NY Times on "when to buy plane tickets"

[Missyrose]

Apparently the old "six weeks out is cheapest" rule may not apply anymore according to this New York Times article.

 

[DebbieB]

Apparently the old "six weeks out is cheapest" rule may not apply anymore according to this New York Times article.

I think people flying to Orlando for vacation tend to book earlier, especially for the popular times (to Orlando in the AM, from Orlando in the PM) and popular times of the year.

 

[Zerosinthecloset]

This concept of airfare being cheaper 6 weeks before your trip has always puzzled me. How do the airlines know when you are planning to travel to drop the fares 6 weeks before your travel?

 

[ironpig70]

This concept of airfare being cheaper 6 weeks before your trip has always puzzled me. How do the airlines know when you are planning to travel to drop the fares 6 weeks before your travel?

Just like Disney knows when they are busy as they look at historical data. The airlines can do the same. There are trends in many areas like when Disney is busy Orlando airport would be busier for example.

 

[sam_gordon]

Just like Disney knows when they are busy as they look at historical data. The airlines can do the same. There are trends in many areas like when Disney is busy Orlando airport would be busier for example.

Assuming the '6 week' thing is true, it's simple... 6 weeks before ANY flight, those remaining seats would go on sale. So if you were leaving May 26, Saturday would be 6 weeks before. If you were leaving June 2, NEXT Saturday would be 6 weeks before.

The 6 weeks thing makes sense IF there were still seats left. The issue is more people are booking early (especially for vacation spots). So there is no need for airlines to put seats on sale. Supply & Demand.

 

[seashoreCM]

There are plenty of reasons to book early, but getting a low fare is not one of them.

Nowadays only a few airlines will price match their latest fare when you proactively call and ask, and in all cases it is in the form of a voucher (gift certificate) rather than money.

Long long ago, airlines wanted more cash under their belts (in their coffers) sooner so they offered to price match when earlier buyers did the research and found a lower fare for the "exact" same flights. Nowadays most airlines found out that they ended up with more cash altogether when they did not go for more cash sooner, hence the end to the price matching.

As far as a "six week rule" goes, it's a question of "who will blink first". The passenger for fear there won't be seats left, or the airline for fear seats will go empty.

 

[OKW Lover]

I don't think the "six week" rule was ever really true. Airlines have been continuously adjusting their prices, not simply day-to-day but hour-by-hour. Rather than go nuts trying to predict the "best" time to buy just go to a site like www.kayak.com and set up an alert for the days you want to travel. Watch the emails to get an idea of a current good price.

 

[sam_gordon]

There are plenty of reasons to book early, but getting a low fare is not one of them.

It worked for me in 2011. I booked 11 months before our vacation (ok, 10 1/2 months) and the price NEVER got to what I booked. A couple times it was ~$10-20 higher, but it ALWAYS stayed higher than when I booked.

Bottom line... when you see a price you're comfortable with, book. If it will bother you if the price drops (and you can't get credit), don't look back. If you don't know prices dropped, how can you be upset?

 

[DOREEN1779]

I agree with PP. I booked roundtrip for August in October from Newark to Orlando at 185 per person non stop. Did the same thing the year before. I have been checking the websites to check pricing and nothing to date has come close. Today, our flight was 241 but I am confident I got the best deal. 5 tickets for under $1000 is good enough for me