When to book a flight for 2018?

[Jennifer Shull]

I am planning a Dec 2018 trip. We are flying out of Philly or Newark or Allentown or Scranton. When should start to look for flights? I've heard three month out. Is there an optimal time? If there somewhere I can look, a site, that have really good tips for securing the cheapest flights? We have 5 people and I need to keep my costs as low as possible without driving.

 

[Pmlocke]

I always wait and don't even start looking at the airlines websites until 5 months out. I am traveling from Detorit to Orlando in November. In the last week the fare has dropped 300 dollars round trip per seat. That's still not good enough for me. I don't usually get my seats until I see that the plane has started to fill up and I am guessing that the fares won't be dropping any longer. Usually about 3 months before departure date is when that occurs. Good luck.

 

[monorailsilver]

I book the day availability opens.

Sunday I am working but hope to be home to book jet blue at 2 (hey that rhymed). If not DH will.

 

[kitkat4622]

I book the day availability opens.

Sunday I am working but hope to be home to book jet blue at 2 (hey that rhymed). If not DH will.

I will be buying also on sunday for our April trip

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

You can't even book a flight on a legacy airline until around 330 days in advance, so you have a lot of time before you can even book.

 

[Wild4Walt]

Most airlines don't allow you to book until around 330 days in advance. I'm traveling in September 2018 and will go on and get an idea for budget in November. After that I'll check around 5 months out and then keep checking back until I get the fare I want.

 

[Donna M]

I have found that if I want Southwest or Jetblue, then I have gotten the best rate the day the fares are released. The other airlines have usually been higher for us. MHT or BOS to Orlando during school vacations.

 

[sam_gordon]

Start looking now at the rates for your same days in 2017. Check multiple times a week and chart it somewhere. By "same days" I mean if you're going from the first Saturday to the second Saturday, use that. If you're going from Christmas eve to the day after New Year's, use that.

By the time you can book (should be in January 2018), you'll know what a "good" price is. Then, watch prices. When you get to a "good price", book and don't look back.