when to book flights

[mike&amy1508]

HI!

I am new at booking flights, so any help is appreciated! We are departing Jan 6 (about 6 months from now) and we're trying to figure out when to book our flights. The price just went up a little recently, and they have been going up for a while. Do you think they will go back down, or should we buy now? How long before your trip do you usually book your flights?

Thanks all!

 

[JanB]

We usually book 2 or 3 months ahead of time -- sometimes even closer to time, depending on whether the flights are filling up quickly.

Typically, 6 months out is too soon for any airfare sales to have been announced. And purchasing less than 3 weeks ahead, you'll definitely pay the highest fare.

If you really want the best fare, then it's good to be as flexible as you can in terms of departure date and time. You probably will not get the best fares on weekends, with the exception of possibly from mid-day Saturday thru Sunday morning. Best fares are usually Tuesday thru Thursday. Supply and demand.

One site that I like to use for research is Kayak. It will search for fares (or hotel rates or car rentals, etc) from a variety of sources, and list them all for you. If I'm not mistaken, you can also include alternative airports in your search (but I'm not absolutely sure that I'm remembering that part correctly.)

http://www.kayak.com

 

[Cmbar]

I agree that if you flexible with dates and times then you can wait it out. However, if your really want a certain time then I wouldn't hold my breath that the prices are going down. Southwest definitely is hitting most of their markets with higher costs so that won't help in the competition area. Also if you have limited choices from your city, you really should weigh whether you want to take a chance on that. Good Luck, I hate the "do I book now" game!

 

[JanB]

I agree that if you flexible with dates and times then you can wait it out. However, if your really want a certain time then I wouldn't hold my breath that the prices are going down. Southwest definitely is hitting most of their markets with higher costs so that won't help in the competition area. Also if you have limited choices from your city, you really should weigh whether you want to take a chance on that. Good Luck, I hate the "do I book now" game!

Cmbar gives you some good advice. If you are new to flying, then it might be better to not stress yourself by playing the waiting game. I fly out of Atlanta, so I typically have lots of choices.

One other thing to keep in mind. The earlier you book (like 6 months out), the greater the likelihood that at some point there will be changes to your flight times. The airline might adjust your flight times one way or another. OR they might actually end up eliminating some flights and moving you to another flight. It's based on how the flights are filling up and is simply a part of the airline business. So, be prepared to deal with it if that happens to you. And, if it does happen to you, then don't be shy about re-checking the available flights and let the airline know if a different flight suits you better. If they actually cancel your flight and put you on another one, then they SHOULD put you on whatever flight you select (assuming seats are available) at no additional charge.