How far out do you book your plane ticket?

[Girlstar30]

The subject line sums it up, but im wondering how far out everyone buys their plane tickets before a trip? Im about 5 months out and without a ticket, but with my favorite airline having all these travel by deadlines now, im more hesitant to pull the plug until later.

Do you find that last minute deals are better or booking months ahead for a busy season?

We're still waiting for my wife's work vacation approval to post, which adds another layer of complexity to having to book these trips so far in advance.

 

[Jonnnyap]

We usually buy ~2 months in advance, which tracks to a decent price point. https://www.google.com/travel/flights is helpful to know if price is trending up/down and if now is a good time to buy.

Hope you have a great trip!

 

[MyDogTink]

I think it’s dependent on a couple of details. For us, we only want to fly United, we need at least 2 sears together because of my 6 yo and my husband likes the seats w/ extra legroom. When I’ve waited, I was challenged with fulfilling these requests. I will now book earlier and monitor prices to see if they’ve been reduced. You’ve reminded me that I need to book.

 

[Orbiter_Fan]

Pretty much when we know our trip dates. We use points with SW, so can always do a points adjustment if the cost lowers (I don't think they're changing that), or cancel and get the points back if a cheap cash booking becomes available.

 

[Brian Noble]

I'm mostly burning SkyMiles, which are fully refundable, so I grab them whenever. But I also don't sweat every last mile/dollar, so as long as the price is fair, fine.

 

[AdamsMum]

Once I have my resort booked, I start thinking about it, but that's too early (11 mths). But it I see a fair price, I book it,. I think I booked my recent trip flights about 6 - 7 months in advance. One more thing off my checklist.
In the past I've never really got any better deals by waiting, anyway.

 

[thanxfornoticin]

Once I have my resort booked, I start thinking about it, but that's too early (11 mths). But it I see a fair price, I book it,. I think I booked my recent trip flights about 6 - 7 months in advance. One more thing off my checklist.
In the past I've never really got any better deals by waiting, anyway.

This is us. Having to book (most trips) up to 11 months in advance, we'll be looking for airline deals after the room is booked. There was a time that waiting until closer might've gotten us a better price, but things have changed in that area - it's not worth waiting, at least not on the routes we fly. Our routes are pretty popular, so we book the room and get the airfare. Then we have 8-9 months to decide on our ADRs!