# Best Times To Book A Flight



## WalnutBaron (May 30, 2013)

The June issue of Money magazine offers the following advice on best times to purchase airfare:

Tuesdays and Wednesdays are best days of the week to book.

For domestic trips, fares hit their lowest prices 21-35 days before departure.

For international flights, fares should be purchased no sooner than three months before departure.

September had the lowest fares within the USA last year, followed by January and October. For international fares, February and March offered the best prices. Summer is more expensive overall (for both domestic and international),  but August is the cheapest of the summer months.

Trips fewer than seven days are cheaper than longer trips and, in any case, one should always try to include a Saturday night stay to get the best fares.


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## alex0077 (May 31, 2013)

*Thanks*

Thank you very much for these tips. I am planning a trip to central America in the end of this year, so these tips will help me to get a flight at cheap cost.


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## LocoBurns (Jun 1, 2013)

According to recent studies ans statistics the best day to book a flight is at Friday. Since, that can ensure that you get a ticket and even if you don't get tickets, you get time to preplan the whole weekend in advance. The tips provided above are good and gives a new perspective to the fact.  [spam link removed]


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## WalnutBaron (Jun 5, 2013)

alex0077 said:


> Thank you very much for these tips. I am planning a trip to central America in the end of this year, so these tips will help me to get a flight at cheap cost.



You're welcome! Airfare is so expensive these days that I thought we could all capitalize on any tips available


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## Asian_SkiGirl (Jun 6, 2013)

So your saying that booking the flight the Saturday before my vacation was a bad idea?  I found that one out the hard way.


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## WalnutBaron (Jun 6, 2013)

Asian_SkiGirl said:


> So your saying that booking the flight the Saturday before my vacation was a bad idea?  I found that one out the hard way.



Bad idea, yes. Worse idea? If you had waited to buy a seat when checking in


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## Jimster (Jun 7, 2013)

*buying ticket*

I think the lack of responses here is due to fact that this question has been asked many many times.  I will go with my usual response which is it is best to buy tickets on Tuesday afternoon after all the airlines realign their prices to match the competition.  Obviouisly, it is usually better to buy far out as opposed to close in.  It used to be common to get a rebate from the airlines when the price dropped but now the difference has to be so substantial that it doesn't usually come into play.

I also think consideration should be given to expected savings.  That can be estimated by going to fare compare.  What i mean is if the price is $299 and the history looks like it could go down as low as $290, to me it is not worth the aggravation to worry about getting the absolute lowest price.  Getting it firmed up will alllow you to make other reservations ie car and hotel in a timely manner so as to get cheaper rates.  OTOH if the ticket is now selling for $299 and it may go as low as $150 then I wait.   The truth is airlines sell their fares in "fare buckets"  and when the fare bucket is filled the price changes.  If you wait or you are just slow on the booking and let's say miss the T fare, you may never get that price again.


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## smurfyblue (Jun 8, 2013)

*Buy when it's low enough and....*

Airlines refund if ticket-price changes. Some give out vouchers for the difference. i have only been able to take advantage of this once with JetBlue. a variety of Conditions apply call the airline you are considering to confirm their policy:

[Dead url removed]


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## maria_marken (Jun 21, 2013)

I've found here interesting pieces of advice. I have never thought about time in which it is better to make booking.


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## lizap (Jun 21, 2013)

I'm skeptical about the 21-35 days.  In order to get the cheapest Southwest fares, tickets usually have to be purchased before then.




WalnutBaron said:


> The June issue of Money magazine offers the following advice on best times to purchase airfare:
> 
> Tuesdays and Wednesdays are best days of the week to book.
> 
> ...


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## swazzie (Jun 21, 2013)

I'm skeptical, too.  I'm looking to book flights for this September and the lowest prices seemed to have happened months ago (a specific flight has gone from $232 then to $424 now with no signs of going down).  I'd like to wait until 35 - 21 days out, but the fare may be even higher then.


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## Dori (Jun 22, 2013)

I'm in the same boat. I'm looking for flights from San Diego to Kauai for September and fares have not dropped below $600 for months. I'm getting a little anxious.

Dori


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## cindi (Jun 22, 2013)

I am still waiting for a trip in Oct.  Prices remain high but are somewhat coming down.

If they stay as ridiculous as they are, I will just stay home.


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## lizap (Jul 1, 2013)

I'm noticing higher airline prices pretty much across the board, probably resulting from less competition because of all the airline mergers..




cindi said:


> I am still waiting for a trip in Oct.  Prices remain high but are somewhat coming down.
> 
> If they stay as ridiculous as they are, I will just stay home.


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## Whirl (Jul 1, 2013)

i am skeptical as well and would remind this is "general" advice, the relevance of which may vary according to your situation and preferences.

i need 5-8 seats when we travel and with kids, the family likes to sit together. Sometines the number of seats i want are not all avail at the same fare. i have had quite good luck booking very far out  (6 months plus) on many flights. 

i will check prices perodically and set up fare alerts to monitor after the fact, but i like taking care of it and crossing off the list once my plans are confirmed. in recent years, i have seldom gone wrong ( as far as I can tell) by booking way in advance...biggest annoyance is an occasional schedule adjustment. we have traveled with friends who waited and watched and repeatedly, i got better fares and often better routing, since the directs can fill up.


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## WalnutBaron (Jul 1, 2013)

Dori said:


> I'm in the same boat. I'm looking for flights from San Diego to Kauai for September and fares have not dropped below $600 for months. I'm getting a little anxious.
> 
> Dori



With regard to Hawaii, it's not going to get better anytime soon. A recent report showed that hotel occupancy rates statewide are over 75% year to date--the highest rate ever.

And that's on top of a 10.5% boost in room rates.

Hawaii is a hot vacation market. White hot. That gives the airlines who service it no incentive to cut airfares.


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## UWSurfer (Jul 1, 2013)

We just booked a three and four hop trip to HHV, Waikloa & Maui from LA.

Two of those going have 1 week worth of vacation & I have a second week to burn & will use our EOY maui TS.  

LA -> Ohahu -> Kona -> LA for $750. 

My ticket is the above except going from Kona -> OGG -> LA for $802.  

While not the absolute best airfare we've ever paid, to make the multiple hops at times and dates we want, we felt it was a fair price and worth not stressing over finding the best rate for the rest of the year.


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## swazzie (Jul 4, 2013)

I bought my airfare on Tuesday for this September when a ticket became available for $75 below what I had seen over the past few months.  I had tried last week to get the price but someone beat me to it when I refreshed my screen.

After I bought, the airfare went back up to the higher price.  It wasn't as low as the price was when I first checked, but I'll take it so I can focus on other parts of the trip.


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## MichaelColey (Jul 4, 2013)

I've said it before, but regardless of what all these articles (and one like this seems to come out every few months), the *best time to book a flight is when it's on sale*.

And the best way to catch a sale is to set up an alert, at one of the multitude of sites that offer that kind of functionality.

The best sales typically only last a matter of days (or sometimes even hours).  I've booked flights to Hawaii for under $300, Europe for around $400, and major domestic cities in the $100-$150 range.  I don't always get fares that great, but by setting up alerts, I can catch them when they do come along.


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## Dori (Jul 4, 2013)

Michael, I'm trying, I'm trying! Prices have not come down since I started. Kauai doesn't seem to get the sale offers like Honolulu and Maui. 

Dori


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## STEVIE (Jul 5, 2013)

Michael,
 What are the sites you use for the flight alerts?
Sue


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## x3 skier (Jul 5, 2013)

Fare Compare, Kayak, Travelocity, Expedia all have fare alerts. 

Use one or all. 

Cheers


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## titan7 (Jul 8, 2013)

Airfare to Maui is crazy high!  I go at the same time every year last weekend in Sept.  Last year I paid $439 RT non-stop LAX to OGG.  This year I can't seem to find anything better than 650-700+.  I had always purchased in mid June and have got tickets in the 375-500 range for the past 8 years.  They have not come down yet and I am not sure they will now.


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## bobpark56 (Jul 8, 2013)

x3 skier said:


> Fare Compare, Kayak, Travelocity, Expedia all have fare alerts.
> 
> Use one or all.
> 
> Cheers



These alerts have not worked for me. The cheap flights they alert me to seem always to be those whose travel times that I would never sign up for. How does 10 to 18 hours to get to Cancun sound? When I go to their sites to see what they really have to offer, the flights I would accept are nowhere near the nice pricing they alert me to.


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## MichaelColey (Jul 8, 2013)

Sometimes they're crazy routes/times/layovers. Sometimes they're not. You don't know until you check. Also, if a fare pops up but it isn't your preferred airline, check your airline later that day. They monitor sales and often match them, too.


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## johndeb (Jul 9, 2013)

titan7 said:


> Airfare to Maui is crazy high!  I go at the same time every year last weekend in Sept.  Last year I paid $439 RT non-stop LAX to OGG.  This year I can't seem to find anything better than 650-700+.  I had always purchased in mid June and have got tickets in the 375-500 range for the past 8 years.  They have not come down yet and I am not sure they will now.


I just booked a flight from Providence, RI to Maui in early October for just under $400.00 but required 3 plane changes.  Each layover only about 1 hour, so total travel time of about 16 hours.  Best I've seen.


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