Buying Airline Tickets Early
 

Does it make sense to buy our airline tickets now, for a June trip, as opposed to waiting for a couple of months? June is a long ways away.

Should have said for a trip to Alaska.

There is no "sense". June is definitely not a "long ways away" for the airlines, with sophisticated software programs for maximizing their operating expenses/profits. Airlines are more likely, nowadays, to be cutting back flights than offering "cheap seats". Fares are more likely to go up than down, especially for JUNE.

Best bet is to shop like the dickens through all available resources for the next few weeks and BOOK.

I'm already looking for fares for a fall/thanksgiving vacation--so no, its not too early. In the last few years, although there may be fare sales, they tend to be restrictive, and fares tend to go higher than lower as the departure time approaches.

June is also a high travel season because of summer.

definately not too early - especially if you have to fly on certain dates and times and want a good seat.

check out seatguru.com

There are also better times when flights are less expensive. I know there is a website that shows the prices for certain areas for each of the last 12 months - I can't find the bookmark though, sorry. I was looking for it for my flight to Ireland in the summer.

Travelocity will do a search a months at a time. I always buy my Alaska tickets months in advance. Travelocity allows you to set up a price range and when the price falls within your range, they email you. I have a price limit of $300 from Philadelphia and once they hit the magical price I purchase them. If my plans change, I am only out $100 and if you go to AK, $100 is nothing when you start pricing hotels & car rentals.

I purchased our tickets last October for our upcoming trip to Alaska in June. Its quite a ways out but it was a good price.

The really cool website that charts trends in airfares is farecast.com -- but only for certain cities, and Anchorage is not on it.

Everyone I know in tourism up here is saying we're going to be FULL this summer (the Railroad, Denali NP shuttle reservations, B&B reservations statewide)--all the numbers look up quite a bit. Good for me. Not great for you. Nab your seats asap. I've also seen, trying to get just-right flight times to go to my 20th HS reunion in Iowa in June and not be away from my B&B too long, that the prices are not cheap. They're already also filling up. Alaska is in a moment of tourism businesses and services trying to play catch-up with the vast numbers who want to see our majesty. It won't be "crowded" in terms that you may think of, but a half million Alaskans hosting two million visitors definitely taps the resources like lodging and transportation, and fills up the tours and activities. You'll have a great time, but book soon so you're not stuck on crummy red eyes or 3-layover routes.

We frequently buy tickets that far in advance for a vacation - but be prepared for schedule and even routing changes the farther out you buy tickets - so don't cut it too close if you must arrive or return at a very specific time.

Yes - purchase now. We got our tickets nearly a year out bec. 6 of us were meeting in Chicago for a flight into Anchorage the end of July...Why wait?