When to Purchase Airline - Ontario to CA

[Frozen2014]

Not sure there is a magical time, but thought I'd ask to see if anyone knows.

A bit of background...

We are going to visit Disneyland last week in August (i.e. so week leading up to Labour Day)...possibly leaving the end of the prior week. i.e. so trip something like Thurs Aug 24 - Sat Sept 2. We would spend a few days in LA and then head to Disney for the last 4 days or so.

When checking flights now for four of us, flying directly to LAX is $1000 more expensive than flying to SNA Orange County or BUR (both 1 stop). However, last year I was checking flight prices for same August travel (but last summer), starting to check in June. And at that time, the costs were more on par, with even SNA being $200-$300 more.

Thus, obviously at some point, the SNA/BUR prices rise. Is there some magic time? e.g. in the new year, 1-2 months before...or maybe it just keeps rising slowly?

It's a bit of a gamble when to book. The SNA/BUR is a great price now and I would hate to miss out on the $1000 savings, but we're just still figuring out exact days of travel (and not sure if too early to request time off of work).

 

[dis_guy]

You definitely want to firm up your travel dates and be sure you have the time off of work before buying airfare. Changing airline flights can be expensive with the change fees etc., depending on the airline you're flying with. Other than that there is no "magic" time to book airfare. There are still those who say "x" number of days before is the sweet spot and so on, but those "rules" seldom work anymore now since flight pricing is all about programming the computers to maximize profit for the carrier. So, if you see a fare you can live with and you have arranged your plans to ensure you have at least a reasonable chance you won't need to change them, I'd say book your flights as soon as possible. Peace of mind is worth something.

 

[Canuck16]

I agree with the OP and I don't think there is a certain time when prices are the cheapest anymore.

We have always found that the prices keep rising towards our departure date. So if you have found a great deal on flights and know when you want to go I would book them and lock in your flight costs.

Good luck!

 

[MommyBG]

Have you tried the Hopper app? It's supposed to be a fare prediction app. It tells you the current fares and whether they will increase or decrease in price. It tells you how much and approximately when. Obviously it's not a guarantee, but it does give you an idea.

I've always heard that 80 days out is when you get the best fare, not sure if that's true. We often go to LA for March Break and always seem to book in late December/early January. It is my mission in life to get the best possible prices for flights (almost a challenge for myself) and we've always seem to do well with that time frame.

However, if the price is right to you now then I would book!

 

[Frozen2014]

Thanks for the posts. I actually sat down with DH last night and went through flights together (I had done the research so was showing him my thoughts). We haven't purchased yet but he did save two different itinerary's. It's a bit nerve racking booking so early as we just have to assume that work will give us the time off, but would love to lock in at these prices (then again, there is the downside that an even better deal comes up...or a huge price drop on the direct LAX flight. But..it's all a gamble as you just don't know).

MommyBG, thanks for the app. Funny enough I do have the app but never really looked at it as I had no idea it did a far prediction. Definitely gonna check it out.

 

[scrappinginontario]

I find Tuesdays a good day to check for flight discounts....but they come and they go. Not easy to find a 'best' time to book I find.

 

[squirrel]

I have already booked my trip from Bellingham to MCO in August. I like booking as soon as possible. I was late booking this year (November) usually I book as soon as the dates are released.

 

[darwinsrule]

It may or may not be an option depending upon where you are, but you may want to look at Jetblue from Buffalo. They are running a direct flight to LAX starting at $116 USD each way. Even with the exchange it works out to be a awesome price. Noticed it a month or so ago when booking our flights to Seattle for next summer. Immediately our thoughts turned to a Disneyland trip at some point in our future.

 

[Shumshine]

We travel around the same time to LA/California - we usually book by early Feb. Honestly we love using Google Flights and Hopper (app).

With google flights - we are able to purchase in CAD, where as Hopper you purchase in USD.

Last year we were able to book flights for $450 CAD (RT) to LAX; and we usually dont book SNA as we travel around LA, and we like direct flights and dont mind driving down the coast.

You'll probably start seeing great prices in late Jan.

I agree with the other posters - Tuesday /Wednesday are the best days to purchase flights.

One great thing about Google.com/flights - is that it'll list all of the partner sites (ie: Air Canada and United) - sometimes one airline will have better pricing than the other - same flights. (it's weird) but we save a lot.

GL!

 

[Frozen2014]

We travel around the same time to LA/California - we usually book by early Feb. Honestly we love using Google Flights and Hopper (app).

With google flights - we are able to purchase in CAD, where as Hopper you purchase in USD.

Last year we were able to book flights for $450 CAD (RT) to LAX; and we usually dont book SNA as we travel around LA, and we like direct flights and dont mind driving down the coast.

You'll probably start seeing great prices in late Jan.

I agree with the other posters - Tuesday /Wednesday are the best days to purchase flights.

One great thing about Google.com/flights - is that it'll list all of the partner sites (ie: Air Canada and United) - sometimes one airline will have better pricing than the other - same flights. (it's weird) but we save a lot.

GL!

Thanks so much for the advice. For the $450 CAD to LAX, is that from Toronto??? If so, that is an amazing price.

Ok cool....I am watching prices and sounds like it 'may' drop into late Jan. Hopper has a range for direct of dropping until July, which is awhile (where as for BUR/SNA it lists unitl mid January..then it'll rise). Guess it's all based on historical data but definitely helps with trying to guess.

And Tues/Wed are the best...I will definitely keep an eye out.

PS - Didn't try Google.com/fights but that's a neat search engine too. I just use FlightHub to check and watch the various flight combinations.

PPS - To the poster above, at the moment I am only seeing one direct JetBlue flight from Buffalo to LAX, but it is not good times (e.g. leaving at 6:50pm at night, which doesn't work well with kids...especially with a time change).

 

[Shumshine]

Thanks so much for the advice. For the $450 CAD to LAX, is that from Toronto??? If so, that is an amazing price.

Ok cool....I am watching prices and sounds like it 'may' drop into late Jan. Hopper has a range for direct of dropping until July, which is awhile (where as for BUR/SNA it lists until mid January..then it'll rise). Guess it's all based on historical data but definitely helps with trying to guess.

And Tues/Wed are the best...I will definitely keep an eye out.

PS - Didn't try Google.com/fights but that's a neat search engine too. I just use FlightHub to check and watch the various flight combinations.

PPS - To the poster above, at the moment I am only seeing one direct JetBlue flight from Buffalo to LAX, but it is not good times (e.g. leaving at 6:50pm at night, which doesn't work well with kids...especially with a time change).

My apologizes OP - the flights are from Toronto. it was crazy good deal!
We usually do morning flight on the departure date - getting in for 10:30am/12pm; and then do the 12PM (gets in at 7am) or 10PM red eye home.

I've been flying to California for 6/7 years, we've seen it steadily rise from $299 (RT) in 2009 to $450 (RT) in 2015. We actually avoid going thru Buffalo unless the deals are AMAZING!!!

If you're set to fly into BUR (it's further from Anaheim - BUT great if you're trying to do Universal); SNA is great for Anaheim. TRY SouthWest

You can track / watch your flights on Google and it'll show you how flight prices have moved from the first date that you decide to watch and it suggest when to purchase.

Happy purchasing - be aware that Disney 1/2 marathon is Aug 31 - Sept 3. Book your hotel now and get free cancellation for greater flexibility.

 

[Frozen2014]

Thanks again Shumshine. Actually since posting this, we are looking at compromising a bit with flying direct from Toronto to LAX and then returning from SNA, which is 1 stop. Our trip will start in LA and then our last few days will be Disney parks. It's still about $500 more than flying direct both ways, but better than $1000 difference.

Yikes...thanks for the warning of the half marathon. Guess that affects the parks too? We were hoping for lower crowds. With the construction now, I am confused with our hotel choice (it was between Park Vue and Desert Inn, but now not so sure)...but as you say, we should just book now as long as we can cancel.