Air fares for early Feb '03-when to book?

[Snoozan]

I have a short trip planned for 2/8-2/12/03. How long before Delta puts their rates down? When will SW start booking fares in February? Are there good deals to be had as I'm going the week before that busy President's Day week? I've always booked my airfare 8 or so months ahead of time, but I guess I need to be reassured that I should be patient.

 

[crazywig]

i'm waiting on southwest too.....i've read we'll probably have to wait until mid august for more dates to open up. (we're going jan 18-25)

i hate waiting!

 

[zurgswife]

Delta just had a big sale 2 weeks ago.....Last year they had one in Aug...but I think they had it in July this year......I'd look just about every day because the big sales they have don't last more than 48 hrs and usually its 24...

 

[rcomputer]

One of the cheapest times of year. If you need Delta you can probably wait until October/November and still book the lowest class. If you can fly any carrier and are reasonably flexible on times you can perhaps wait until early January.

I book months in advance if I must know I have transport (I am already booked for the marathon in January for example). I will book Feb 7-9 for my birthday with Continental or Northwest whenever I see a cheap fare - waiting until January if necessary.

For my travel "normal" fares from Buffalo, NY to Orlando are about U$160 (T class on CO, K on NW). I expect to be able to book these year-round except holidays/special events. I check ongoing availability of T and K class at a site such as http://flyaow.com/classavailability.htm

"Cheap" fares such as available for the next few months are about U$120. I expect to book these only at 1-2 months notice.

If you book with a mainstream airline (no idea if it applies to Southwest) you can get a downgrade/electronic credit if the airfare goes down and your flights are still available in that fare class.

Hope some of that helps!

 

[akasleepingbeauty]

We booked our flights for late January/early February 2003 on Delta a few months ago at $161. They went down to nearly the same price a few more times within the following 6 weeks and have never gone that low again. I still check every day so that I can get a voucher if a lower price comes up but I won't be surprised if they don't.

We booked our March 2002 flights in July 2001 for $101 RT again on Delta. It seemed really early to book but there was no way we could pass up that price.

So, my advice is to start looking every day now - check AM and PM as the promos will often last only 12 hours or so. If you find a price you like, book it and then keep looking at prices in case you can qualify for a voucher.

Good luck!