When Do the Airlines Begin Fall Sales?
 

When can I expect to see Fall sales advertised, particularly from the U.S. to Europe? Is it too early to book a flight for late September / early October?

Thanks.

I think this year it is even tougher to predict - I keep reading articles about fuel costs and how costs of flying will continue to go up - but that is not necessarily predictive for a specific route.

What route are you flying and what fares are you seeing now?

Several airlines raised fares today and I'm guessing that's going to happen again before the end of summer, at least once. Doubt there will be true sales in the fall, but if there are, they will probably just roll back to about where they've been in the last couple of weeks. In addition, more people are traveling in late Sept./early Oct. than ever before, esp. new retirees.

I always look out for what I call "back to school" sales. People tend not to travel around September so that's when I usually scour for sales.
I'd love to hear from all the travel buffs on this topic though.

Most of the time, the better fares are introduced unannounced. There's really hardly any real advertised sales anyways, as most of the time, those fares aren't exceptional at all.

You can also sign up for various fare watcher features on-line and see what happens - although I have not been very successful with these.

In same article there was a website that claimed to offer predictive costs of fares on various routes - I guess that is not real helpful if I can't remember website.

I purchased my ORD to MHT ticket today because I've been watching the price (on UA) and it suddenly dropped about $100!!! Now, that's a sale! It may be a very big mistake on their part, but I clicked "purchase" so the ticket is mine!! Yipee!
Carol

Going back to the original post, I've found that the best fares for late September/early October on the U.S.-Europe routes that I watch usually don't show up until after the 4th of July. That said, fare deals are unpredictable and you have to keep watching all of the time. As rkkwan points out, some of the best deals are not advertised; they are competitive moves between the carriers. Good opportunities tend to be even more fleeting now then they were a couple of years ago. The lowest fares are always for November-March travel and the lowest-fare seats on any given flight are likely to be very limited. While airfares are generally higher this year, fares don't follow things like fuel costs in a lockstep, formula-driven fashion.

I began watching PIT to MAD for the end of October at more than 6 months out, but couldn't buy because our itinerary wasn't for-sure yet. By the time I was ready, fares had increased across all carriers by about $150. So now I am checking daily. They went back down about $25 this week, but I will continue to wait, either until the fare comes little lower or the flight appears to be filling up.

I guess I should be careful, though. I was watching the US Air flight for the days I want to travel, and there were PLENTY of empty seats on the flight, and then all of a sudden it was COMPLETELY full. Maybe a tour group or class on a foreign exchange trip or something . . .

Seat maps on an airline's website is not a reliable source for knowing how full a flight is. Plus, there's no guarantee that an airline will continue to offer cheap fares even if the plane's not filling up. Very risky game to play.

"When can I expect to see Fall sales advertised, particularly from the U.S. to Europe?"

More than likely the day after you purchase your tickets. That is how it works for me.
((D))8-)

jamaltay,
That's how it works for me too! :) Just in April I was fare watching...Jamaica to JFK...saw a really good special. But...I knew they woudl go lower. So I waited. Ticket price went up by $150! :-o Two days before my scheduled departure date I caved and bought the ticket at the high price. The day after I checked the fare and it was the lowest it had ever been! I just groaned. :L

That's how the system works, JAGIRL. It just never seems to let me down.
((D))8-)

For the above couple of posters...with United (and it may be possible with other airlines I don't know) if your fare on the same leg has gone down you can call them up and they'll credit the difference back to your credit card.

Astonishingly there's even a function on their website were you log into my itineraries pull up the itinerary, click make changes and then more options and you can check if the price went down. It really makes it easier because you know you'll get the best deal.

I wish all the airlines did that!

I should clarify, I suppose.

I don't watch how full the flight is to judge if prices will go down. After all, a flight isn't the clearance rack at Macy's. :)

But if the flight I want is getting full, I will bite the bullet and buy the tickets.

As for the US Air itinerary that I was watching . . . the one that suddenly displayed "No flights available" . . . well today that flight is available, and there are PLENTY of seats still open. Maybe another glitch with their new website?