When to book airfare?

[WhiskeyPapa]

I *never* fly. I just don't have the type of job or lifestyle that requires it, so I know next to nothing about booking a flight. I've never bought my own tickets, they've always been purchased by an employer.

So my wife and I are going on vacation June. When should I buy the tickets? I noticed on Northwest's web site, our tickets have gone up a total of $18 since last week. Should I book them now to avoid future price hikes, or wait it out in case they go down?

[chadlnc]

June is a long way off, I would wait a while longer. I usually purchase personal tickets 1-2 months in advance.

[kgsilvas]

Step 1: Find another airline instead of Northwest. Step 2: Don't book more than 3 months in advance. There should be some good deals in the spring for summer travel.

[WhiskeyPapa]

Thanks for the info. Northwest is my only option for non-stop out of Minneapolis

[chadlnc]

Thanks for the info. Northwest is my only option for non-stop out of Minneapolis

I'm sorry.

I just got back from a business trip on Saturday and had to fly Northwest. They lost a quarter of the checked bags. And of course this would be the first time in a year that I have checked a bag.:hmm:

[guiseppewv]

I wold use travelocity.com and setup your fare watcher to keep an eye on the fares from Minneapolis to your summer destination so you can see how the prices change. You can also use mobissimo.com to check if you can get some carrier other than NW.

[avlena]

in sync mag, they rated sidestep.com as the best travel booking site, with slightly cheaper prices too. I haven't tried it yet; i usually use expedia.

I would buy the tix in the next month or two. I've never figured out the rates really. They usually go up as you get closer to the date, but sometimes they'll be real cheap a short time before, it just depends on the demand I guess. I've learned to just buy the tickets when I feel they're a good price, usually a few months beforehand, and then never look at ticket prices again. I prefer not to feel depressed about my vacation, so I pretend I got the best deal I could and leave it at that!

[dbax791]

You don't say where you are flying to, so there may be other options.

The airlines structure their fares to hit business travellers in the wallet. Usually you won't get any more discount from booking now compared to booking 3-weeks in advance. The next level tends to be one week, and if you are unfortunate enough to have to book with less than 1 week notice, you will be hosed.

That is why if your travel includes a Saturday night stay, you can get chepear fares as business travellers for the most part don't stay the weekend.

The busiest travel days are Monday, Friday and Sunday, and if you can avoid that, will be cheaper as well.

Personally, I would wait until about 4-6 weeks beforehand. You never know if something else will come up that can change your plans. Also the deepest discount fares are non-refundable, but usually can be exchanged - make sure to read the airline's policy very carefully.

[InfiniteNothing]

I don't fly alot but it's always made sense to me to buy tickets when gas prices are low.

[guiseppewv]

I don't fly alot but it's always made sense to me to buy tickets when gas prices are low.

I usually travel during the holidays and my tickets were cheaper this year compared to last year. You would think that higher gas prices = higher airfare but this year, for me, it didn't work out that way.