Is there a best time to check air prices ?

[azgrandmax3]

Does anyone know when prices change during the day? WE check air on Princess daily and it seems most times, when we try to change flights the best pricing is gone. We live West Coast, just wondering if the time difference matters. Do we need to be checking say 10 PM our time, when it is now later in other parts of the world? Thanks

[Thrak]

Does anyone know when prices change during the day? WE check air on Princess daily and it seems most times, when we try to change flights the best pricing is gone. We live West Coast, just wondering if the time difference matters. Do we need to be checking say 10 PM our time, when it is now later in other parts of the world? Thanks

 

You might want to ask this on the Cruise Air board:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=128

[cruisingpeople]

The "Rule of Thumb" I heard was prices are readjusted at 11:59 P.M. on Wednesday nights.

[CruiserBruce]

The "Rule of Thumb" I heard was prices are readjusted at 11:59 P.M. on Wednesday nights.

 

Ahh...the mystery magic time....11:59 what time zone?

 

Every airline is different. There is NO magic time for pricing. As mentioned, some reading on the Cruise Air board will get a truckload of info. The first two rules are: Research, no way around it. And "there is no magic time".

[CantanaLobo]

What do you mean by "when we try to change flights"? Do you already have tickets and are trying to change them? Are these Princess "Flexible Fares"?

[sfaaa]

Fly mid week and never on Friday evening or Sunday.

[cb at sea]

I don't know when prices change, but I find the best prices anywhere from 30-45 days out.

[Orlando Vic]

47 days ahead of the departure date

 

http://money.cnn.com/2015/02/11/pf/best-time-to-buy-airfare/index.html?iid=HP_River

 

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/02/23/dont-book-flights-early_n_6646836.html

[thinfool]

You can set up a 'watch' on a site like Kayak. It will send (email) you daily or weekly notices of the flights you are watching.

 

While it may not catch a few hour price change, it will alert you to trends on a daily basis.

[pppatpc2]

Completely unscientific, but we have always got our best travel bargains Sunday morning (Central Standard Time if it makes a difference). My DH had been searching for RT tickets to Sydney for the Australia/NZ cruise for months and by chance we looked at Princess EZ air one Sunday we found tickets $1000 (each) cheaper than any fare he saw. I can think of 5 or 6 occasions where Sunday was a good to find a bargain.

[SteerageJack]

Does anyone know when prices change during the day? WE check air on Princess daily and it seems most times, when we try to change flights the best pricing is gone. We live West Coast, just wondering if the time difference matters. Do we need to be checking say 10 PM our time, when it is now later in other parts of the world? Thanks

 

 

 

I would not use Princess for my airfare, neither would I book through an airline directly. They tend to be way too expensive. Use a TA or an online booking service.

 

One note, not all online sources are created equal. The big travel aggregators are in cahoots with the airlines and advertise high fares.

Google the air itinerary you want and select one that is reasonable in terms of cost and convenience.

[wowzz]

This is quite a good site for looking at various flight options, routings, pricing etc: https://matrix.itasoftware.com

[FawnRiver]

I would not use Princess for my airfare, neither would I book through an airline directly. They tend to be way too expensive. Use a TA or an online booking service.

 

One note, not all online sources are created equal. The big travel aggregators are in cahoots with the airlines and advertise high fares.

Google the air itinerary you want and select one that is reasonable in terms of cost and convenience.

 

I've booked through Princess on occasion, sometimes they have decent prices and if you buy their insurance, the airfare is covered (or it was the last time I did this) and you get the transfer (which isn't that big of a deal, but it is nice to step off the plane and see the Princess rep waiting for us :)).

I usually buy direct from the airline, no consolidator tickets or hidden clauses, I know exactly what I'm getting and what the extra costs are (i.e. baggage fees (if any), seat selection, etc). If there's a problem, its between you and the airline. TAs are a good option, too, if you have good one. Our friend used to be a TA, so we know they don't really make anything on booking flights, they make their money on booking whole trips.

 

My advice, set your budget and your requirements (direct flight, times, class seating, etc) and as soon as you see a price that fits your budget, book it. We've played chicken with airline prices in the past and usually lose :(. Be prepared to adjust your requirements to see if the price drops.

 

For our next cruise, I booked our flights about 300 days out when I could get what I wanted on the airline I wanted for the price I'd set (I did have to alter our departure flight from BCN to get the price to drop to where I wanted it, but it only adds about three hours to our trip home). I checked last month and those flights are now $1,700 more :eek:. The price MIGHT drop, but they are far more likely to go up as supply of seats sells out (supply and demand).

Edited April 15, 2015 by FawnRiver
added info

[thinfool]

This is quite a good site for looking at various flight options, routings, pricing etc: https://matrix.itasoftware.com

 

I always start here. It is not uncommon for the ITA engine to find acceptable routing that reflects more economy than the airline site may show.

 

I have had it happen where I found the fare and routing, called the airline and went over the itinerary with the agent. He found the flights I was talking about and I received the fare shown on ITA. Didn't seem to be all that hard.

 

I only book on the airline site using the above method. That way I avoid consolidator fares that, while cheaper, may not offer the level of service that I prefer.

 

Note: Some fear losing luggage if there are a couple of stops in an itinerary....and it does happen. We only travel with carry-on, so that minimizes those problems.