When is airfare typically the cheapest?

[jaimeadk]

We are planning our first "trip home". From you season travelers, when is airfare usually the best. I know there is no real pattern but have you found it to be 30, 60, 90, 6 months, 11 months. What is most typical?

 

[DisDaydreamer]

We haven't flown for a looong time, I think one real pattern that is talked about recently is that Tuesday is the best day to buy a flight. I am not sure if it makes much difference anymore to buy months out.

 

[grannychamp]

Depending on where you are located and what airlines are available in your area you can go to the airline pages and sign up for their specials and they will email you.

Southwest Air usually always has cheaper than usual flights if that is an airline in your area.

I hope that this helps.

 

[jblrn2b]

It seems that patterns have changed d/t the economy/gas prices, so I am having a hard time guessing. But much also has to do with when you want to go - if it is a spring break week or holiday it is best when the flights are first offered and they go up from there. For my president's wk vaca (feb 16-22) I booked it in Sept. as soon as they came out and they are now almost double what I paid. But if you can be a little more flexible, sales are offered around 60-90 days prior.

I do know - because I work nights - the best time of day to book an on line flight is after midnight - d/t held flights being released. I have watched many a time that a cheap flight becomes more expensive in the am and kicked myself.

Good luck

 

[TIGGERmetoo]

I thought it was always the after you purchased your tickets!

 

[jblrn2b]

I thought it was always the after you purchased your tickets!

So true isn't it?

 

[DebbieB]

I usually fly Southwest for vacation. I've found the best fares 60 to 90 days before. Their fares are really high for June. For previous trips, I've usually paid around $200. Last October was $230. For June this year, well over $300! I transferred some hotel points into Southwest points and got a free ticket (I had 7 points, added 9 for the 16 total needed).

 

[JimMIA]

Airline fares make no sense. I can often fly from Miami to LA or SFO for less than $300, but have to pay $600 to fly to Atlanta. And you might have to pay $800 to fly from LAX to MIA the same day I'm going the other direction for $250. Go figure.

You need to check airfares from your airport to MCO, and also from nearby airports and to alternate destinations like Tampa, West Palm Beach, etc. Sometimes you'll find much cheaper airfares by looking at all the alternatives, but you also have to weigh those against convenience and scheduling. I usually end up flying from MIA (even though I could save a few bucks flying from Ft. Lauderdale) just because the flight schedules are so much better. Having an 8-12 hour flight day is not worth a $100 savings to me.

I also don't like Internet travel sites for fare-hunting. I check some of them to see what the lowest prices are, but I usually find that I get the same price and much better scheduling by going directly to the airline's web page.

Many large carriers change their fares very early Monday or Tuesday morning, so the advice above about buying on Tuesday often works out. Do NOT buy your tickets on a weekend. I'm not talking about traveling on a weekend, I mean purchasing the ticket. Fares will usually be higher if you purchase on the weekend.

Southwest is a completely different animal from most airlines and they have their own fare/discount system. If you don't mind flying SWA, some time spent learning their system will save you some money.

I personally avoid the deep-discount carriers because of their cancellation and on-time issues, but many people like them.

 

[DebbieB]

Airline fares make no sense. I can often fly from Miami to LA or SFO for less than $300, but have to pay $600 to fly to Atlanta. And you might have to pay $800 to fly from LAX to MIA the same day I'm going the other direction for $250. Go figure.

That's very true. I was discussing that at work today. They were assigning training locations for the spring. I really want to go to San Francisco. They were saying that's far so it would cost more. Not really the case. It's actually cheaper for me to fly to SFO than MSP (from PIT).

 

[edk35]

We find we get our best airfare if we fly on Tuesdays -Thursdays. SO we will arrive on a Tuesday maybe and fly out the following Thursday. We got 54 each way on flying on Airtran for our July trip and this was booked recently. In years past we have gotten really good deals on SW. Of course if you fly near a major holidays......all of this goes out the window. LOL

 

[wandalicious]

I have found that Saturdays are a good day to travel - I thought I read somewhere that was the case, and I have had that experience. And yes, tickets seem to be cheaper in the middle of the night (which works for me, since I'm an insomniac), and directly from the airline. I usually use an aggregator site like kayak.com to find good fares, and then go directly to the site.
You can also sign up for alerts at places like Shermans Travel and Kayak.

 

[maburke]

We are planning our first "trip home". From you season travelers, when is airfare usually the best. I know there is no real pattern but have you found it to be 30, 60, 90, 6 months, 11 months. What is most typical?

I have had good luck in the past with farecast.com. It's not a travel web site, it shows you the recent history of airfares between (major) cities. If your city is on there, it gives you a good idea of what price point is good to buy.

Disclaimer: the site was recently acquired by microsoft, so I take no responsibility moving forward.

 

[CDNmouse]

From Detroit to MCO we usually fly Southwest.

Usually cheaper air fares then the rest and no baggage fees must be factored in. Also having flexible travel dates has saved us too.

We just booked a short Monday / Thursday trip to MCO on Southwest, $59 each way.

Gary

 

[edk35]

From Detroit to MCO we usually fly Southwest.

Usually cheaper air fares then the rest and no baggage fees must be factored in. Also having flexible travel dates has saved us too.

We just booked a short Monday / Thursday trip to MCO on Southwest, $59 each way.

Gary

We flew SW for years and got great rates and I love the credits you can get too when your flights go down. However.....my kids are allergic to peanuts and even when they served alternate snacks there were still peanuts everywhere on the floor/seats. There were two trips my one son had a horrible time being on board. SO we gave it up for his healthy sake. We always did fine on the morning flights but the afternoon/evening flights
did him in. I wish they would go peanut free.