Natalieclare Posted November 7, 2011 Share Posted November 7, 2011 So, I'm trying to help my daughter get ready for a trip to Spain in January. The tickets are yowzayowzayowza....lots of money. What I'm wondering is...are they going to get cheaper or more expensive as we move closer to the departure date? Is there some rule of thumb to follow? Like...is one month before going to be the cheapest...or 6 weeks before...or 2 weeks? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
milovany Posted November 7, 2011 Share Posted November 7, 2011 I don't know the answer, but cool!! Would love to hear more. I've been working like cuh-razy. Maybe get on Travelzoo's weekly specials email list -- I often see great deals on there for travel related things in destinations all over the world. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Natalieclare Posted November 7, 2011 Author Share Posted November 7, 2011 I don't know the answer, but cool!! Would love to hear more. I've been working like cuh-razy. Maybe get on Travelzoo's weekly specials email list -- I often see great deals on there for travel related things in destinations all over the world. Thanks, m'dear! I've never heard about Travelzoo. :auto: Gonna check it out... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
momma2boys Posted November 7, 2011 Share Posted November 7, 2011 Travelocity, Expedia... these are good sites... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Natalieclare Posted November 7, 2011 Author Share Posted November 7, 2011 Travelocity, Expedia... these are good sites... Yeah, I've been looking at those sites...but I'm wondering when to buy. I know the prices fluctuate with time...I just don't know which way they will fluctuate!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keptwoman Posted November 7, 2011 Share Posted November 7, 2011 When I was in travel in the dark ages, Dec-Jan was peak travel time world wide. Mega peak, booked out weeks or months ahead peak, super dooper spendarooney peak. I would think that from now to January (which is only 2 months) prices are not going to go down, and flights may well sell out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
weddell Posted November 7, 2011 Share Posted November 7, 2011 With international travel we usually buy pretty far in advance, but I think a month is probably as close as I would cut it. I don't know what the best time is. I have used the price predictor here: http://www.bing.com/travel/ I don't know how accurate it is, but it is interesting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RegGuheert Posted November 7, 2011 Share Posted November 7, 2011 (edited) So, I'm trying to help my daughter get ready for a trip to Spain in January. The tickets are yowzayowzayowza....lots of money. What I'm wondering is...are they going to get cheaper or more expensive as we move closer to the departure date? Is there some rule of thumb to follow? Like...is one month before going to be the cheapest...or 6 weeks before...or 2 weeks?I will say that there is NOT a rule of thumb based on lead time here that you can bank on. The reason is that the pricing of seats on an airplane is based on many, many factors, some of which are extremely unpredictable, such as airplane load factor which can depend on whether or not there is some random event taking place in the destination city. (It could be a big convention of shoe salesmen or a big political protest or some such.)When I was in travel in the dark ages, Dec-Jan was peak travel time world wide. Mega peak, booked out weeks or months ahead peak, super dooper spendarooney peak. I would think that from now to January (which is only 2 months) prices are not going to go down, and flights may well sell out.:iagree: December and early January for "Western" cultures and December, January and February for "Eastern" cultures. Here are my suggestions to try to get her there cheaply: 1) If you know someone who travels a lot ask them if they might have extra frequent-flier miles that they would be willing to use to purchase your daughter's flights. I have done this many times for extended family members. Often times the miles have an expiration date and therefore are a "use it or lose it" type of thing. (If you go this route, keep in mind that many frequent-flier programs have "blackout dates", so you may need to be flexible about which days she travels.) 2) Make sure you try to book the flights on absolutely the LEAST CONVENIENT day of the week. In many cases, it is much cheaper to extend the lodging days than to fly on peak days. What days are LEAST CONVENIENT? It's hard to say, but typically it will NOT be Friday, Saturday, Sunday or Monday. Really the *only* way to find out is to try booking them on different days and see what comes up the cheapest. I've been amazed sometimes at the difference between a Monday flight and a Tuesday one. 3) Try flying into the secondary airport for the city or even a neighboring city. While this is not likely to be possible for an international flight into Spain, it is a technique that can sometimes work. With the advent of long-haul medium-sized jets such as the Boeing 787 and the Airbus A350, you will start to see nonstop flights into the "other" (read: "older") airports in some cities. Again, this is not likely a possibility today, but who knows? 4) Try booking using many different sales channels. The ones mentioned in this thread are excellent. Also, you can try booking directly with airlines which service the city to which your daughter is traveling. Sometimes airlines will offer special discounts on their websites that are not offered elsewhere. Conversely, sometimes a travel company will offer a special deal on their website which no one else offers. I guess the bottom line is that getting cheap airline tickets is somewhat of a random process. If you want to save a lot of money, you will need to be persistent and flexible and pursue all avenues which you can imagine. Most will give you the same prices, but discount tickets DO exist. But I agree that you should not wait too long to book, since it is very difficult to predict when the planes will fill up. (One note on that: If, for some reason, you do get to a point where you cannot get a ticket, all is not lost! Seats DO open up later as the date approaches since people will change their plans, particularly those traveling for business. You MIGHT even get a good deal in that case, but it is doubtful and it is a risky strategy.) Edited November 7, 2011 by RegGuheert Spelling. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Natalieclare Posted November 7, 2011 Author Share Posted November 7, 2011 I will say that there is NOT a rule of thumb based on lead time here that you can bank on. The reason is that the pricing of seats on an airplane is based on many, many factors, some of which are extremely unpredictable, such as airplane load factor which can depend on whether or not there is some random event taking place in the destination city. (It could be a big convention of shoe salesmen or a big political protest or some such.):iagree: I guess the bottom line is that getting cheap airline tickets is somewhat of a random process. If you want to save a lot of money, you will need to be persistent and flexible and pursue all avenues which you can imagine. Most will give you the same prices, but discount tickets DO exist. But I agree that you should not wait too long to book, since it is very difficult to predict when the planes will fill up. (One note on that: If, for some reason, you do get to a point where you cannot get a ticket, all is not lost! Seats DO open up later as the date approaches since people will change their plans, particularly those traveling for business. You MIGHT even get a good deal in that case, but it is doubtful and it is a risky strategy.) Thank you so much. Your whole post was very helpful. I don't know anyone who works for an airline, so I guess I am out of luck there! :glare::D And it looks like I had better go ahead and by those solid gold tickets. Unless...it might be a good idea to fly into a major airport and take a train to her final destination? What do you think of that idea? Off to check out the diff in prices...:auto: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RegGuheert Posted November 7, 2011 Share Posted November 7, 2011 Thank you so much. Your whole post was very helpful. I don't know anyone who works for an airline, so I guess I am out of luck there!I don't work for an airline. I just fly a lot on airplanes. If you know anyone who flies a lot for business, that is who I am suggesting you contact.Unless...it might be a good idea to fly into a major airport and take a train to her final destination? What do you think of that idea? Off to check out the diff in prices...:auto:I would say that is certainly worth a try! Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Natalieclare Posted November 7, 2011 Author Share Posted November 7, 2011 I don't work for an airline. I just fly a lot on airplanes. If you know anyone who flies a lot for business, that is who I am suggesting you contact.I would say that is certainly worth a try! Good luck! I see, I see...I guess I've mostly heard of vouchers in relation to employees. I forgot about frequent flyers! Hmmm...I'll have to give that some thought. I checked into the train thingy...flying into Madrid is only $190 cheaper. And the train costs betwee $75 and $130. I'm thinkin' it isn't enough of a savings to make the hassle worthwhile? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Krista in LA Posted November 7, 2011 Share Posted November 7, 2011 I have no idea about the best time to book an international flight. Just wanted to suggest another website - kayak.com will compare prices from some of the other ones as well as the airlines themselves making it far easier to find the best price. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Natalieclare Posted November 7, 2011 Author Share Posted November 7, 2011 I have no idea about the best time to book an international flight. Just wanted to suggest another website - kayak.com will compare prices from some of the other ones as well as the airlines themselves making it far easier to find the best price. Thank you! I need all the help I can get, as this is something of a rare occurrence for us. :001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RegGuheert Posted November 7, 2011 Share Posted November 7, 2011 I checked into the train thingy...flying into Madrid is only $190 cheaper. And the train costs betwee $75 and $130. I'm thinkin' it isn't enough of a savings to make the hassle worthwhile?I agree! I got on the wrong train in France one day and I went to the wrong city! I lost about four hours' sleep that night! :tongue_smilie: I wouldn't suggest it unless your daughter's command of Spanish is excellent and she wants to add an adventure to an already-long-and-challenging day. I promise she will be pretty tired by the time she arrives in Spain, even if she flies directly there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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