When do you book your flight for the best deal???

[sydney dog]

I was just wondering when everyone books their flight and how they get the best deals. I am 95 days out and trying to get a handle on how much the flights are. I have been checking them for several months now but after this payday will finally be able to book it.

I will be traveling from Phily or Atlantic City. My airline choices are Southwest, AirTran, Spirit and a couple of the big ones. I have heard some bad stories about Spirit so I am not too sure about that one.

I have also heard about people waiting until last minute but I don't think I could do that. I would worry too much!!!

I have also heard that prices change depending on the time of day and the actual day you look them up.

Has anyone had any experience with this?

 

[jsmith]

your mileage my vary-but i have usually had the best luck booking between 60 and 45 days out on a tuesday or wednesday.

 

[Missytara]

your mileage my vary-but i have usually had the best luck booking between 60 and 45 days out on a tuesday or wednesday.

Ditto, Tuesday/Wednesday seem to be the best days to book - the earlier in the morning the better.

My theory is that families are home together over the weekends, so you start to see the fares edge up late Thursday until late on Monday. Starting Tuesday and Wednesday, you will see them go way down and then they edge up again on Thursday.

I booked my airfare on a Tuesday morning around 6:00 am when I got to work and then by the time my friends booked it later in the day, it went up about $25.00 each.

By the weekend, it was about $50.00 higher each.

 

[Duckkie]

I've been planning our trip since February 2009 and tracking flight costs since then. We set our budget based on 10% over the highest flight I had ever found which came out to $500pp/RT. I was determined to pay $400 or less and search, search, search for it. Well, our trip is May 29 - June 7, 2011 and I bought our tickets from Continental for $329pp/RT including fees last week. I did however register our flight with Yapta.com to track if it goes any lower. Continental will do a credit per ticket if the price falls $150 or more per ticket (other airlines have different rules)

So, I guess it depends on how much you are willing to pay and stick to that amount with searching, looking for codes, deals, searching different sites at different times of day, etc. I like tracking with Yapta.com and Kayak.com then buying directly from the airline.

 

[Mrs. Charming]

I was just wondering when everyone books their flight and how they get the best deals. I am 95 days out and trying to get a handle on how much the flights are. I have been checking them for several months now but after this payday will finally be able to book it.

I will be traveling from Phily or Atlantic City. My airline choices are Southwest, AirTran, Spirit and a couple of the big ones. I have heard some bad stories about Spirit so I am not too sure about that one.

I have also heard about people waiting until last minute but I don't think I could do that. I would worry too much!!!

I have also heard that prices change depending on the time of day and the actual day you look them up.

Has anyone had any experience with this?

We love Southwest, esp. flying out of Philly. AirTran isn't too bad, but you have to pay for your bags, so check both and see what the better deal is. SW seems much more straightforward with their pricing. I already booked ours (the day they came out!) and two flights have already gone up, not a ton, but they went up. I'm thinking of switching one, so I'm stalking one flight in case it does go down. I totally agree about checking on a Tues or Weds-- I think daytime is the best, but keep looking. I basically set myself a limit of what I'm willing to pay, if it's that price or just below that price, I book it and if it goes down, I call SW and request a credit.

Good luck!

 

[cattrix]

I browse the prices at about 5 months out, then look back at them each month until about 3 months out. I usually book it then unless the price 4-5 months out is really good.

We've been flying to Disney from Indy for a while now so I know a good price for the trip when I spot it

We almost always fly AirTran, even with baggage fees they're normally cheaper than Southwest flying out of Indy.

 

[njsweetP]

I've been planning our trip since February 2009 and tracking flight costs since then. We set our budget based on 10% over the highest flight I had ever found which came out to $500pp/RT. I was determined to pay $400 or less and search, search, search for it. Well, our trip is May 29 - June 7, 2011 and I bought our tickets from Continental for $329pp/RT including fees last week. I did however register our flight with Yapta.com to track if it goes any lower. Continental will do a credit per ticket if the price falls $150 or more per ticket (other airlines have different rules)

So, I guess it depends on how much you are willing to pay and stick to that amount with searching, looking for codes, deals, searching different sites at different times of day, etc. I like tracking with Yapta.com and Kayak.com then buying directly from the airline.

Did you book thru Continental? I'm looking at flights for next June as well, but the price that comes up is over $1000 RT a ticket But if I go to Travelocity it's around $150 RT per ticket. I don't get it
To the OP, I book about a year in advance. From experience, in the past three years using Contintental from Newark - the cheapest fares are the early ones.

 

[sam_gordon]

Well, our trip is May 29 - June 7, 2011

We'll be there the same time! We're staying w/my parents 5/28-6/1 then checking in to WDW!

On plane tickets... I booked ours last week... 329 days from the return flight (tickets open 331 days out). $911 incl. tax & fees for 5 people. Checked this morning and the cost (for the same flights) is now $1400+. Granted, the prices might drop 3-6 months out, but I don't see them going down to the original price (and I paid an extra $100 because I waited 12 hours for no good reason!)

 

[quentina]

I was just wondering when everyone books their flight and how they get the best deals. I am 95 days out and trying to get a handle on how much the flights are. I have been checking them for several months now but after this payday will finally be able to book it.

I will be traveling from Phily or Atlantic City. My airline choices are Southwest, AirTran, Spirit and a couple of the big ones. I have heard some bad stories about Spirit so I am not too sure about that one.

I have also heard about people waiting until last minute but I don't think I could do that. I would worry too much!!!

I have also heard that prices change depending on the time of day and the actual day you look them up.

Has anyone had any experience with this?

Can you come up to Allentown? Allegiant has some great rates and Airtran just came up here also. I got $39 and $59 for my flights.

 

[Mrs. Charming]

Can you come up to Allentown? Allegiant has some great rates and Airtran just came up here also. I got $39 and $59 for my flights.

I thought of doing that for *every* trip and it never pans out-- ABE is much much easier to get to and deal with than PHL! (Seriously, surliest airport EVER)

 

[sydney dog]

Can you come up to Allentown? Allegiant has some great rates and Airtran just came up here also. I got $39 and $59 for my flights.

Allentown is over 2 hours away. No go. The savings sound great but I just can't see DH going for that. Thanks for the idea though. Now I here that park tickets may increase in August so I may have to put off buying airfare until after that. Someone a few posts ago said they wait until 45-60 days out until they buy. I may have to do that. Although it kills me.

I am a planner, DH is a fly by the seater!!!