Harry

So I plan on going on holiday from 18 June- around 03 July (flexible on that), and visiting my sister who lives in New York, USA....

I was just wondering if anyone has experience in booking airlines often-- I've done it before, but about 3 months in advance... this time, being a bit tight on money, i've waited and am readying to book.

But would it be a safer bet to wait until the date is closer? Or quickly snag a seat now? Wot say the predictions and such on the rate of tickets? I'd like to get the best deal possible considering that I need to save as much money as possible.

Freebase Dali

Generally, the further in advance you book a flight the cheaper it will be. And you'll have a better chance at getting your choice of seating (in coach). Last minute flights are almost always more expensive unless you're on an empty plane, and you often get stuck in between crap sandwiches.

Go online and search through sites that aggregate fares and try to find the best prices as soon as possible. Also, since you're at least a little flexible with the days you travel, see if you can change up the dates as a test to determine which is the cheaper day to fly. Most of the time weekends are more expensive than week days, and holidays are always more expensive. Working around those typical highs can save you money.

But for sure, don't wait until the last moment.



Edit:
I probably don't need to add this, but the easiest route is to buy the fare online and just print out the itinerary. You bring it to the check in counter for your airline, check your luggage, and go to the terminal. I'm pretty sure most people do that now days, but I thought to add it just in case.

Harry

Ahh, bum... I always though logically, airlines would want to sell the remaining tickets at lower prices to get rid of 'em. It's always beyond me how they'd rather fly half empty than sell the tickets cheaper.

In that case, as soon as I get home next friday, I ought to book the flight. Thanks, matey.

...but really, are you quite sure? I know that it'd be rare game to be able to get anything under £450 at this point. D: Ahhgh this would be much easier if I wasn't so poor. xD

Now wot of booking through Priceline, or something of the sort, VS an actual airline website? For some of them, I've noticed, the price is the same, and others its higher or lower on one or the other-- I don't understand that...

Freebase Dali

In the last 7 years, I've flown at least a dozen times so I got a bit of a feeling of it, although I'm nowhere near racking up frequent flyer miles or anything. And 90 percent of my traveling was between Europe and the U.S.
Anyway, logic aside, businesses don't always operate logically. Maybe they expect everyone to be acting logically and they charge you for it. Who knows? All I know is that I've always paid more the closer to my date I booked a flight. It's almost like a penalty cost, although I'm sure that's not the only reason.
Either way, people have to pay to fly. If all the airlines charge more when it nears the flight date, then the only competition to be had between airlines is HOW MUCH more they charge as compared to the other guys running the same flight paths. While I'm sure there are exceptions, it's pretty common knowledge and observable experience that dictates you're better off booking a flight early. Regardless of the reasoning behind it.

As far as websites, you could use anything from Travelocity to Orbitz to a lesser known travel site like "cheapgoddamnedairfair.com" or something. The idea is for THEM to do the hard work of searching for the cheapest flights that pertain to your travel dates and you only having to pick from a list of your choosing, and airline of your choosing. It's like a search engine for travel fare. And it's basically instantaneous and doesn't cost any money. So use it to your advantage.

You don't really have to know WHY you come across a cheaper flight than all the rest... knowing that you can is a the best idea at this point.

noise

i've also flown between the US and Europe a lot, 20 times at least in the last 10 years.

Dali is mostly right on, but i think price is less predictable than the pattern he paints. i've seen prices from the same airline drop $200 overnight, then shoot up again a few days later for no apparent reason.

if you're willing to pay the current price, just buy it and don't look back. it's never cheap to fly overseas! you might end up catching a last-minute deal if you wait, but you might also see the price increase dramatically. just no way to know.

as for where to book - i tend to find the best prices on the actual airline's website. and don't forget to look around - BA often has great prices for trans-Atlantic flights, but their service tends to be pretty mediocre. i'd say i miss my connecting flight with BA 3 times out of 5 because of delays.

i've had good experiences with KLM, though they don't always have seat-back video screens, which is a must for a 7 hour flight!

anyway good luck and have fun

__________________
my flac collection

Harry

losh you lot must have decent savings for all that travelling! i've only been out of continent twice before. D:

Anyways, though, thanks for the advice-- i'll take a look next week and that'll settle whether or not i even manage to go, I suppose. :p

noise

haha yeah, i travel a fair bit.
i went to uni in UK, then i met/courted/married a Hungarian girl, and now i live in Europe while most of my family back in the States.
so all that trans-Atlantic travel has been out of necessity

__________________
my flac collection

Scarlett O'Hara

That sounds like a brilliant way to end your holiday!

__________________