Too soon to book air for a June international flight?

[SunnyNy]

I'm looking into flights to Bordeaux, returning from Amsterdam in 7 months and am finding some eye watering prices compared to the international flights I've booked in the past year.  I think Bordeaux may be inflating things, since it's not one of the more major airports.   Any thoughts on whether I'm too early?  The Paris Olympics are in late July, so waiting may not be a good idea, either.

[cruiseaholic78]

Book as soon as you possibly can as prices will definitely not go down, I booked our return flights to Asia in January and they are now double. You could also consider flying into Paris and taking the train as direct flights could be hard to find.

You might br able to choose refundable flights so you can cancel if prices do go down but as you said with the Olympics this is unlikely to happen.

Taking the above into consideration you might also look at booking your hotels sooner rather than later.

Happy planning Rosalyn 

[marinaro44]

Just booked our flights through Azamara for next August's Baltic cruises.  Never too early.  Best choice of seats.

[anniegb]

51 minutes ago, SunnyNy said:

I'm looking into flights to Bordeaux, returning from Amsterdam in 7 months and am finding some eye watering prices compared to the international flights I've booked in the past year.  I think Bordeaux may be inflating things, since it's not one of the more major airports.   Any thoughts on whether I'm too early?  The Paris Olympics are in late July, so waiting may not be a good idea, either.

JMO According to O'Leary, European airfares are only going one way - up. 

[terry&mike]

When we visited Bordeaux last year, I found it much cheaper to arrange our international air to/from Paris. I then used discount airlines for the leg from Bordeaux to Paris. 

[wjfan417]

Easy to take trains from Paris to Bordeaux.

[mj_holiday]

According to Rome 2 Rio -

 

Flight from Paris to Bordeaux, is 2 hours and cost $77-280

 

Train is about 4 hours and $200 to 360.

 

I would say that the differences in each has to do with time of day and passenger load.

[SunnyNy]

2 hours ago, terry&mike said:

When we visited Bordeaux last year, I found it much cheaper to arrange our international air to/from Paris. I then used discount airlines for the leg from Bordeaux to Paris. 

I did research the fares to Paris and found they were not that much less. Considering the extra cost of a Paris-Bordeaux flight or train,  it wasn't worth it to me.

[Mrs.Dukes]

I don’t think it’s too early to book. I just booked flights for our cruise in July leaving from Barcelona. I’ve been tracking the prices since we booked the cruise, and they recently came down a bit, so we booked. Cruise does end in Chioggia (Venice), and we are flying home from Milan because it was $500 cheaper a person, we can take the train from Venice to Milan fairly cheaply, and gives us an opportunity to visit another city.

[Mackdogmolly]

How about September?

[nordski]

On 11/16/2023 at 5:48 AM, cruiseaholic78 said:

Book as soon as you possibly can as prices will definitely not go down, I booked our return flights to Asia in January and they are now double. You could also consider flying into Paris and taking the train as direct flights could be hard to find.

You might br able to choose refundable flights so you can cancel if prices do go down but as you said with the Olympics this is unlikely to happen.

Taking the above into consideration you might also look at booking your hotels sooner rather than later.

Happy planning Rosalyn 

Not the OP, but thanks so much for your suggestion. Finding suitable flights out of Bordeaux next June has been a bit of a hassle. Never thought of a train to CDG.

[d9704011]

6 minutes ago, nordski said:

Not the OP, but thanks so much for your suggestion. Finding suitable flights out of Bordeaux next June has been a bit of a hassle. Never thought of a train to CDG.

Have you looked at Air Transat for BOD to YYZ flights?

[SunnyNy]

On 11/16/2023 at 5:48 AM, cruiseaholic78 said:

Book as soon as you possibly can as prices will definitely not go down, I booked our return flights to Asia in January and they are now double. You could also consider flying into Paris and taking the train as direct flights could be hard to find.

You might br able to choose refundable flights so you can cancel if prices do go down but as you said with the Olympics this is unlikely to happen.

Taking the above into consideration you might also look at booking your hotels sooner rather than later.

Happy planning Rosalyn 

Thanks, Rosalyn.  I now have refundable airfare (which didn't add too much to the cost)j and hotel.  I'll keep an eye on airfare but I'll be surprised it it goes down.

[d9704011]

25 minutes ago, d9704011 said:

Have you looked at Air Transat for BOD to YYZ flights?

Oops... sorry qbout that.  I had the idea you wew looking to get to Toronto and that's not likely the case.

[nordski]

1 hour ago, d9704011 said:

Oops... sorry qbout that.  I had the idea you wew looking to get to Toronto and that's not likely the case.

See my separate post

[robert2]

Flights to Europe are becoming cheap again. Prices may come down further. Now may not be the ideal time to book a flight for summer travel.

 

Edited November 17, 2023 by robert2
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[FlyerTalker]

On 11/16/2023 at 3:48 AM, cruiseaholic78 said:

Book as soon as you possibly can as prices will definitely not go down, I booked our return flights to Asia in January and they are now double. You could also consider flying into Paris and taking the train as direct flights could be hard to find.

 

I assume you mean "non-stop" flights, which is different than "direct".  (They are not synomyms)

 

There is only one non-stop route from North America to Bordeaux (code BOD) and that is a seasonal route by Air Transat from Montreal, that operates daily except for Fridays.  Otherwise, all flights from North America to BOD will connect somewhere in Europe.

 

Try ITA matrix to work out your best options.  And yes, pricing for TATL flights will likely be increasing as we move into early 2024.

 

 

[DrivesLikeMario]

Are you kidding?  I would've booked the week the fares opened.

[SunnyNy]

1 minute ago, DrivesLikeMario said:

Are you kidding?  I would've booked the week the fares opened.

No, I am not kidding - just a simple question.  I only booked this cruise 3 days ago,

[DrivesLikeMario]

Just now, SunnyNy said:

No, I am not kidding - just a simple question.  I only booked this cruise 3 days ago,

Ah!  I see.  Supposedly booking Monday morning around 12am is the best time to book.  

[FlyerTalker]

47 minutes ago, DrivesLikeMario said:

Ah!  I see.  Supposedly booking Monday morning around 12am is the best time to book.  

 

Hope you are kidding.

 

There is no "magic day" or "magic time".  And anyone who says there is has little understanding of airline pricing systems.

 

 

 

 

[d9704011]

57 minutes ago, SunnyNy said:

No, I am not kidding - just a simple question.  I only booked this cruise 3 days ago,

Are you looking for BUF to BOD with a return of AMS to BUF?  Are you willing to make your way to/from YYZ for the flights?

[So Cal John]

I used the train from Bordeaux to Paris last year. Couldn’t have been easier. No step up onto train from platform. Luggage rolls right on. 2 hours and 3 minutes, not 4 hours. Tickets are cheaper the further out you buy. I think they are available 90 or so days ahead. Prices are running between $50 and $90 one way right now. Just depends on time of  day. Of course, that is into the center of Paris, not CDG. There are options to get to CDG. 
 

Airlines cannot sell tickets more than 330 days in advance. They are all the same. (At least for purchases in US). I don’t know the reason. I bought tickets for next Aug in Sept. Best way to guarantee seat selection. Prices are much more expensive the further one goes into the summer. 

[FlyerTalker]

45 minutes ago, So Cal John said:

Airlines cannot sell tickets more than 330 days in advance. They are all the same. (At least for purchases in US).

 

Nope.  Airlines make their own choices on release of schedule.  For example, Southwest releases on a shorter lead time than some other carriers.  And a number of carriers are significantly more than 330 - British Airways for example is 352 IIRC.

 

47 minutes ago, So Cal John said:

Best way to guarantee seat selection.

 

Nothing guarantees seat selection.  All such selections are merely that, a selection that can be changed at any time by the carrier.

 

48 minutes ago, So Cal John said:

Prices are much more expensive the further one goes into the summer. 

 

Do you mean that August costs more than July?  Or your purchasing date?  Or what?

 

Beyond that, you've made a huge generalization - prices are a function of supply and demand, not the date on the calendar.  And it is the date that often determines S&D, not the other way around.

 

 

[CruiserBruce]

1 hour ago, So Cal John said:

Airlines cannot sell tickets more than 330 days in advance. They are all the same. (At least for purchases in US). I don’t know the reason. I bought tickets for next Aug in Sept. Best way to guarantee seat selection. Prices are much more expensive the further one goes into the summer. 

Wow...lots of myths there...