29FEB

I'm wondering what the conventional wisdom is for buying airline tickets for well-attended European events. Hogmanay or Oktoberfest for example/ I would think there's a lot of demand for those dates so my ususal "watch and wait" on airline fares won't work? Thanks for any thoughts on the matter.

Gardyloo

I don't think it's possible to generalize. Hogmanay, for example, is on New Year's Eve/Day, at a peak travel period to begin with. There might be a bump in airfares to Edinburgh compared to other destinations at the same time, but I'd also imagine that more people come to Scotland on the train than fly, but that's a guess.

The airlines' revenue algorithms are very complex and allow for human adjustment based on real-time market conditions. Some events, like the Olympics this summer in Paris, will undoubtedly lead to increases in fares to Paris over what are already peak levels, but will they do the same for Brussels? Hard to know.

The same advice as always apply - when you see a fare you can live with, book it, then don't look back.

nyse

FWIW, I was in this position- Oktoberfest in Munich.
Watching airfares, they seemed to hover in the $800 range (nonstop from Chicago)
one day early March they dipped a little lower and I pulled the trigger.
They since have been consistently @$1300 so I’m glad to have them purchased.
Hope this helps!

ruddhishah3028

I suggest you book now for both Oktoberfest and Hogmanay. I usually book 9-10 months in advance, this way I get pretty cheap rates on the tickets and I get to choose where I want to sit as a lot of the seats are unreserved still. Book the refundable tickets and if you see any price drops later on, cancel and rebook new ones. I usually book through third parties like travel agencies and they handle all the cancellation, refunds and rebookings for me. It's pretty neat, I get discounts on already cheaper fares and don't have to waste time and energy on cancellations.

RoseanneCenner

Definitely book as early as you can for these holidays, especially Oktoberfest. If the price drops in the future just cancel and re-book, if it doesn't go down then you already have tickets bought at a low rate.