How far in advance should you book flights?
 

I am hearing conflicting reports. My travel is taking place in August...I'd like to get it booked now, but people are telling me that if I book too early, I could miss cheaper rates closer to my travel dates, and that flight times could change between now and then, so I am better off booking 2 months in advance at the very most.

Thoughts?

Your's is the age old question for which there is no set answer. That's why you hear conflicting reports from your friends. If you wait until 2 months out you could very well find a lower fare but you also run the risk of only finding higher fares or worse yet no seats because the flight is fully booked.

It's almost impossible to predict when or if airfares will change (they could go up/down or stay the same) and you never know when a particular flight to a particular destination may be fully booked. Fares on the same airline can go down to one destination and up to a different destination. You can check fares in the morning and find higher fares to the same destination later that same day. Simply put, there's no set pattern when it comes to airline fares.

Schedules can also change, sometimes by only a few minutes other times by hours. Here again, those schedule changes can happen anytime - sometimes months or weeks in advance sometimes on shorter notice.

Most seasoned travelers will tell you to monitor the fares for your specific destination so you get an idea of the "normal" price range. You can sign up with your airline of choice for "Fare Alerts" or use sites like kakak to help you monitor fares. When you find a fare that looks good to you go ahead and book the flight - that fare might not be there tomorrow.

There is no answer to your question. It's like trying to guess the stock market. If we could do that, we'd all be rich!

I do some research on prices, and once I have decided for sure my dates and destination, and find a flight schedule and price I'm comfortable with, I buy. Then I stop looking.

Thanks for your advice, both of you! It's tough because I'm wanting to book now for a multi-city trip that's not until August...some people are telling me to wait, but I just want to book it! So hard to decide...

Hi aftertheharvest -

I have no help for you, just that I am in the same boat. Fares this year to Europe are very high and I am dithering as well. Mine is for end of May, so a little different than higher priced August, but still it's many hundreds more than "average" from even last year. I am getting close to buying, probably in the next day or so.

If I was leaving in August, gee...I'd probably dither a couple more weeks but I really have no experience with how quickly seats will sell out (as I have only been to Europe once in summer eons ago).

Sigh... No help for you, sorry, but I feel your pain!

i go back and forth on that one reguarly, last year i booked flights to the US a month before my trip, for the trip i'm taking this year (at end of june) i booked my flights last oct before the passenger fuel duty was raised and now the flights are close to being double the price i paid. I have on the other hand booked flights mere days before travelling. Depending on when in August your travelling i guess

Where are you going from/to?

The trick is knowing what a good fare is and buying it as soon as it is available. Easier said than done.

The potential for schedule changes for at ticket bought six months in advance at a great fare is not an issue for me.

To get the best fare it is best to be flexible.

I liked what Roamsaround said - monitor the fares to get an idea of the price range. It helped me. I have already booked my filghts to Bangkok in December. I new what the fare range tended to be and found a very good deal so I bought.

I like what someone else posted - will you be more upset if you wait and the fares go up or if you book now and the fares go down. Once you book quit looking!

I'm flying business class for my trip and the fare now is 42% HIGHER than when I booked.

Hi After, you said <i>"i'd like to get it booked now"</i> and I know that feeling. My general MO is to plan far ahead, monitoring prices as others have recommended, and then actually book in the 3 to 6 months window.

This is especially true if <u>good flight times</u> and/or <u>connections</u> and/or <u>seats</u> matter.

Then there's the thrill of getting that flight confirmation:
<b>"Hey, I'm really going"</b> allowing one to relax and plan other details.

I understand the point about procuring good seats and times, but personally I wouldn't book this far in advance. August is almost 6 months away, affording you plenty of time to monitor air fares. I think the two month advance thing is a good rule of thumb.

In the meantime, you could set up fare trackers to alert you if prices drops.

Or you could receive a daily email informing you of what the current fare is for your dates. When you see the price steadily increase, that might be a good time to book.

Like others have said, there's no magic formula, but the above is what's worked best for me.

>>When you see the price steadily increase, that might be a good time to book.

That should read, If you see the price slowly increase...

In the same boat here, only my trip isn't until November. Going from MCO-BCN Nov.14-29 for a cruise.
I never book until 3-4 months out, but everyone's telling me the prices are just going to go through the roof the second half of this year, due to instability in mid-east I guess.

I'm finding fares of low-mid $800's with one stop (EWR) and I guess I can live with that.
Is there any site where I can find what the fares have been for this route in previous years?

I booked my trip to Italy today. It's higher than I thought I'd be paying, but less than it was last week. I had been monitoring fare around 1800 for two weeks and suddenly United had one for 16. Does that mean summer prices will drop? I wish I knew. Prior to this hike, they were around 10-1200. It seemed like they just went sky high over night.