When do you buy airline tickets?

[DduzDis]

We are 7 months out from a March trip. Would you wait and see if prices come down in that time or would you expect prices are about as good as one will find for a Spring Break time frame?

 

[bwvBound]

I use Hopper on my phone to help me predict "best timing to purchase air." So basically, I'll either buy when Hopper tells me "Now!" or I'll buy earlier if the prices hit a point that is historically a "good buy" in my experience.

 

[DduzDis]

I use Hopper on my phone to help me predict "best timing to purchase air." So basically, I'll either buy when Hopper tells me "Now!" or I'll buy earlier if the prices hit a point that is historically a "good buy" in my experience.

Awesome. I'll take a look. Thanks!

 

[Spencer Wright]

One trend I have noticed is most airlines have seriously reduced the number of direct flights, so depending on where you are coming from and your timeline you may want to buy sooner as opposed to later.

And by reduced, I mean I looked at flying from Philadelphia to Orlando, and out of 13 flights each day, 3 were direct, and 3 required more than one stop!

Its frankly not the most fiscally responsible plan but gets you from point A to B the fastest. Years ago we would wait and look at prices but you may end up with a journey easily taking 2-4 times longer.

 

[Shanti]

For major holidays periods like Thanksgiving week, Christmas season (December through early January), and spring break season (mid-March through mid-April) I buy as soon as I can. For other times of year, I typically get good prices a few months before.

But I always check flights as soon as I firmly plan a trip. If a good rate for a good flight is available, I'll take it at any time.

 

[DduzDis]

One trend I have noticed is most airlines have seriously reduced the number of direct flights, so depending on where you are coming from and your timeline you may want to buy sooner as opposed to later.

And by reduced, I mean I looked at flying from Philadelphia to Orlando, and out of 13 flights each day, 3 were direct, and 3 required more than one stop!

Its frankly not the most fiscally responsible plan but gets you from point A to B the fastest. Years ago we would wait and look at prices but you may end up with a journey easily taking 2-4 times longer.

We are coming from Little Rock which is ridiculously expensive (and no direct flights) compared to Dallas or Memphis (each have direct flights). Ideally, we would like to book SWA out of MEM (2.5 hour drive) but the flight times are not great as we are travelling with small children. It looks like DFW is going to be the cheapest and has the most direct flights. We just have a 5 hour drive the night before if we go that direction. I have put fare alerts on at both and we'll see what happens over the next few months. The Hopper app mentioned above indicates that fares could actually come down quite a bit over the next 6 months and to watch vs buy right now. I like that idea.

 

[Kidanifan08]

Only Southwest and Delta have non-stop flights to MCO from IND, and we hate transfers. For spring break, we always buy as soon as SWA releases flights for those dates. For the past 2-3 years, from the time the flights opened to the early afternoon that same day, our flights have jumped $50-100 per person -- in less than 8 hours! And, they have never gone down from the opening prices - FOR SPRING BREAK. Christmas/New Year time has the same phenomenon. Other times of year the prices fluctuate, which is why I like SWA, as we can call for a credit if the price goes down. We have used Delta a few times. I like that Delta has their flight schedules published several months ahead of time, but with luggage fees, they are usually higher than SWA.

 

[Murron]

I just read an article this morning on this....the claim is 1 to 3 months in advance is the best time. They also said flying into vacation spots like Orlando...prices don't change much. But if you fly to a "business" hub or have a connecting flight, the prices are much lower. Since that doesn't work because, face it, Orlando is Orlando, I would do the advice for 1 to 3 months out.

 

[Denise W]

I am assuming when you are talking about "direct flights", you really mean "non stop flights"? Direct flights stop part way to your destination, but you do not need to change planes.
Denise

 

[Psychodisney]

For peak travel periods I always book ASAP. We fly SW most of the time. I book it as soon as we make plans and then watch fares, changing as needed. Typically, spring break fares only seem to climb. But keep checking anyway...you just never know!

 

[CookieandOatmeal]

For us since we mainly travel during school vacation time, we book SW immediately when it opens on opening day. For us, we have never seen those prices go down from what we paid on the first day.

 

[gwbaierl]

I have been following prices for the past 9 mos to track them for an upcoming trip next year. They are following the same pricing as my last trip in Dec 2015. In Jan. 2017 they were the lowest and have steadily climbed since then. This is for all airlines. In 2015, 2013 2012, 2010 all the years I tracked and the exact same thing happened. They kept rising, seat selection went down and flight selection times were eliminated. The theory to wait til 1 -3 mos. was shown wrong. The prices were up.
An example is Delta Jan 18 2017 main cabin was $359 Same flight with lower seat selection July 20, 2017 main cabin was $771.
In 2015 the trend was the same as before in 2015 and kept rising til Dec 2015 And I will say again that the same happened for all the other years I have stated above.
Don't sat anything about SWA they don't fly out of my city and I won't fight the way they seat.

 

[disneynutz]

We book SWA as soon as the dates are released and monitor for reduced fair and rebook if necessary to save some money.

Bill

 

[Sleepy425]

We book as soon as airfare is released (either Southwest or JetBlue). This trip we scored $98 flights each way, so I was happy. Last year we paid a lot more (Oct trip as opposed to September), and the cost just kept going up after we booked. I was so happy I booked right away.

 

[kmchisholm]

I tend to book after they release dates as I've found these to be the best price from Richmond. Like others have said, the number of direct flight from RIC to MCO has been cut. I now have to fly JetBlue instead of Southwest which means no checked bag. Having a washer/dryer is a big plus and makes it all work out.

I'll suggest reading the fine print for each airline to see if that helps with your decision. I loved flying Southwest because if the price dropped anytime, I could rebook and get a credit to use within the next year. This year I booked Jetblue and of course the flight time changed so I ended up getting in later Sunday night than I wanted. I read the fine print, called and had my flight changed to Saturday with no charge (family I'm traveling with has room Sat night as well). Long story short, do a little bit of research to see if any of their policies make a difference.

 

[Disneypapa]

I have heard that 60-90 days out and buy on Tuesdays as a general rule. Me, I get antsy waiting that late and typically book a flight 4-6 months out just to be sure.

 

[Dean Marino]

This has FAR more to do with where you FLY from than "best airline"....
Example - we fly from, and into MBS MI. Once upon a time, SW had direct flights from Flint, MI. They eliminated them. We eliminated SW. We WENT to their new Chicago hub - once. Never again.

Today, we fly Delta. We can get flights going through Detroit, from our local airport (MBS). If the "connection" flights fail? We end up within Rental Car distance of getting to/from WDW.

Now - YOU may be blessed with a real airport within driving distance..... In MI? Not the case.

DELTA will sell us airfare about 11 months out. Our experience? BUY at about the 10 month mark. Prices decline 11Mo-10.5Mo, then begin to climb.

 

[edk35]

Depending on the time of year, I tend to buy when they open up if it is a PEAK time of year as far as booking my DVC goes. Like Food and Wine for example. I always book SW and do keep an eye on the fare leading up to the trip and will go in and get credits if the prices drops.

 

[monique5]

We generally book SW 5 months out, released at 6 months, sometimes book when released. We drive to New Orleans (2hr drive) for non-stop flights. This year we had $98/$93 airfare @ 6 months & it hasn't been that cheap ever in advance for us & still hasn't been that price since released. Typically better prices have been released within 3 months of trip. I do check daily for a later flight on my departure day to have more time in the park . I will know more about arrival day once school exam schedule is released, prefer an earlier flight but it's 11:30 am vs 8pm (no other flights in between).

 

[DebbieB]

As soon as Southwest releases the dates. It's rare for them to go down. I use points, so I watch it to see if it goes down. I bought my tickets for early December in April and it has not gone down.