Best time to book flights?

[Gollom]

I know that some members are in the travel business (Mr E?) so what is the optimum time to book flights for 2 adults MAN - LAS (about 4 days) then MCO for about 12 days before back to MAN. Depart around 3/10/15 (flexible)

Expedia not showing for those dates just yet, but should I grab what shows as best when they are available or hold off?

 

[flango]

Believe it or not when I've been booking long haul holidays the cheapest and best flights I booked on Christmas day.

 

[Gollom]

Believe it or not when I've been booking long haul holidays the cheapest and best flights I booked on Christmas day.

As a lot of airline companies use "Yield Management" software, there is a certain amount of logic there!

 

[Darrell]

Believe it or not when I've been booking long haul holidays the cheapest and best flights I booked on Christmas day.

This is very true.

 

[Dryce]

Believe it or not when I've been booking long haul holidays the cheapest and best flights I booked on Christmas day.

Yup. And this isn't a new thing. I can remember being offered some ridiculously low fares in First and Business for travel on Christmas day back in the 80s.

We've also found that travelling to and from the US on Thanksgiving can work out quite well.

 

[Dryce]

As a lot of airline companies use "Yield Management" software, there is a certain amount of logic there!

There are a number of different strategies - sometimes the logiic doesn't look very logical.

Booking to the US we tend to find with BA that the prices are pretty steady and then firm up a lot from 3 weeks before the flight.

OTOH flying with the more holiday orientated carriers tends to mean headline deals come and go as they try and fill the flight and prices can do crazy things in the last few weeks (crazy up as well as crazy down!).

As regards your original post - it's literally a matter of rolling the dice. Most of our flying is to Asia and generally we don't book more than a few weeks ahead - and don't feel that we lose out by doing so. But we can normally flex travel dates to fit prices. If we have absolute fixed dates then I'd be inclined to book earlier.

 

[Darrell]

With charter flights from the major carriers then I would suggest as early as possible.

If you are booking a holiday then if you have the balls then leave it until the last minute.

 

[daveenty]

Have a look round Sky Scanner.

I've always used them and found them to be the best for flights, though not hotels. They have been good on hire cars a few times though...

 

[jonthetourist]

I know that some members are in the travel business (Mr E?) so what is the optimum time to book flights for 2 adults MAN - LAS (about 4 days) then MCO for about 12 days before back to MAN. Depart around 3/10/15 (flexible)

Expedia not showing for those dates just yet, but should I grab what shows as best when they are available or hold off?

OK It looks like your dates are only slightly flexible, and your destination plans aren't flexible?

In that case you probably want to book early rather than late, so it's a case of looking for a good early deal. The first thing to do, once flights are showing on systems, is get a feel for what a normal price looks like for your itinerary.

Then look at January offers, where traditionally a lot of airlines have sales. If something looks tempting then, you should probably go for it.

Other options for reducing costs including alternative airports, maybe Tampa instead of Orlando, and especially going indirect i.e. changing in Chicago, Atlanta or whatever.

Hope this helps.

Jon

 

[moonloops]

A lot of people get to Paris and fly long distance from there as it's much cheaper..

Obviously flying on xmas day is cheap as there's loads of capacity as people want to be with family that day.

 

[Meldrew2]

Have a look round Sky Scanner. I've always used them and found them to be the best for flights, though not hotels. They have been good on hire cars a few times though...

be careful. Some of the sellers that sky's canner click through to are cowboy operators with no customer service. Take a look at reviews of the agent before you book, then USE CREDIT CARD. I have been caught by these shysters and it was only thanks to a really helpful lady at the airline that things were sorted.

 

[flango]

be careful. Some of the sellers that sky's canner click through to are cowboy operators with no customer service. Take a look at reviews of the agent before you book, then USE CREDIT CARD. I have been caught by these shysters and it was only thanks to a really helpful lady at the airline that things were sorted.

Top advice I only ever book direct with airlines and hotels never a middleman

You could fly through Paris as it is known for being cheap but Air France do crash a lot so there's no guarantee you'll get there

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[Gollom]

Top advice I only ever book direct with airlines and hotels never a middleman

You could fly through Paris as it is known for being cheap but Air France do crash a lot so there's no guarantee you'll get there

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Air France lost the former Mrs Gollom's luggage when we went to China and Vietnam. She did the Great Wall in a ra-ra skirt, hoodie and baseball boots as that is all she could buy that fitted! And to this day one of her fondest memories was finding a bra that fitted!

 

[johnlondonw3]

Very good !!

 

[swannymere]

I always book my flights to Australia as soon as they become available, this year we booked in February i think and my return economy flight to Brisbane from Heathrow was £1170 looked the other day and its nearer £1600 and rising.

 

[flango]

I always book my flights to Australia as soon as they become available, this year we booked in February i think and my return economy flight to Brisbane from Heathrow was £1170 looked the other day and its nearer £1600 and rising.

My last one to Perth in September was from Manchester and was just over £1800 in business class on Qatar prior to that it was double this price on Singapore, there are some bargains out there you just have to search

You can always get to Aus in economy from manchester for well under a grand

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[flango]

My last one to Perth in September was from Manchester and was just over £1800 in business class on Qatar and some of the best flights service and cabin quality I have had and wifi coverage. prior to that it was double this price on Singapore, there are some bargains out there you just have to search Sent from my iPhone using MBClub UK

Double post


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[swannymere]

You can always get to Aus in economy from manchester for well under a grand

Not around Christmas time, prices seem to go up by at least 25-30%. Best airline i've flown with is Etihad, flying Malaysian this time

 

[millo777]

Schedule flights will normally be available for sale 340 days in advance, so October 2015 should be available on most agency systems already (Blame 1950s mainframe technology for this nonsense)

If you're booking just scheduled flights on their own, book as early as you can. Prices go up as the cheaper fare bands sell out.

The only Caveat being that BA and other carriers normally have a sale in Jan which might be worth waiting for. It's unlikely all the cheap seats will have sold by then anyway.

If you're booking a package, definitely wait until January as all the tour ops have a sale then. Travel agents also cut their commission in the same period and bargains can be had. They will also not require full payment at time of booking. Booking 10 months in advance and losing interest/access to funds may be a factor?

Expedia and other OTAs may not have loaded their rates yet, hence no availability showing.

Whoever mentioned not booking via a middleman....think again.

Expedia has merchant rates with most scheduled carriers and is also a fully bonded tour operator, and as such has access to net rates for flight only sales, and Net IT (Inclusive tour) rates on most airlines which can only be used as a part of a package in order to opaque the prices.

The best way to get these rates (even if you're only shopping for flights) is to book the flights together with a single night in a hotel. This can often reduce the price considerably.

Check the Flight + Hotel options on Expedia. These also allow you to pay a deposit, and the remainder closer to the departure date.