When is airfare typically at it's lowest before your trip?

[Coconuts]

We just booked our November trip and have been looking at airfare for the last month. Of course the week before we booked airfare skyrocketed and hasn't come down. Usually I have noticed that airfare drops midweek then goes up on the weekend, but of course now that I need to book, it hasn't done that in the last few weeks.

When do typically airfares drop before your trip, 30, 60,etc days out?

Thanks for the info!

 

[sam_gordon]

We just booked our November trip and have been looking at airfare for the last month. Of course the week before we booked airfare skyrocketed and hasn't come down. Usually I have noticed that airfare drops midweek then goes up on the weekend, but of course now that I need to book, it hasn't done that in the last few weeks.

When do typically airfares drop before your trip, 30, 60,etc days out?

Thanks for the info!

I'll tell you EXACTLY (down to the minute) when to book for the lowest air fair.
In exchange, all I want from you is tomorrow's winning powerball numbers.
Deal?

No matter what anyone says, there is no "rule" for lowest airfare. There are too many variables... popularity of a flight and gas prices are two big ones.

I will say, I generally book 10 months out, and like a glutten, keep looking at prices even though I'm not flying SW or JB, and prices have NEVER gotten as low as what I've booked. This has been the case for the last 3-4 vacations (different destinations), but is also not a "rule".

Basically, you should book when you're comfortable with the price, and if it's going to upset you if prices drop, DON'T LOOK AGAIN (unless you're flying an airline that allows free changes/gives you credit).

 

[NancyIL]

Prices are usually lowest right after you buy your tickets!

 

[luvdisney87]

I don't know if it's too late to do this, but I always sign up for airfare alerts on Kayak and Bing travel. Bing has a price predictor which tells you whether prices are rising, falling, or staying the same. ITA software has a flight matrix where you can plug in your dates and it will give you prices. I often check the months before our trip dates so I can see what airfare is selling for. There is also a site called airfarewatchdog though I haven't tried it out yet. I always know what I want to pay and when it gets down to that I book it and then I agree with the previous poster....don't check after that!!!! Good luck! I think airfare is the most frustrating part of planning a vacation...so unpredicatable!

 

[Greysword]

Six months out. Usually, the "low-cost" domestic airlines (Southwest, JetBlue, Frontier, Allegiant, etc) release their schedules then. Also around this time (likely in reaction), the legacy carriers release their deep discounted fares.

From that point forward, it is a wait-and-see game. Prices fluctuate based on anticipated load out for a given flight, and the airlines begin to swap aircraft to meet anticipated demand.

The real rule should not be when to buy; rather, it should be how much!

As a family, decide what your ideal airfare rate would be (per person or as a group), and be realistic. Once you find a fare that qualifies on an airline you are comfortable flying, then book the ticket and don't worry about further price changes.

The point is to get value instead of cheap, and value is determined by getting a product or service at a price point that is comfortable and reasonable for you.

Good luck and have fun!

 

[mickeynut1]

I think a lot also depends on where you're flying from. We fly SWA out of Chicago and the fares are usually pretty high when they are first released, but then come down over time (and then keep fluctuating). When SWA released dates that covered our December trip, our flights were $166/pp each way. When they ran one of their latest specials, I was able to get our flights down for $99/pp. Our return is still high at $166, but I'm keeping an eye on those. However, I've seen people report on flights coming from the east coast that the day fares are released is usually the lowest they will be and only go up from there. With that said, I agree with the pp that I would decide what fare you are comfortable paying and then buy if/when they reach that amount and don't look back .

 

[CarolAnnB]

In my experience it also depends on what time of year you are traveling. We are traveling SW next week, I booked it the day they were released, and they have not gone down at all and I have checked every week or so, and every time SW says they are having a sale. Right now they are $200 more than what I paid. When we went the first week of Dec last year, it kept dropping and dropping up until the week before we left. So who knows.

 

[DisneyDeb83]

We booked our flights to MCO from Philly back in June for our trip in September. I am signed up with both AirTran and Southwest, so I get emails from them constantly. They had deals from $59 each way, and PHL-MCO was $99. The sale only lasted three days. Since then, I have not seen anything close to that price. Most "deals" that I see now are almost double that price. It seems you just have to get lucky, so sign up on your air carriers website and hope that they have a huge sale! Good luck!

 

[DeeCee735]

Prices are usually lowest right after you buy your tickets!

 

[badiggio]

It only takes a minute or two to check everyday,so do it from the time you know you're going.
For us, from Ottawa, Canada,no matter where we go,europe,Hawaii,Disney.....it's always around the 3 month mark.

 

[Coconuts]

We booked our flights to MCO from Philly back in June for our trip in September. I am signed up with both AirTran and Southwest, so I get emails from them constantly. They had deals from $59 each way, and PHL-MCO was $99. The sale only lasted three days. Since then, I have not seen anything close to that price. Most "deals" that I see now are almost double that price. It seems you just have to get lucky, so sign up on your air carriers website and hope that they have a huge sale! Good luck!

$99???!!! I am so jealous!

 

[jel0511]

We just booked our November trip and have been looking at airfare for the last month. Of course the week before we booked airfare skyrocketed and hasn't come down. Usually I have noticed that airfare drops midweek then goes up on the weekend, but of course now that I need to book, it hasn't done that in the last few weeks.

When do typically airfares drop before your trip, 30, 60,etc days out?

Thanks for the info!

I see you are from NJ. If your flying any where between the first two weekends in Nov your in NJ week which is notoriously expensive. When we've gone that week the best deals have been as soon as fares are released and only go up from there. I don't think you'll see fares come down unless you go to a non-NJ related airport like LGA, JFK or BWI. the entire state empties to WDW that week.