Should I purchase air tickets at earliest time or wait?
 

My husband and I have never traveled and are finally taking a trip to England in May 2012. Should I purchase the air tickets just as soon as they come available or wait several months...are prices likely to come down by waiting? They're so expensive. We, of course, don't have frequent flyer miles or anything to use. Your experienced advice will be most welcome. Thank you!

Start looking now, but don't buy yet. After following the ups and downs for several months, you'll probably get a sense of what price you are wiling to pay. Sign up for fare alerts from the airlines that fly your route (BA, AA, United?), and from the big online ticket sites (Orbitz, Kayak, etc).

If your dates are flexible, you can wait longer than if they are set in concrete, but watch in earnest beginning this summer. Be ready to buy without hesitation when you see a good price for a convenient itinerary -- which you will only recognize after a time of observation. (Once you have purchased, turn off the alerts because you do not want to learn that the price has gone down, even by as little as $10)

Good luck.

Also, consider other airports. DH and I travel to England at least twice a year, sometimes we can get better prices by flying in to Manchester or Birmingham rather than London. You can let us know where you're leaving from and where you're going and there are posters here who can offer all sorts of more detailed help.

AA.com

Picked up 2 of their AAdvantage CCs

and 40000 miles each after spending $1k on each card

good enough for 2 free RT FF trips for my wife

and myself... you have time to this will save u a tonne.

always get best deals Tuesday PM in Late Jan for May

farecompare.com kayak.com/buzz cheapoair.com

good sites to monitor but always save booking late Jan

if u have not picked up enough FF miles till then.

Thanks so much for the great advice. I'll check into AA credit card for mileage rewards! We are flying from RNO into London. We're staying in Dorset and touring from there. There is a regional airport but flights don't look any less expensive. I feel a bit of a fish-out-of-water, here living into my 70s without ever traveled before! I appreciate the help!

May is not a busy time for traveling to Europe as the weather is not that great in May and kids are still in school, so unless you see a great deal, I would wait.

Another fare-tracking site is Yapta.com. You put in a flight you want it to track and a price at which you want Yapta to notify you, and it will email you when the fare hits that price. You can also go to the site and see how the fare tracks over time. Even if you don't take that specific flight, tracking it will give you an idea of how fares are going generally.

CopperKat - good for you for traveling in your 70s! My mom was 78 the first time she went to Europe and had a great time.

You are definitely doing the right thing - giving yourself enough time to plan, check out prices, etc. The advice above is all great - there's not much I can add.

In general, even this last year when prices have been overall pretty high, I don't buy tickets less than 6-8 weeks before a trip. It's always at least a small risk/benefit thing. Wait too long and you can't get seats. Buy too soon and pay too much. You just have to find your own comfort zone. GOod luck!