When to buy airline tickets?

[mikerice126]

Hi there, it's my first post. We're planning our first family trip to WDW (ASMv) in September 2006. I've never been in this situation before where I know my trip date before airline tickets are available.

I understand that many airlines publish their schedules and fares 330 days in advance, and some publish later than that. I've read advice that 330 days ahead is when you want to buy your tickets to get a good price. I know that sometimes waiting until the last minute can get you a great deal, but I really don't want to do that. Is 330 days ahead a good time, or have you found better fares by waiting until all the airlines have published their schedules, let's say 180 days in advance? Also, have you found airfares purchased as part of a Disney package to be competitive?

If it matters, we're in upstate New York, so will probably be flying through one of the east coast hubs (NYC, DC, Atlanta).

 

[disneydreamerinny]

Hello, and welcome!!

I started watching fares at around 9 months, and then I booked at about 6 months out. I have seen prices go much higher and much lower than what I paid for them.
From what I have read here, you can call and get a refund for the difference if the prices drop dramatically.
There might be a fee depending on which airline you book.
I however didnt know that until all the sales were done. I could have saved over $400.00 if I had known this earlier.

Have fun planning, its the best part....almost..

 

[sunkissed212]

Hi there - i'm planning a trip for Sept 06 too! My mom works for the airline so we're hoping for some kind of a discounted rate because of that. Otherwise, I'll be researching as soon as I can and probably actually booking the tickets about 6 months out.

 

[grinningghost]

I'm in the same boat. Our trip is in July, 2006, and as of today - it's exactly 330 days away according to some online date calculator I consulted.

But alas, all the airline websites tell me I have to wait until tomorrow for it to REALLy be 330 days. In any event, I hate being last minute. I'd rather end up paying a little more and having everything done, than waiting until too late and with my luck, the fares going sky high.

Although some people have great luck waiting - I guess it's all in what you like to do - plan ahead or wait for the best deals.

 

[mikeandeileen]

we got our tickets last month for our trip in Nov. we are flying Jet Blue and we got a deal. if you wait too long they may over book the flight and might bump you. I would get them as soon as you can.

 

[beccasmom]

Welcome! You certainly can buy your tickets now, but waiting might give you a better fare. For instance, SWA has great fares right now through mid-November and other airlines have matched that in my market. But you can, of course, get a refund if fares go down after you've purchased yours. However, some airlines are getting stickier about this and you'll have to do the checking....they don't volunteer the info! September seems to be ripe for decent fares; I think you'll do well.

 

[vossjemi]

We are going this sept, but I booked my land/cruise part last summer. I too wondered about when to book air. I finally booked air in May when SWA opened up their bookings to sept. As the summer progressed, airfare got cheaper, and I cancelled and rebooked. Wonderful thing about SWA is I called their long distance # and they credited me the difference to my cc instead of ticketless travel funds. My last deal was the $59 airfare from kansas city to mco which I booked on July 5.

 

[owtrbnks]

Here's the deal if you are near Albany or Buffalo. Southwest has $49 fares to FL cities every fall. This year they run from Sept thru Nov 17th. Go to Southwest.com to book the lowest fares online with a credit card. They only open their schedule 4-6 months ahead of time but they ALWAYS have much cheaper fares than Northworst, Smelta, US Scareways, or Untied. If you book a fare and then the price drops you can rebook at the lower fare and they will give you a credit for the difference good for up to a year! They do not charge change fees.
If you are more toward central NY, try Jetblue.com they fly from Syracuse.
We always fly SWA - they're #1. (No I don't work there.)

 

[mainewmn]

This is how we do it. Do you have a preferred airline? Preferred airport? We prefer to fly Jet Blue or AA and therefore we book our plane tickets as soon as we know we going with either one of the two airlines (depending which one we have credit, miles, cheaper tickets from). We plan our trips anywhere between a year or so before we take them and the couple of times the price did drop I always called them and requested a credit which we always got without any hassles.