How far in advance do you buy your airline tickets?

[ysr_racer]

I'm traveling to Tulsa in June. American Airlines has tickets from Orange County to Tulsa for $285. Should I buy them now or wait?

 

[Sthack]

if that's a good price i would snatch them up ASAP!!

We're going to San Diego in June and American Airline had tickets from detroit to san diego for $205 RT. I bought these back in October. Today I found a good price (w/NWA) to Orlando for 2006 Spring break and bought those tickets. A couple of hours after I purchased the tickets, I checked the price again and the price increased by $30 each ticket that fast. So if that's a good price GET 'EM!!!

 

[glenn1000]

That's always a tough decision but if the fare looks pretty good I tend to book early and check fares at 3-4 months before travel. Pricing can always change and if you find a lower price later on the airline will often give you a voucher for the difference.

I just booked for Puerto Vallarta next Thanksgiving at $498 per person. This is for a non-stop flight from the Bay Area. Two years ago I waited for prices to drop, the non-stops sold out and we ended up spending a full day with two stop overs (rather than a 3-1/2 hour non-stop) for the same price I could have booked the non-stop for months before. I'd rather get good seats on a good flight rather than hold out. Too much stress.

 

[digitmckee]

did you check all the websites?

Did you check all of the websites, you know like travelocity, orbitz, expedia, kayak, and what not. If the prices are similar b/t the airlines, then i would hold out a little longer, depending on how far away my trip is.

For me, i booked my tickets to cancun in May from NYC last week. The difference in the average price tickets was almost 200 so i couldnt pass that up. Also, if you check prices every once in a while and your itinerary is cheaper after you bought it, the airlines would usually give you a refund.

 

[toni3063]

Did you check all of the websites, you know like travelocity, orbitz, expedia, kayak, and what not. If the prices are similar b/t the airlines, then i would hold out a little longer, depending on how far away my trip is.

For me, i booked my tickets to cancun in May from NYC last week. The difference in the average price tickets was almost 200 so i couldnt pass that up. Also, if you check prices every once in a while and your itinerary is cheaper after you bought it, the airlines would usually give you a refund.

Will they give you a credit/refund no matter who you purchase from (ie. Orbitz or one of the other travel agents), or only if you purchase direct from the airline?

 

[camachinist]

SNA-TUL? Hmmm... looks like your deal expires 6/9/06

OR14XDN 	AA 	O 	Round-Trip 	258.00 (USD) 		06/09/06 	
SA14XBSN 	CO 	S 	One-Way 	145.00 (USD) 		06/09/06 	
TA7PZN 	CO 	T 	One-Way 	167.00 (USD) 		06/09/06

FARE BASIS CODE
OR14XDN
 
BK CODE
O -

RES/TKTG
RES MUST BE MADE NO LATER THAN 14 DAYS BEFORE DPTR FROM ORIGIN. TKT MUST BE PURCHASED NO LATER THAN 14 DAYS BEFORE DPTR FROM ORIGIN OR 1 DAY AFTER RES IS MADE, WHICHEVER COMES FIRST. SGMTS USING THIS RULE MUST BE CONFIRMED.
 
DAY/TIME
APPLIES AT ANY TIME MON/TUE/WED/THU/SAT.
 
SEASONS
NO SEASON RESTRICTIONS APPLY.
 
BLACKOUTS
NO BLACKOUT RESTRICTIONS APPLY.
 
EFF/EXP
RETURN TRAVEL AT THIS FARE MUST COMMENCE BY 9JUN06. BASED ON TRIP DATE RATHER THAN DATE OF ORIGIN.
 
FLT APPL
APPLIES TO ANY FLIGHT EXCEPT TO/FROM/VIA DAL.

Personally, I'd wait, if you want SNA O&D.

Alternative: ONT-TUL (Ontario)

LR14XBSN 	CO 	L 	Round-Trip 	176.00 (USD) 		06/09/06 	
OR14XDN 	AA 	O 	Round-Trip 	176.00 (USD) 		06/09/06 	
T14SBV99 	DL 	T 	Round-Trip 	176.00 (USD) 		06/09/06 	
K14OR8N 	NW 	K 	Round-Trip 	176.00 (USD) 		06/09/06 	
TA7PZN 	CO 	T 	One-Way 	137.00 (USD) 		06/09/06

LAX-TUL (Los Angeles)

T21DBV99 	DL 	T 	Round-Trip 	198.00 (USD) 		06/09/06
T7MXBV99 	DL 	T 	Round-Trip 	198.00 (USD) 		06/09/06 	
TR7QBV99 	DL 	T 	Round-Trip 	198.00 (USD) 		06/09/06 	
OLR21DN 	AA 	O 	Round-Trip 	198.00 (USD) 		06/09/06 	
OLR7DN 	        AA 	O 	Round-Trip 	198.00 (USD) 		06/09/06 	
ORS7DN   	AA 	O 	Round-Trip 	198.00 (USD) 		06/09/06

Keep an eye out for UA routing SNA-LAX-TUL...you may get the same or better than out of LAX. Nothing good from UA as of yet, but I usually see better stuff from them 3-4 months out.

Good luck!

Pat

 

[LisaH]

I bought my Feb Maui trip tickets last Oct.
I bought my June Cancun trip tickets last Nov.

Both trip's airfares have gone up significantly since I bought.

 

[LisaH]

Pat,

Which program you used to search?

 

[camachinist]

Pat,

Which program you used to search?

I have access through ExpertFlyer....

Pat

 

[ysr_racer]

Hi Pat,

Thanks for the info. I only fly AA because the miles carry over to Alaska. I can park for free at SNA because I work accross the street so the money I save at LAX or ONT would be eaten up by parking charges.

When you say the fair expires on 6/9/06, does thatmean it won't go up in price until then?

Thanks, brad

 

[camachinist]

When you say the fare expires on 6/9/06, does that mean it won't go up in price until then?

It means that fare basis will remain until the expiry date, in this case June 9. It doesn't necessarily mean the airline will offer seats for sale with that fare basis, or that such seats will be available on every a/c. I routinely find great fares only to see the buckets zeroed out on the vast majority of flights.

The reason I use a service like the one above is so I can quickly ascertain what is available and on which flights it is available. I use ITA to search for availability and confirm fare issues and seating on E/F. This stuff is a world and language far different than the typical Orbitz, Kayak, Expedia, Travelocity- type stuff. Often it is very arcane, as you can see from my code above. It's taken me a couple of years to figure out just a part of it.

Regarding SNA, I personally like it very much; we fly out of there whenever we're in Newport. I like the rocketship takeoffs and enjoy watching the pax when the pilot then shuts the throttles down for noise abatement over Newport/OC. Also, as we fly mostly UA, it has the distinction of having one of the shortest commercial airline flights in the U.S., that being SNA-LAX. Fly under 15 minutes, collect 500 miles

Safe travels!

Pat

 

[anne1125]

I almost always buy tickets at the 330 day mark. The price tends to be cheapest when first released. Very few exceptions.

So far, I have gotten the best prices. When the cheap seats are gone, the cheap seats are gone.

Anne

 

[Judy]

Check to see how many seats are available on the flight(s) you want. If the plane is nearly empty, you're probably safe to wait a while, but the least expensive seats will probably disappear as the plane fills up.

 

[ysr_racer]

Thanks for everybody's advice. I bought the ticket for $285. I got the flights I wanted at the airport I wanted. I decided not to fool around to try to save a few bucks.

I'm cheap, but not that cheap