NewHere

I'm wondering what is the typical price range for direct flight from Boston to Paris in late April (ie around 4/19)? When is usually the best time to buy air tickets for April departure.
Last week, I saw round trip BOS-CDG direct Air France flight for $1100. However, when i decided to book it on Monday, it was gone. I'm pretty sure that it was still there on Saturday night. Now, for the same flight, it is almost $200 more.
I'm wondering if the price increase due to :
- sold out of seats (but iooks like more than half of the airfare is still available for selection)?
- temporary increase and might come back to lower fare again?

i'm wondering what is the chance that it will drop back to around $1100 again. Does Air France or Delta do promotions when they still seat left couple weeks before departure? If yes, typically how many weeks/days before departure?

We have a party of 6, so I'm going to have to pass if I have to pay close to $1300 per ticket and think of other destination. We are only interested in direct flights because we have young children traveling with us.

Thank you all in advance for your input.

eliztravels2

There is no way of knowing if and when prices will drop--or increase. Airlines have complex computer systems which determine how many seats are made available in any given fare class at any given time. Needless to say, they are designed to to maximize revenue, not to please the consumer. Your best bet is to monitor fares on different airlines for a period of time and when you see something you like, book it and don't look back.

Give this site a try to monitor fares on multiple airlines for a wide range of departure dates: www.matrixitasoftware.com

You can't book directly on the site but once you see a fare you can live with, go directly to the airline and book it there. I don't travel often to Europe so can't give you an idea of the price range you might expect for your itinerary, but in my experience going to Asia and Australia 4 months or more before an international trip the best time to buy, and airlines will not necessarily reduce prices just because there are empty seats.

Willingness to be flexible with dates, routes and destinations will maximize your chances of getting a decent fare. Good luck.

NewHere

thank you so much for your advice. this is very helpful info.

kybourbon

First, direct flight does not mean non-stop. Direct flights can have stops. It seems you want a non-stop only.

In your original search, were you entering 6 people? It's possible there were 2 or maybe even 4 seats left at the price and there are no longer that many seats at that fare. Try entering less people and see what happens.

Delete cookies before going back to the site (all these airlines track you and your searches, like all websites do).

NewbE

<Delete cookies before going back to the site (all these airlines track you and your searches, like all websites do).>

Good advice!! This drives me crazy, and is one of the big reasons I'm considering a VPN.

I like Hipmunk for fare comparison, too.

But yes, bottom line, when you see an itinerary you like for a fare you can live with, take it. I wish there were a way for you to be more certain you're getting a low fare, but there isn't.

kybourbon

>>>I like Hipmunk for fare comparison, too.<<<

I don't really see the point of using Hipmunk, Kayak, etc. to search when all those sites are powered by the ITAMatrix listed by eliztravels. Elizatravels web link is not to ITA which is what I think she meant to link.

http://matrix.itasoftware.com/

NewbE

Good point, ky. I distinguish between Hipmunk and Kayak based on the layout of the search results; I like Hipmunk's the best. The information is the same, but to me, ITA's layout is the least friendly.