how far in advance

[evgal/nj]

am cruising 10/2010 out of venice. how far in advance should i be booking the air fare?

few yrs ago, we went to paris & got $250 on india air, ewr to cdg, about 1 yr out, kept checking till cruise time never saw a fare that good again but i guess that to be the a rare occurance...or maybe not???

any thoughts or stratages to share?

[Globaliser]

The primary advice is: You should book when the price is right for you.

 

If you're hoping to snag the lowest-possible fare for your travel dates, that involves a lot of gambling. Whatever price you pay, you cannot know if it was the lowest-possible fare until the moment the aircraft is pushed back from the gate on the day of departure.

 

These boards are full of people who ask "That $250 fare was a good one, but it's gone now. Will it come back?" If that person was prepared to pay $250 now that the fare's no longer available, why on earth didn't that person pay $250 when it was available? The answer is always because they were gambling on getting an even lower fare, and they gambled and lost.

 

Sometimes it is possible to see a fare and know almost for certain that it won't be beaten. But frankly you have to watch the relevant market, and the behaviour of the relevant airlines, for at least a couple of years to gain that much knowledge. And even then, your knowledge keeps getting better until you've been watching that market for a decade or more.

 

There are some tools which will help the infrequent traveller by charting fare history for some routes. I think that farecompare is one site that has such a tool. But they're not comprehensive.

[Atomica]

Globaliser's advice is spot-on. Book when you see a price that looks good to you.