When to book flights?

[CMJFamily]

We are cruising next March. I was told to book flights ASAP to get the lowest prices (due to the increasing costs of fuel which are expected in the next few months) However, I am tempted to wait for a deal to come up. The prices seem to be really high! Suggestions from past experience?

[saharaga]

Where are you flying from and to? How many people? Our cruise isn't until November but we've already booked our airfare. Granted our flights were only about $215 pp so it was a fairly easy decision. I guess you just need to decide if waiting is worth the gamble. If they're unreasonably high, I'd wait it out. Have you tried playing around with the departure dates a little to see if that lowers the fare any? I go to every online booking site and the airlines' site as well to compare prices. We were able to book a flight on the airline site more cheaply than on the online booking site. Also, if you participate in any of those "points" programs some of them allow you to redeem for airfare and hotels.

[Lois R]

I am sailing in September..actually I sail 5 months from

this week:D. I booked my flights this week. Actually

today:) and yesterday.

For the first time I booked one way tickets on 2 different

airlines. Got really good prices each way:)

 

Just depends on what you find. If you come across

a really good price a year out go ahead and book it!

[CMJFamily]

We are flying out of either Buffalo or Detroit to Tampa but our dates are not flexible. (March break) Saharaga, noticed you were on the Legend last year. That is the ship we are sailing on. Also, we were on the Crown Princess and loved it!

[ShedQueen77]

We're flying to Tampa from Moline, Illinois in January. I had been watching airfare (Yapta is a good tool to track with) for about a month and only saw prices go up. I managed to get a Delta flight at $350 pp which I though was high, but the prices kept on going up. That same ticket is now at $476 pp.

 

Sometimes you can catch good deals, sometimes not. I used Yapta for about 3 weeks and found a trend of prices rising. I booked because I was comfortable doing so at that price considering some AA flights at that same time were going for about $800 pp!

[saharaga]

OK. I just tried a few airline sites and it looks like it might be best to wait another month or two to book. Some of them haven't put out schedules for March 2009 yet and others are so high, I don't think you have much to lose by waiting. BTW, you guys will love the Legend. It's a beautiful ship and we had such a good time:D.

[FlyerTalker]

Start researching fare trends now. FareCompare is a great source for that kind of information.

[KC_fn]

I heard somewhere that airlines are going to be cutting back on the number of flights. (FlyerTalker, have you heard that too?) If that's true, I'd say the chances for last minute deals are much reduced.

[wrp96]

One of the biggest issues is that you are traveling on spring break. It is not common to find fare deals during spring break, and with the current state of fuel prices and merger mania I would say that it is unlikely you will find any deals like we've been able to in the past.

[kenish]

Agree with the other posts. Spring Break is peak season to Florida. Most airlines either have or will remove about 20% of their capacity, and what's left will be shifted towards international routes which have a higher margin. Bottom line, supply/demand is not working in your favor.

 

If it were me, I would do a little research and figure out what a "good" fare is. Write down that price along with a date a few months from now. Buy tickets when you see that price or the date comes up, whichever happens first.

[calenita]

I've booked a March cruise too out of San Juan which is more expensive to fly into it seems. I am holding out for JetBlue fares though. They have the flights I want but don't list so early. They only have flights until October right now, so I guess the March flights won't come up for four or five months!

[whyrlygig]

We booked our Delta flights 10 days ago for a cruise were taking feb09. From MSP to SJU round trip was $300.30 each! Couldn't past that up! Glad I jumped on them because they are now more than double that amount. :eek:

[FlyerTalker]

Good job pulling the trigger on that MSP-SJU r/t. As we continually say, there is no "magic time" for purchasing a ticket. When the price looks right, DO IT and don't look back. By keeping an eye on the market, you knew when a good price came along. Well done!

[wintercruiser1]

We already booked our flights as well on the first day available....... @ $336 pp. Glad we did as now they are $471 pp. :eek:

[CMJFamily]

Thanks for all the suggestions. Yesterday was the first day available to book our flight and after seeing prices at over $500 pp, I was a bit worried. Kept checking and today I just booked Buffalo to Tampa for next March for $352 pp. As some of you said, if you feel good about a price, book it! I don't think the fares will go much lower than that so we're happy with our decision.

Happy cruising!