best time to book?

[makavelli 0]

I am busy looking for prices on flights for next Summer(yes I know its a long way away but I need something to look forward to).

 

Does anyone know when is the best time to book a flight, i mean if I book it early will i get a better price or should I wait till after christmas?

 

Thanks.

[ferocious 1]

i'm sure it's 11 month before your dearture date when the cheapest seats become available...!

[wacmedia 277]

Hi

 

Talking to a girl in travel agency. Seemed to think December is a good time. Makes sense as people have targets to reach and everybody is thinking about Christmas.

[Tafkamb 0]

My last trip june/july I booked at the end of January approx 5 months ahead and the price from heathrow to bangkok was only £398 Economy on Thai Airways

About a month later the tickets on that flight were approx £600

 

I think it is just a case of keeping your eyes open for the deals

I regulaly check the web for flight prices just in case a real bargain comes up

To early costs big bucks as well as to late so its looking for the middle ground

[BigDUSA 71]

With the price of jet fuel going thru the roof, IMHO all the old rules are out the window with regards to sales and I would book my trips now.

[CheshireTom 1,377]

makavelli,

 

The cheaper prices you see are from one of three sources,:

 

Firstly, one-off offers through agents...... normally have restrictions and a "book by" date. For example Malaysia currently has a great offer for departures 1-31 May 2006. These offers can appear at anytime up to the week prior to travel. A decent suggestion is to go to the main agents' sites and sign-up to receive their newsletters.

 

Secondly, the airlines own yield-management systems. This is where the number of seats available in each booking class (Y, V, H etc) on each flight is automatically adjusted to take account of the airlines own projected figures taken from historical data. If the sales are up on a particular flight then the number of cheaper seats, in general, will be lower. If the are down the the number will normally be higher. The availability of seats at various price levels vairies in real time. The best way to monitor these prices without trawling through every agents booking system is to use one of the composite search engines such as Pricerunner. If you use this site ensure you enter the airport codes in caps i.e. MAN and BKK.

 

Thirdly, more and more airlines in UK are getting into the act of selling their cheapest seats direct to the public .... BA, Swiss, Malaysia and Singapore are four examples so it is worth keeping an eye on those sites to check for any offers.

 

Armed with all that knowledge you will be able to judge what is good value and, like me, make your booking exactly one day prior to a better offer coming along!

 

FWIW, I consider anything under 500 quid all-in to be a decent price from Manchester. If I can get the exact flight I want on the exact dates then I will book. If, for example, the same seat is available next month for 20 quid less it is not worth worrying about as it could equally have been 20 quid more.

 

Tom

Edited September 3, 2005 by CheshireTom

[pz9cfz 0]

I just thru reading a similar thread somewhere in the Forum and got the below link. Sorry I cannot remember who originally posted this, but the site supposedly has some good deals.

 

http://www.cheap-flight-tickets.com/

[CheshireTom 1,377]

BigD,

 

The airlines that fly from the UK to LOS operate under a totally different business model from their US counterparts in as much that they don't have huge, unprofitable domestic networks to subsidise so the fuel price analogy is way wide of the mark. Over the last 8 months prices from UK-LOS have been on average 5-10 percent cheaper than the same period last year even with fuel surcharges taken into account. Given the number of middle-east carriers on the LOS route it is a situation that is unlikely to change drastically over the next 6-9 months as most fuel will have already been hedged.

 

Tom

[Tengotodo 52]

According to Airlines' websites, the best deals can be had 30-60 days before departure, which totally sucks because what if you can't get a flight then? Sure, they only give us a friggin break when they realize they can't fill the plane up Bottom line...if your trip is for December, you should probably book in August to get the dates/times you want. Of course, as soon as you do book, someone else will offer a cheaper fare Best price I can find from NY to BKK is Cathay Pacific for $925 (all in), with a 3-hour stopover before arriving in BKK at 6:45 pm (perfect). Unfortunately, I booked my flight before this better one became available I won't be arriving until 1 am and will probably not have time for my first piece of Thailand ass that night.

[dotcom_OD 0]

Tengo, take a room in Bangkok for one evening. You really don't want to go to Pattaya at 1:30 AM do you? The driver and chances of beinng in trouble is heightened at nite. Stay in Sukhumvit for one nite then travel in the day, get a girl at NEP or Cowboy as this is still enough time to shag one!

[dtrdwngs 6]

I have paid some bangkock prices for a shag and I woul drather get to Pattaya late and find an open bar, not hard at all, and take one there. Mandarin on Soi 6 is a great option late. Bangkock is a huge ripoff and not as fun IMHO. You can stay there as many nights as you like of course as that will free up a room in Pattaya for me.