How far out should I book our flights?

[Nurse_Mommy4]

Hi There, This is our 1st trip to Disney and since we have vetoed the idea of driving we will be flying. There are 5 of us. Myself and 4 children. I already have a package (room/tickets/etc) booked for late August 2007.

We usually drive on vacation and this is our 1st time flying together as a family. How far in advance should I book my flight tickets? 11 months? 6 months? I would like to catch a deal (who wouldn't), but I am more interested in securing transportation.

Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks, Tasha

 

[mamacatnv]

I bought my tix for Dec 06/Jan 07 trip to WDW in early March. So far the rates have done nothing but go up, occassionally I see a comparable rate but the flight times & layovers are horrid.

If you have access to SWA, they only come out about 4 months in advance. When SWA came out for our dates, the rates were within $3 of what I paid for Delta. My Delta tix have less stops, shorter layovers and assigned seats.
I did okay with my early purchase......

 

[Nurse_Mommy4]

That's what I'm thinking too, if I find a decent rate with minimal/no stops and assigned seats that maybe I should just go for it.

Thanks!

 

[TheWog]

I agree with if you have SWA available check now to see what the going rates are for the itinerary you like. You can then compare that to current offerings from the other airlines. If you find a direct flight at the times you like for a similar cost you could go ahead and book it. If not hang in until SW opens your times and buy from them. But too far out is not necessarily too bad if the cost is right.