Best time to buy airline tickets

[bl413]

Anyone have any experience with prices going down (don't laugh) after the 1st of the year.

We are beginning our search for tickets (flying into Vancouver, returning from ANC.

 

RIght now prices seem sky high!

[vbmom87]

Anyone have any experience with prices going down (don't laugh) after the 1st of the year.

We are beginning our search for tickets (flying into Vancouver, returning from ANC.

 

RIght now prices seem sky high!

 

 

We booked to Vancouver and home from Anchorage in June of 2008. Lowest prices we saw were March, 2008. We had actually purchased in the fall of 2007. It wasn't a significant drop, and not enough to make me kick myself. I will say prices were changing constantly. From DTW they ranged as low as mid 500s to $1200 during the times I was watching. The mid 500s was for a stopover flight. My DH wanted direct, so we ended up paying in the low $600s for direct flights. I followed the advice of others who recommended booking when you fiound a price you could live with. If you haven't thought about it, do try to fly in at least one day early. I hated reading the posts of people who missed their cruise due to delays with flights.

 

Have you been pricing using the multi-city option? I find this option to usually be less costly than two one ways. Always need to study all your options for the best pricing.

[Travalerie]

I was dealing with the same issue earlier today and decided to go ahead and book the tickets. They were really not changing too much and actually were trying to creep up a bit. I finally said would I feel worse if the flights went up or if they went down? I decided I would feel worse if they got any higher and went ahead and booked our flights. At least now I can just relax and not worry about that part anymore...

[bl413]

Thanks for your thoughts!

 

Wish I had more dividend miles!!

[greatam]

Thanks for your thoughts!

 

Wish I had more dividend miles!!

 

Don't know whether it will be cheaper, but Dividend Miles has a bonus going on right now-BUY XXX miles, get DOUBLE the miles. 2.5 cents per mile + $30.00 processing fee. Bonus miles ends tonight at midnight. And there again-you need to have availability to USE your miles-Alaska is a PREMIUM destination and in season, FF tickets with no status are difficult to come by.

 

To answer your original question-the chances of the price going down after the first of the year are slim, very slim. There may be some sporadic sales, but they won't last long and you will need to sign up for EVERY travel site, airline, travel info site just to get the email telling you about the sale.

 

You missed the cheapest time to book airline tickets-October-early November. Alaska residents get their PDF (oil money) checks in that time frame. Alaska Airlines always has a sale to encourage residents to spend some of their PDF money on travel. Other airlines generally match the prices. The reduced fares are generally to sunny warm places or places where there is heavy tourist travel. Sorry vbmom87-that's why Detroit is rarely included in the sale fares.

[vbmom87]

 

I waited patiently for that sale, only to find it never materialized for DTW. :(

[SJpaul]

i booked my tickets from Philly to Anchorage for July in Late September for 248 each ( one way). Same flight has ranged (since a week after I bought) from 480 to 990 ( up an down) Looks like they just went up again lAst week. If you see a drop- i would not hesitate to book ASAP

[scottbee]

Anyone have any experience with prices going down (don't laugh) after the 1st of the year.

We are beginning our search for tickets (flying into Vancouver, returning from ANC.

 

RIght now prices seem sky high!

 

If you intend to travel on AS/Alaska Air; it really doesn't matter. If the price goes down, you can merely call them and request a credit (in the form of a voucher).

[lizbeth]

Hi -

 

I watch for airline fare prices dropping on

www.airfarewatchdog.com

They send out regular emails letting you know the lowest prices on air travel from your home city. They also tell you which site to use to book the price drops. I find them very reliable as a source of information. (You do not book your flights on their site.)

 

Hope this helps.

Liz

[alpal1993]

I haven't seen air fares drop,just airlines cancelling flights.Several of us have had this experience.It has been an eye openerMy connecting flight to SLC was cancelled and they rebooked me on a flight to LAX instead only problem with the layover I get into SEA after the cruise has already left.Now I am rebooked on a 5:45 am flight connecting in ATL arriving SEA 10:50 am.Friend had her originating flights cancelled and made latter which makes her miss her connecting flight in SLC.Too make things worse Her airlines only has one flight a day from SLC so they have to spend an extra day post cruise which is an added expense.My third CC friend booked a non stop 2 airports from his home only to have it cancelled.So now he has rebooked another flight out of the nearest airport that does have a lay over.

By the way the flight they rebooked me on is now going for 760$ vs the 291$ I paid.That is so wrong

[greatam]

By the way the flight they rebooked me on is now going for 760$ vs the 291$ I paid.That is so wrong

 

Two things-why do you feel the increased price is wrong??? Airlines have many many fares that change many times per day. They use very sophiticated software called Yield Management to manage the amount of tickets and price in each "fare bucket". They are in business to make a profit. When it gets closer to departure and flights are selling well, the price normally goes UP. Pure supply and demand economics.

 

Everything you posted is related to Delta, I believe. With the NW merger, Delta is tweaking and tweaking and tweaking to try to make their HUGE investment pay off. They are cutting flights, getting rid of airplanes and trying to make two airlines into one. Expect more changes.

[alpal1993]

Two things-why do you feel the increased price is wrong??? Airlines have many many fares that change many times per day. They use very sophiticated software called Yield Management to manage the amount of tickets and price in each "fare bucket". They are in business to make a profit. When it gets closer to departure and flights are selling well, the price normally goes UP. Pure supply and demand economics.

 

Everything you posted is related to Delta, I believe. With the NW merger, Delta is tweaking and tweaking and tweaking to try to make their HUGE investment pay off. They are cutting flights, getting rid of airplanes and trying to make two airlines into one. Expect more changes.

 

I think it is so wrong that they are cancelling flights and not letting anyone know,All 3 of us had to find out our selves.I am happy I paid so much less

[greatam]

I think it is so wrong that they are cancelling flights and not letting anyone know,All 3 of us had to find out our selves.I am happy I paid so much less

 

UNLESS you are a high status FF or flying first/business, airlines may not notify you of changes until about 90 days out. And at that point in time, it is often too late to do anything about the flight which only has middle seats left or gets you in too late to make your cruise. It helps if you are a FF member, even if you do not have status. I think the non notification is wrong, BUT there are just too many changes in today's airline world. You MUST keep an eye on your flights yourself.

[alpal1993]

UNLESS you are a high status FF or flying first/business, airlines may not notify you of changes until about 90 days out. And at that point in time, it is often too late to do anything about the flight which only has middle seats left or gets you in too late to make your cruise. It helps if you are a FF member, even if you do not have status. I think the non notification is wrong, BUT there are just too many changes in today's airline world. You MUST keep an eye on your flights yourself.

 

Do you work for the airlines?You seem to know a lot!Thank you for your info,but we aren't FF seem to fly on different airlines every time we do fly.We do not fly for business and take only one vacation a year.I will continue to check with Delta monthly.Yesterday I kept getting wierd combinations of flights so I called Delta directly and our flight is still their,As I said I am very greatfull that I booked early.The airfare was the reason we are taking this cruise in the first place.If we had to pay the fare quoted now it really would have put a damper on our cruise.Have a Healthy and safe New Year!

[msubobcats]

Wife and I bought our tickets yesterday. We are flying into Fairbanks nine days prior to the sailing. After I noticed that the plane was already 2/3 full, we bought them regardless of cost. We don't want to gamble with transportation getting to or from our vacation.

 

Go Cats

[bl413]

Decided to bite the bullet too! Found the best deal we could.

 

Tried one site with really good prices and twice when I clicked purchase - it came back as sold out even though available seating was posted . Of course. they could sell me seats

for more $$$ - beware of bait & switch on lesser known booking sites is all I say.

 

Happy to have tickets and not have to search any more !!

 

Happy New Year to all.

[Sunny AZ Girl]

I have been watching flights for our R/T Seattle cruise in July. I get alerts from Kayak.com everyday. There was a 2 day drop from $287 to $261, but it was not at convenient times, so I did not take it - also using multiple airlines. I am thinking of booking through an online booking agent that guarantees it will match your price if another customer books at a lower price. Otherwise, that $287 price has not budged in the three months I have been tracking it.

[wdowns9]

I booked my flight to Vancouver from PNS (Pensacola) via DFW back in August for our cruise in May and ANC back to PNS. We paid $400pp for the ANC to PNS leg and it is now $586pp. Back in Aug there were cheaper options but only giving 30-45mins between changing flights in airports that are notorious for delays. We less flights and seats availible it was not worth the risk so paying a little extra is worth it to me.

 

Our car rental has gone up and down since booking. Now it is nearly double but they have price assurance and will honor the lower prices without having to cancel then rebook.

 

We searching flights I had printouts from numerous sites and created an itineary that best suited our confort zone. So will say you snooze you will lose and others grab bargains last minute but it is a risk only you will be able to determine. Of course the cruise prices will change as many are not filling up but the airlines are another story.

[Gatorney]

If you intend to travel on AS/Alaska Air; it really doesn't matter. If the price goes down, you can merely call them and request a credit (in the form of a voucher).

 

Southwest does the same thing. I just went ahead and bought ours because they just added a non-stop flight out to Seattle; all other the other itineraries left too early and got us there very late in the evening so we wouldn't be able to do anything the night we got in.

[Putterdude]

It's pretty hard to out guess the airlines, I am inclined to book whenever I am comfortable with the flight time and the fare.