Jane

I just read something in another response that advised waiting until ticket prices "came into season" before purchasing.<BR><BR>I am flying to Paris the second week of August. Can anyone tell me what the timing would be to purchase my ticket when the pricing "comes into season"?

a Travel Professional

It is well PAST for Aug. This is the high season.

Jim Rosenberg

It might have been one of my responses that you saw because I've found certain seasonal pricing patterns that work for me with the markets and carriers that I use. Keep in mind that airfare pricing is filled with curveballs that reflect changing market conditions. You really have to pay attention ALL the time -- but here are some general patterns that I've seen over the past several years.<BR><BR>For mid-winter through mid-late March travel, I almost always find the best fares and schedules by buying in late October-early November.<BR><BR>In early January, you should have a good shot at early March through April travel (if you didn't find what you needed in November).<BR><BR>March into early April should take you into the best fares for summer European travel (and THIS year, the deals for Europe have been lean, indeed).<BR><BR>June-July, you should be know what your fall trip looks like so you can be ready for a fare sale, but it may not come until after the Fourth of July. <BR><BR>After Labor Day, you should have a good chance to purchase fares for travel through mid-December.<BR><BR>Special deals: look for special deals to Europe over the Thanksgiving weekend period (but be ready to fly ON the holiday, if you need to and perhaps take couple of days off to return on Monday or Tuesday to max out on it. Likewise, you can often find deals in the Christmas-New Year's period. Be prepared to fly ON Christmas or return New Year's eve.<BR><BR>Again, nobody can predict fare sales with any great degree of accuracy, since different factors come into play such as the addition or subtraction of flights, world events, etc. But by working in the general neighborhood of four months out (and starting to really hunt a bit before that), I find I usually have my best chances at the best fares. <BR><BR>One more thing: this model does not necessarily apply to package deals, which can often be purchased even earlier at good prices and also on a last-minute basis, from time-to-time.<BR><BR>

Jane

Thank you for sharing what you've experienced. My brother has been living in Europe for a little over a year and I've been going for visits at different times of the year, mainly October and March. Needless to say, I was shocked to see the cost for a flight in August when compared to other months.<BR><BR>Your response was very helpful.

Melissa

I also find, that high season is generally when children are out of school for about everything, so summer, christmas, march break, easter break, so on and so on. I just had clients who wanted to fly to Europe right around Labour Day. college students are flying everywhere to go back to school. I saved him $400 per ticket just by asking if he wanted to wait a week.