How far out do you book your plane tickets?

[frugaltravel]

I keep my cars an average of 7-10 years so I know where you're coming from. That said, my 8 year-old, pretty reliable car costs about 65c per mile to operate. We'll leave it at that, and if you choose to be better educated on the real operating costs of a car go to the many online calculators that will take into account your car's age, brand, and your usage habits. Fixed operating costs are very real...if you don't think they are, stop paying registration, tax, and insurance and see what happens! :)

 

Online calculator not needed. I am using actual costs from my own experience the past umpteen years. Far lower than 55 cpm. CA is probably much higher than most places in the US. But thanks anyway :eek:

[jaddld]

So, you aren't contending that Tuesday is a cheaper day, just passing on the incorrect advice of others?

 

Cool attempt at responsibility transfers....it's not my belief, but it's worth telling you what "others" have said.

 

Class assignment for today: Anecdote and data - compare and contrast.

 

 

I'll leave further recommendations up to the experts - apparently my personal experiences (which I think the OP was looking for) has no bearing in this discussion..only to tempt ridicule by some. I know I always get good deals and I guess I'll leave it at that. It's up to the individual reading to decide what to do.:)

[frugaltravel]

I'll leave further recommendations up to the experts - apparently my personal experiences (which I think the OP was looking for) has no bearing in this discussion..only to tempt ridicule by some. I know I always get good deals and I guess I'll leave it at that. It's up to the individual reading to decide what to do.:)

 

Personal experience is one thing. But you stated that you read Tuesdays are the best day and that it worked for you. It sounded more like you believed and confirmed the person who wrote that. The contention of many here is that the day of the week really doesn't matter or at least that Tuesdays are not the only day for great deals. My great deal last week was on Thursday and by Friday afternoon the fare was gone. But I won't state that Thursdays are the best day to buy tickets.

[parody]

It sounded more like you believed and confirmed the person who wrote that.

 

The "person" who originally wrote that is Rick Seaney, the CEO of Farecompare.com. How air fares are loaded into the GDS system helps explain his analytic conclusions.

[FlyerTalker]

Much of the weight behind Seaney's contention has to do with "announced" sales by airlines. Those tend to skew numbers towards a Tuesday result. However, since they are "announced", that tends to reduce the likelihood of "finding" a good price as opposed to "reacting" to a public announcement. I believe, and it is just my opinion, that if you take out the "announced" sale inventory loading from the equation, the dynamic nature of revenue management spreads the "deals" out throughout the week.

 

My opinion, FWIW, comes from both experience and study of published works on revenue management techniques and practices.

 

So, I would contend the following. If you are actively following airline pronouncements on "sales", you may find better availability on those specific Tuesdays. OTOH, if you are not in a "sale" period, you are in a quasi-random situation determined by multiple outside factors beyond your control (aka revenue management).

[MrCruzeaddict]

Just booked our air for our Feb Equinox cruise. Have been monitoring ITA daily. Flights out of here (GRR) are $470.00pp with 1 stop. Found a deal out of Detroit for $271.20pp NON STOP.

 

 

Joe<---I can drive 120miles to save around $400.00! :D

[frugaltravel]

Just booked our air for our Feb Equinox cruise. Have been monitoring ITA daily. Flights out of here (GRR) are $470.00pp with 1 stop. Found a deal out of Detroit for $271.20pp NON STOP.

 

 

Joe<---I can drive 120miles to save around $400.00! :D

 

You booked TODAY?!? But it is only Monday :D

 

What about Tuesdays? What about Rick Seaney? What about FareCompare? :D:D:D

[FlyerTalker]

You booked TODAY?!? But it is only Monday :D

 

What about Tuesdays? What about Rick Seaney? What about FareCompare? :D

I guess that he'll be kicking himself when the price drops tomorrow. ;):D;)'

 

It will drop, right?? I read it on the internet so it has to be true. :rolleyes:

[MrCruzeaddict]

Here it is TUESDAY....and the price is the SAME ;)

 

 

 

Joe<------Actually....I booked it SUNDAY night! :o

[parody]

Apparently, there appears to be some major misconceptions concerning which day of the week may have the best fares. If day of the week did not matter, and one looked at historical fares in a selected series of markets, one would come away with the result that each day had the lowest fares 14.29% (i.e., 100/7) of the time. When people report that Tuesday is a good day to purchase fares, they are not saying that one will get the lowest fare 100% of the time. Rather, it will be something higher than the average day.

 

In previous articles, an employee from Expedia suggests that fares tend to be lower on Tuesday, but as with Farecompare, they don't indicate by how much. An employee of Travelocity is reported to say that fares tend to be lowest on Monday, Tuesday, or Wednesday. The travel writer, Scott McCartney from the Wall Street Journal, reports that fares tend to be higher on weekends. The bottom line: know each airlines' policy on rebooking fees for fare changes and set up a fare alert since some fare changes can happen very suddenly and only for a short period of time.

[iancal]

The best day to book is the day on which you snag the lowest fare that you have seen to date.

[ducklite]

I would also look at flights out of MHT and PVD. On that route, Southwest out of MHT is often the least expensive if you buy the tickets at their lowest fare bucket right after the booking window opens. I fly US Airways and typically find MCO to PVD or MCO to MHT (avoiding BOS like the plague) in the $200-250 range when it gets to be about three months out.

 

You have plenty of time, I wouldn't rush into buying tickets just yet, and be flexible about where you fly out of and even look at MIA, WPI, and MCO as possibilities in Florida with a car rental. If there are three of you flying and the savings is $200 a ticket to go MHT to MCO, it would be well worth spending the $100 in car rentals, tolls, and gas on either end.

[MrCruzeaddict]

I booked our flights for Feb this past Sunday night. The prices have been the same for this flight everyday. I have seen some flights vary slightly, but I guess that it could depend on the flight itself. Our ship leaves on a Friday and returns on a Monday (10 day Equinox). There is a difference of $50.00 between flying back on a Monday instead of a Sunday.

 

 

Joe<-------Always checkin' those prices! :D

[parrotfeathers]

I've been monitoring Delta prices for weeks now. One day last week all flights went from 599 to 700 and stayed there for one hour. Sometimes it says "only 3 tickets left at this price" and then they take that notice off. There are lots of empty seats. I'd save 150 by flying into FLL but I don't think figuring in the hassle factor that it is worth it, especially since I could not depart on Friday until 4:30 pm. Delta has a noon flight on return.

 

It would be nice to fly in to Miami a different day but the whole point was to not be gone a week. Hopefully that 90 day mark is the magic day.

[Snorkel Dawg]

We always book our cruises at least a year out then as soon as flights become avail, we purchase those.

[FlyerTalker]

Sometimes it says "only 3 tickets left at this price" and then they take that notice off. There are lots of empty seats.

That means that there are only X number of seats in that particular fare bucket. Unless you have inventory access through various outside sources, you can't really say "There are lots of empty seats".

It would be nice to fly in to Miami a different day but the whole point was to not be gone a week. Hopefully that 90 day mark is the magic day.

Please write 100 times on the blackboard:

 

THERE IS NO MAGIC DAY!

 

If you wish to indulge in self-delusion, please don't spread a false "90 day" message to others.

[parody]

We always book our cruises at least a year out then as soon as flights become avail, we purchase those.

 

OK. But quoting the article by the widely-respected travel writer Scott McCartney in the WSJ on June 28, 2012, he said (for International travel): "Conventional travel wisdom says the earlier you book, the lower the price on international trips. Wrong. The best time to buy is about two or three months before departure"

[calliopecruiser]

OK. But quoting the article by the widely-respected travel writer Scott McCartney in the WSJ on June 28, 2012, he said (for International travel): "Conventional travel wisdom says the earlier you book, the lower the price on international trips. Wrong. The best time to buy is about two or three months before departure"

 

That might be the best time to buy with respect to prices, but it might not be the best time to buy with respect to getting an availability that matters to you (better connection, better arrival time, better flight etc.) When I spend several thousand on a cruise, I'm not going to risk not getting good connections or needing a circuitous route on the flight just so I can save $100.

[parody]

That might be the best time to buy with respect to prices, but it might not be the best time to buy with respect to getting an availability that matters to you (better connection, better arrival time, better flight etc.) When I spend several thousand on a cruise, I'm not going to risk not getting good connections or needing a circuitous route on the flight just so I can save $100.

 

That sounds like a good, rational plan. The objective here was to pass along the conclusion from a WSJ study that showed that the "sweet spot" for international travel was for a ticket purchased about 2 months prior to travel. And while a $100 savings is spot on for certain markets, they showed that the savings (between buying early vs. 2 months out) on a trip between Boston and Frankfurt would be $547. And, if you are traveling as a couple that would be $1094.

[calliopecruiser]

Wow, those are significant savings....I didn't imagine they'd vary by that much. True, if I knew savings like that were a possibility, I'd think differently about it.

[Snorkel Dawg]

OK. But quoting the article by the widely-respected travel writer Scott McCartney in the WSJ on June 28, 2012, he said (for International travel): "Conventional travel wisdom says the earlier you book, the lower the price on international trips. Wrong. The best time to buy is about two or three months before departure"

 

 

 

Waiting until to purchase air 2 to 3 months prior to (ship) departure? That's not a gamble I'm taking with myself or my family. There are now only so many seats available together unless you want to pay the airlines "premium" price to have seats together. Factor that in as well as the lower priced early tix

[parrotfeathers]

Not trying to spread any false messages or be self delusional--obviously you are more knowledgeable than what I have read.

 

 

THERE IS NO MAGIC DAY!

 

If you wish to indulge in self-delusion, please don't spread a false "90 day" message to others.

[Snorkel Dawg]

THERE IS NO MAGIC DAY!

 

 

 

 

Oh Flyer you'r wrong! There is a magic day, any day I board a cruise ship IS a MAGIC DAY! :D Bwaaaaaaaah!

[skf]

I do not work for Southwest, but I would favor them for this type of flight. If flying now, you could get to FLL for $136. Their fares really do not vary a lot. Of course, Southwast cannot be booked 330 days in advance.

Steve

[SoBaycruiser]

When flying to Alaska a few years ago, I found that the airlines would have only a couple of special fare seats available each day. When those were sold,the price went up. Then often, early the next morning i'd see the same cheaper fare seats available again ( the airline released a couple more seats at the cheaper fare overnight).

 

I also read that it is good to clear your cookies before a repeated search. If you keep coming back, somehow they can tell and think they've got a "live one on the line" and don't show the cheap fares. Not sure if that is true but it can't hurt.