How soon to wait before booking flight?

[Christina1003]

What is the absolute drop-dead date you would wait to book flights to port?

 

I keep hearing everyone tell me to wait for the deals - but as someone who has only flown once - I don't know when the deals are!

[bUU]

Where are you flying from and to, and when? That will have a lot to do with things. If you're flying on the East coast, especially, sooner may be better, and more importantly, the best deal may NOT be the least expensive flight, but rather the flights on the most reliable carrier (so, for example, aiming for Continental rather than Delta or US Airways). Should things go very badly for the industry (as seems likely), you may be happier having a flight reserved, rather than struggling to find one.

[Christina1003]

Doh! Should have put that down!

 

I'm leaving May 8th from Philadelphia to Port Canaveral, and returning that following 15th the other way.

[bUU]

Oy! Philadelphia. Very troubling waters with what US Airways is facing. I don't know what to tell you. Sorry.

[FinelyCruising]

We booked today for April 9th Newark to Ft Lauderdale on Continental. Ib booked online and the flight down was about 2/3 full, and more booked up than yesterday. Today I went to see if vertain other seats were available and more had booked since yesterday, but April is spring break in many places.

 

Don't the May dates you describe include Mother's Day? I don' have to travel that day, but I wonder how many others do.

[Christina1003]

Ick! Yep, Philadelphia. We were hitting Southwest anyways but....

 

Do you think Mother's Day will be a problem?

[imosoreal]

Book as soon as you feel comfortable to do so. I'm so glad I didn't listen to my husband who wanted to wait for a "deal". Our airfare from DC to PR booked seven months out was around $200 pp. I continued to check each month after booking and the airfare only continued to increase. Check all the on-line agencies every day for at least two weeks to see how the prices vary and what specials are offered.

[Jimbo]

If you go with Southwest you won't be able to book your flights until about 3 and half months from now until they open up those May dates for booking.

 

I think your best bet is to wait for that, Southwest has driven alot of prices down for people flying from Philadelphia since they opened there.

 

Jimbo:)

[vossjemi]

We just booked our air for our cruise in jan about 3 weeks ago. We booked our cruise last feb, and i kept a watch on various websites for air prices out of several airports. Prices definitely increased over the summer with fuel price increases. I was getting worried that I'd never get a deal or I'd have to drive 3 hours to the "big city" to get a reasonable price. Then, out of the blue, I was flipping through one of those junk mailers called Val-Pak coupons. There was a discount e certificate with northwest airlines. Using that cert, I got my air out of my hometown about 45% cheaper than the original undiscounted price. Woo hoo!!! If I hadn't gotten that, I'd be paying a ton more or driving to a cheaper airport. Sometimes I think its just dumb luck.

 

But, if you book with a price you are happy with and it gets cheaper, most airlines will give you a voucher for the difference and you can use that towards another flight another time.