When is the best time to book a flight?

[jnrrt]

I'm confused a bit. When I check flights, it seems like the airlines have a certain time that they offer discounts. So if you're too early, you pay full price. But obviously, if you wait too long, you can get stuck too. So when do you all book? We're going the last week of September, if that info is useful.

Thanks!

 

[safetymom]

When you find a fare that is affordable to you. You can't ponder for long so keep looking and when you see what you think is a fare you can live with book it.

 

[dzneelvr]

The airline we've started using, TMA, has discounts for the first seats of the flight; the rest are at a higher rate (nothing drastic, though). So for me, I book at least 6 months in advance to get those first seats. Plus, I don't have time to dink around and try for the cheapest deal--we need to go a certain time (yes in peak season) because of DD and DS summer sports' schedule. Last summer we paid roughly $160 per person round trip. It was the least of our expenses.

 

[beccasmom]

Keep your eyes and ears tuned for specials. Check out airline websites as well as Expedia, Orbitz, etc. Set a date in your mind as your "drop-dead" date to lock in a fare. Get on airline mailing lists for specials. And when you see a great fare, jump on it! It is somewhat of an art - waiting too long can leave you without a flight, but you don't want to pay more than you need to. Certain times of the year are just not normally amenable to great deals - Christmas and spring break, for example. But if you live in an area with some competing airlines, you might just luck out. Good luck!

 

[majumom]

In shopping for the best deals on airfare in New York I have found that many airlines will offer a promotional fare or fun fare on certain flights. These flights seem to be the ones that are not heavily frequented by business travelers. I was lucky we booked about 90 days in advance and got a great deal. The promotional fares are limited and only a certain number of seats will be sold at the promotional rate.
I too looked at expedia, travelocity, price line but some did not offer any direct flights. The connecting flights that were offered had very long wait times in between. I found by booking directly with the airline I was going to fly I could also save a few dollars per ticket on a handling fee.
What you will want to consider when you are traveling is how busy it will be- going during peak season for instance flights will book faster & you will have less choices available the longer you wait- no matter what the fair.
I found the same to be true with car rentals- it's all in the timming! Good luck!

 

[Carrieberry]

Our exprerience in January was good. We booked directly through the airline and I watched the only airline that had a direct flight (we were travelling with our autistic son so this was VERY important) starting about 6 months out. At 90 days it dropped to almost in half and then 21 days out it jumped back to the high price again. We booked it as soon as it hit the 60 days mark and got direct flights to and from MCO from Phoenix for $187 pp. That was less than we have ever paid for even connecting flights.

 

[Hugpug]

I would book as soon as you see a fare that is right. I booked my Dec. 2 weeks ago and the fares have jumped 40 dollars since then. Also my return flight is 3/4 full already. SO don't dolly around if you want a choice.

 

[cranbiz]

I will book when I get a fare that I'm willing to pay. If you are flying from a market that has a "discount" airline, look into flying down on one airline and back on another. I do that frequently with jetBlue and Song out of BOS. Nowadays a lot of airlines are charging one way fares, so these is not the "One Way penalty" that there used to be. jetBlue, Song, Southwest, Air Tran and Independence Air all book one way fares.

I can also use SW out of PVD and then either Song or jetBlue back to BOS as I use a limo service to the airport and this company charges me the same going to either Logan or Green from my house. I have been able to get great fares by being flexable this way.

For example, last week I got SW at $121 RT including all taxes and fees from PVD. Next month, I could not get a good return fare on SW, so I booked SW out of PVD down ($55) to MCO and Song back to BOS ($79).

Sign up for all of the airlines FF clubs that service your airports as they frequently offer email specials.

HTH

 

[melindaandrob]

I am watching the Southwest 'Ding' specials hoping for a good rate for the last week of Sept. It is only dh and myself so I feel I can wait it out a little. If I was booking for my family of 5 I think I would have done it already.

 

[jnrrt]

We're going the last week of September too. I had never heard of Ding! specials until I looked here like three days ago. I downloaded it yesterday, and got a special that expired last night, so we're all booked! I thought it was pretty crazy timing, and we were able to get non-stop too, which is pretty non-negotiable for me with three kids. Total $970 for 5 tickets (we bought one for the baby too).

Thanks for all your help!