for the cheapest fares, those typically won't be offered this far ahead of time. You can wait to see about sales.

If, however, the most important thing is to fly at a certain time of a certain day, then (if it were me) I would find the flight that I wanted to book -- and determine how full the flight currently is. Many of the online booking sites, you can see the layout of the cabin along with the seat availability. If the flights that you need look like they are filling up, then you might want to go ahead and book.

Are those dates around the MLK holiday? If so, then there might already be lots of people making travel plans.

Also, I noticed that groups 2 & 3 are departing on a Sunday. Group 4 is departing on a Thursday. Sometimes the day of the week that you are flying will make a difference in the airfare. But I don't know whether that plays a role in your case.

Bottom line ---- I'd find the flights that I'm interested in on an online booking site. If they are nowhere near full yet, then I'd wait, and I'd keep an eye on them on a regular basis while I watched for sale fares.

 

[Karlzmom]

I would advise you to book when you are ready...we booked the instant JetBlue opened its booking and figured it would drop...now 4 weeks out the fare has continued its steady uptrend to more than double! The risk of a big jump is not worth the gamble, IMO.