How far in advance do you book your flight?

[Bea]

We are planning our trip to WDW for this time next year. Flights from here are pretty expensive ($600.00 cdn), but Continental is showing $416.00 cdn for next March. It seems so early to be booking a flight but this is a good deal. It doesn't appear to be a seat sale because I plugged in tons of different dates b/w now and then, and the same price is coming up. Do you recommend I wait to book?

 

[rsschneck]

If you are familiar with the cost of flights and $416 is a good deal then I say book it! FAST!

I seem to buy tickets well in advance because the prices and flight times seem to be the best farther out. I purchased our August flight back in November. I purchased our December flights 4-1-04. With gas prices, etc. you never know what airfare will be running by next year!

 

[curlyjbs]

I agree! If you can afford it now and its a decent fare go for it!!!



curly

 

[Goof]

Call me crazy if you must but i have always booked our flights around the 331 day mark. The fares have always worked out to be cheaper for us and they have never gone below the price that we booked at, only up! You may see some flight changes, and most likely will, that far in advance but for us the changes have always been bearable. Others have had drastic changes happen but i believe most have been minor. If the fares look reasonable, then go ahead and book. If they go down, you should be able to get a voucher for the difference that can be applied to future travel.

 

[SnackyStacky]

I booked airfare for our September honeymoon in January. The fares have only gone up. I haven't seen them drop below what I initially paid for them.

I say book them as soon as you possibly can.

 

[Bea]

Thanks for your advice. I noticed on the Continental website they have a lowest price guarantee. They are actually $130.00 more than expedia (canadian). I would have to buy on their website first (and pay their price) and then submit a claim. Kinda nervous to do this...what if the price on expedia goes up in the meantime? They would give us the expedia price and $100.00 e-ticket gift certificate as well.

Thanks for all your advice. I am thinking more and more of just booking the flight (so I can sleep at night ).

 

[Kimickey]

We book our tickets bases on when we see a good fair. We always try and beat the year before price. If we come within a few dollars over then we go ahead and book it. If it's cheaper than the year before, we are all over it. It just depends on the airline or whenever the airlines are have a air fare sale war.

 

[DizneeCM]

Most of the time you get the best fares if you book early. We lost out on our next trip, though, because the fares dropped $60 a ticket after we'd already reserved our flights. I tried to get the lower fare, but it was already gone on our flights.

 

[Sunkissed]

We're planning an early December trip and a great fare schedule-wise just popped up. The fare is only $3 shy of what I was expecting to pay, so I am booking it this weekend (after payday). That's 216 Days before arrival, if you're keeping score.

 

[Blueberry]

Just booked ours for Nov 27th on April 20th...A very short time period in the early morning Delta had an awesome deal on our flight .Fares were back up by the time I got home from work that day over $100 more per ticket in the afternoon, I got lucky.

I suggest you check your desired flights, if you have one several times a week, I check them twice a day and that is how I lucked out.

 

[clkelley]

Same here, when we finally decide on dates for a trip, I start looking at airfare. I check the prices for our dates at least once a day until I see a fare I like, then I book it!!

I have booked anywhere from 11 months out to one month out. One month is the latest I will book.

Carol

 

[Pooh93]

I booked our airfare on Dec 7 2003 for our June 19 2004 trip. The airfare was the same $200 I paid 4 years ago and I didn't think I could do any better. (Nonstop on AA from St. Louis to MCO) I was glad I did because a couple weeks later it jumped about $40 a ticket. You just have to decide what you think is a good deal and don't mess around once you find it. I usually look for a good airfare rate before I book a trip, but this time did it in reverse and it worked out well. Good luck.

 

[SyracuseWolvrine]

Originally posted by Bea
Thanks for your advice. I noticed on the Continental website they have a lowest price guarantee. They are actually $130.00 more than expedia (canadian). I would have to buy on their website first (and pay their price) and then submit a claim.

Or you could just book the tickets on Expedia, and save yourself a step and some worrying.

 

[ncbyrne]

If we know when we're traveling the next year, we always book at 331 days out, which is the earliest you CAN book ahead.
Also, if you are using sky miles to pay for your trip, the early bird is the one who gets the best worm! My b-i-l couldn't believe it when we told him we are flying non-stop direct from EWR (Newark, NJ) to MCO and same for return flight, using our FREE Amex Skymiles.