Don't Book So Far In Advance

I sometimes hear people say that they've purchased their airline tickets 6 months, 10 months before their flight. Always struck me as unwise, for lots of reasons, one of them being the expense.

In a recent interview, a Delta reservationist said, at least for coach folks, buying far in advance is a bad, expensive idea:

"Unless you're booking business/first class, booking super far in advance is always a bad move. Airlines charge higher fares for those reservations. It's just like in the tech world where the early adopters pay more."

Other good tips in there, check it out.

First of all, thank you for the link. It did have some good information in there.

On your point of not booking far in advance, I have to disagree. I've gotten some great fares booking that way. It does help to have a somewhat predictable work schedule, among other things.

Well we have always booked well in advance in fact we have July 10--17 Sept. 18--25 Oct. 30---Nov 6 already booked to finish out the year. I feel we got some decent deals and the hassle is over. Unlike a rental car where you can book and cancel without charges airline tickets to the traveler is just simply the cost of doing business if they get cheaper. Yes it happens but it also works the other way as well. Like a seat belt click it and forget it.

A co-worker is in Vegas right now and had found RT airfare for $260. She decided to wait until the 6 week window where you used to be able to get better rates. She ended up paying $510 RT. I think it used to be better to wait but, with prices so unstable, if you see a good fare, get it. It may not be around later.

Since I fly Southwest exclusively I always buy in advance. If the airfare should change I can rebook without having to pay a change fee and the leftover funds are there to be used at a later date for another flight. Delta and the other airlines can take their "change fees", baggage fees and shove them. Anyone flying those other airlines are just paying too much.My opinion stated here is not debatable and is based on the actual facts that I have experienced the last 20+ years of flying.

I like that SW doesn't charge a change fee and it's easy to use leftover funds. Often, SW fares give the best value, but not always. While shopping for fares for my upcoming trip to NOLA, the lowest I saw on SW was $214 one way. Delta ran a sale and I booked round trip for $241.20. SW never came down in price or offered a ding fare for my locations.

Edited to include, sometimes SW does give the best value. I usually drive to Vegas. However, for my May trip, SW ran a sale good on my travel dates, $99.60 round trip.

Booking early depends on the rate you can obtain. I usually start checking airfares as soon as my travel dates are set; this can be up to 9 months in advance. I travel to certain locations frequently enough to know what the approximate fare should be. I'll check on-line about once a week and pounce on a low fare when it occurs. Example: I booked a RT flight thru Travelocity from MSP to LAS for my Sept trip in April---fare was $279. The lowest that I have seen advertised for the exact same flights have been $339 and all the way up to $389(Sun Country..direct flights). Sure, I could fly for less on Spirit Air...if I wanted to be treated like cattle. I doubt very much that Sun Country will offer a lower fare than what I booked for. I am currently trolling for airfares for my December Vegas trip. There have been a few times when I pulled the trigger a little too early, but only got burned by about $20-30. My outlook is to check fares on a regular basis as they fluctuate frequently; after a while you will get sense on what is a good deal. I signed on to the Travelocity website and they alert me to reduced fares when they are offered by the various airlines. It seems most of the time I get the best prices about 45-30 days before my travel dates. I think I got lucky with my Sept flights, Travelocity offered the fare for one day only...checked other travel sites and directly with the Sun Country website...they listed fare at $339...went back to Travelocity and booked the flights. Next day Travelocity listed the fare at $339. Good luck.

Glasses can affect your vision; especially when they have been emptied several times.........

Spring Break 2000 !!!

I usually only fly certain routes. I am retired and have a good idea of where I want to go and when. I know what the flights run and book when I see a good deal. I am more prone to booking in advance but if I don't see good prices (and decent times) I will wait. As I get older I won't book red eyes , late night or really early fllights any more unless it is a HUGE savings.

I also usually book for my friends. They count on me to say book now. I just called my friend this am and said book it. The fare from DTW to LAS was running about 400 today it went down to 317.00

Being a SWA only (we are in a mini-hub with direct flights everywhere) I book early to get the direct flight I want...never had a problem switching flights (they even move the EB over to the new flight).

First of all, I live in CT., so Im not going to debate anything you mentioned here, Dr., however, SWA doesn't have all that great stuff you mentioned, going for it;s east coast passengers. I have been to vegas numerous times and mostly flown JETBLUE. SWA doesn't use JFK at all, and has limited flight patterns from LGA. They do fly out of Hartford, and for the first time I can say they had a decent rate / departure time both in and out of Hartford. It still cost me $400 per RT which was no less that JetBlue with one free checked bag. I don't know where you fly from, but SW is not always good value from the Northeast most of the time.