Wondering When To Buy
 

Usually I don't have any problem tracking airfare and figuring out when to purchase a ticket. The situation I'm currently facing is a bit different, though.

In April, I'll be flying out of DTW to BOS to go to an appointment at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. My appointment is the Friday after Easter. I may stay the weekend in Boston, at this point nothing's carved in stone on the length of my stay. I've been using Kayak to track airfares, which appear to be averaging about $300 for round-trip. I'm not tied into flying on a specific airline, but I do have a voucher for Delta which is good for $75 off. At this point, I'm wondering for both best price and schedule, how early/late I should book.

Any tips/input would be most welcome. TYIA.

BC

This is the same thing I've been grumbling about - I finally sucked it up and bought tickets before I drove myself nuts.

http://www.fodors.com/community/air-...-wait-game.cfm

If you've got a $75 coupon that you can use on DL/NW, then it's pretty much a slam dunk to go with them. DL/NW have a bunch of non-stops between BOS and DTW, and they're the only ones who have non-stops.

Southwest offers some less expensive fares (as low as $208 round-trip if you travel on Tues or Weds), but you'd need to change planes. With the coupon, though, the Southwest option doesn't seem very attractive.

Best thing is to wait until you're certain of the dates you want to travel, as long as the decision doesn't drag into March. Unlike the following weekend (school vacaion getaway weekend and Boston Marathon), there's no particular reason that the 2nd weekend in April would be unusually heavy for air travel.

Thanks for the input. There's a chance I may be flying into/out of Hartford, as a pal of mine lives in Northampton and our birthdays are right around the time of my appt, so I may be staying with her for this trip for a dual celebration. As luck would have it, fares are (no surprise) listed about the same amounts for Hartford, and Delta/NW also services with non-stop flights.

Although I realized that "spring break" for universities would not be likely to be around this time, I was a bit concerned that high schools and elementary schools would be having an Easter break. In the larger picture, I think it just won't play that big a role, as neither Boston nor Hartford are particularly popular Easter destinations.

Thanks!
BC

It is spring break for our daughter's school district that week - and by chance mine - my school doesn't follow a traditional schedule though and I just lucked out this year.