When to buy airfare?

[Pete's Mom]

Going to WDW 11/28/01 to 12/02/01. Right now airfare from ATL to MCO is around $ 190.00 per person. I know I can do better than this (especially since it is the week AFTER Thankgiving which is usually a DEAD time for the airlines).

But how long should I wait before booking?

 

[Mary Anne]

I can only tell you what I do. If it's a price i expect to pay, I book asap to get the flight date and time. If it comes down, they will give you a voucher that is good towards another trip.

I have never had a price actually come down on me. While they might come down, it is never for the flights I want or am on. We are going the end of August NY to MCO $171 round trip. While they have been advertised $130 recently, when I called the $130 fares were not good for when I wanted to go and any seats left on my flight were way, way higher. So I did the right thing by booking last December for my August trip. For me to get the $130 I would loose 3 days of my vacation, a change I would not want to do.

If you are locked into flying on certain days, or need certain times then I'd book early at the best rate, if you are more flexible you can wait. I like knowing my air is booked and I have a seat.

Have a great trip.

 

[Beverly Lynn]

for me it depends on the actual bookings of the flight. if they are at a low number then I wait. if its more than half full I book now and then keep an eye on the fares and when it goes down I get the voucher.

 

[Mary Anne]

Beverly, how can you tell if a flight is booking up? Is there a web sight I could check myself?

Thanks for your help.

 

[SandraC]

I've always booked as early as I could. For our April 2001 trip I booked everything six months in advance. I watch to see if the airfare went down. If it did, I would call the airline and they NEVER had the GREAT DEALS they posted, either all sold out or the deal wasn't as good as they said. I fine comfort in having everything done early. $190.00 sounds good to me.