You know how plane tickets get more expensive as you get closer to the date of travel?

[Greta]

Is there a point super-close to the date of travel when the price might drop again?  

 

I wanted to "sleep on it" and by delaying one day I missed the opportunity to buy tickets at a price that I could afford.  Should I keep my eyes on the tickets to see if they go down again?  Or is that a complete fantasy, and I'm going to have to just accept a 10-hour drive instead?   :(

[Guest]

I got the best price I ever got going to Hawaii buying 12 hours before I left.  But only one seat was left.  Yes, at the last minute, they do want to fill empty seats, because it's inventory they can't get back.  Early on, they price to fill to a break-even point.  Then they jack up the price to get the most revenue they can.  But very close to take-off, they just want to fill seats.  

 

HOW close to cut it, I don't know.  It kind of depends on your flexiblity.  

[SparklyUnicorn]

Yeah if you go for stand by.  LOL  Which of course is risky.

 

We once had to fly and leave within a matter of a few days.  It was SO EXPENSIVE!!! 

[G5052]

Maybe. Have you looked at Kayak? Are you flexible on your travel dates? Can you fly stand-by?

 

I actually booked tickets several weeks ago for later this summer and played around for several days until I got it down to where I wanted it. Even with multiple destinations, it's less than we paid for an overseas trip last year. It does help if you can fly on a Tuesday, Wednesday, or Saturday. In one case, shifting the date just one day saved $500. We're staying with relatives who are happy to have us another day anyway.

 

I've had to fly at the last minute for family emergencies, and it was always more than I hoped. But the area where I grew up is also 45+ hours away, so driving isn't an option if I need to get there in a timely manner.

Edited June 9, 2016 by G5052

[Greta]

Long story, so I won't bore you with the details.  But I should have explained my situation better:  I have to either fly on this one specific day, or dive, but if I drive it doesn't have to be that exact date.  Weird, I know.  But it's a matter of when there will be someone to pick me up at the airport when I land.

 

So should I wait until, like, the day before or the day of, and see if I can get a deal?  And if I do that, can I still use a site like kayak, or should I deal with the airline directly?  Should I go hang out at the airport and see if they'll take pity on me?   :lol:  (I realize they have no pity!)

 

ETA:  Oh, and I should have added, I've never flown stand-by, so I'm not entirely clear on how it works, but I think the answer is yes.  If I could get a flight pretty much any time on this one particular day, that would work.  And I do have the freedom to wait at the airport for hours (sounds fun) to see if that can happen.

Edited June 9, 2016 by Greta

[goldberry]

I've had to fly last minute a few times and NEVER got a decent deal.  EVER.

[Greta]

I've had to fly last minute a few times and NEVER got a decent deal.  EVER.

 

 

:crying:   That's what I was afraid of!

[Guest]

I prefer the 8 hour drive over the flight to my mom's house.  Finally!  I can listen to MY music!  LOL.  And by the time I deal with the airport drive, TSA, waiting, loading, flying, unloading, car rental and so on, it's 6 hours anyway.  I drive 2 hours longer, and have my car with me.  

 

But I know that is a long drive, and I don't know what to tell you.  Maybe you can wait until the night before you leave and make a last effort online.  Also, use a different computer.  I've saved money doing that.  I think they track you and know what prices you have already seen.  I've had two very different prices side-by-side on two computer screens in the past. 

 

 

 

[Amira]

For us, if we can't book 10-14 days ahead, there's almost no chance there will be a cheaper flight available. Miracles happen, but it would pretty much be a miracle.

[cera2]

Kayak and similar sites will let you set a fare alert.  Just put in your dates and location and the site will send you an email if the fare changes significantly.  I have gotten some decent deals this way.

[Greta]

You're right, Patty Joanna, driving isn't that much worse in terms of time investment.  The airport I would be flying to is actually still a 2-hour drive from my final destination.  So once you figure in that drive, security lines, baggage claim, and all of that, it's still a long day!  But the interstate that takes me from here to there seems to be getting more and more populated by huge semi trucks, and thus a little scarier to drive.  That was a big part of my motivation, but like I said, there's still two hours on a busy interstate even if I fly.  So probably not worth it.  

 

I had no idea about trying the price search on a different computer, though!  Neat trick.  Once when my dad was visiting me, he logged in to his Amazon account to do something.  Then after he left, my daughter went to look again at a video game that she wanted, and the price was almost half of what they had shown before.  It was still logged into my dad's account.  When we logged into her account on a different computer, the price was high.  I guess since my dad had never purchased a video game, they give him a lower price to entice him.  Since she had ordered others before, they knew they had her hooked and could charge her more.  We ordered that game using my dad's account (with his blessing, of course!) and then started shopping at Game Stop!  :lol:  

 

Anyway, back to the topic at hand.  Cera2, thanks for the reminder regarding the fare alert.  It's worth a shot!

[Greta]

Oh, what about Priceline?  I've never used it.  

[SparklyUnicorn]

I never found amazing deals on Priceline.  My sister has, but these are always absolute last minute deals.  If you can be very flexible, that's where you can score a deal.

 

 

[Greta]

I never found amazing deals on Priceline.  My sister has, but these are always absolute last minute deals.  If you can be very flexible, that's where you can score a deal.

 

 

I can't be very flexible, but "absolute last minute" is fine.  So I'm not sure if that will work for this scenario or not.  I'll do some browsing around at their website and see what I can see.  :)

[SparklyUnicorn]

Some of these "deal" websites seem very shifty to me.  I can't tell you how many times the price changed AS we were in the process of buying the tickets.  I hate that.  And always check the website of the airline where you noticed the deal elsewhere because sometimes it is cheaper to buy it from the airline. 

 

Also, call your credit card company to tell them you are about to make a sizeable purchase for airline tickets on-line.  Well I dunno maybe that won't happen for lower cost flights, but as we were buying our tickets to Germany our card was rejected for fraud protection.  In the process of dealing with that, in a matter of minutes, when we went back to try again they raised the price again. 

[Miss Tick]

Clear the cookies on your computer, or borrow one to book your flight. Travel sites (and others) can see that you looked at prices and didn't buy and they think that if you are coming back again they have leverage. Don't give up yet.

[shawthorne44]

The good news is that driving is an option.  So, you can plan on driving, then check the flight you want before you leave.  If it is cheap enough at that point, you buy it, otherwise drive.  

[MotherGoose]

Clear the cookies on your computer, or borrow one to book your flight. Travel sites (and others) can see that you looked at prices and didn't buy and they think that if you are coming back again they have leverage. Don't give up yet.

Does clearing the cookies work? Can they track by IP address? I've seen the fares change dramatically too. What if I looked at a website via cellular data on iPad, then looked via computer for final purchase? I've seen great fares and then had them disappear the next time too many times...I'm suspicious!!!

[SparklyUnicorn]

Does clearing the cookies work? Can they track by IP address? I've seen the fares change dramatically too. What if I looked at a website via cellular data on iPad, then looked via computer for final purchase? I've seen great fares and then had them disappear the next time too many times...I'm suspicious!!!

 

It has not worked for us.

[Miss Tick]

I have switched from my laptop to our desktop, where the history and cookies are all cleared at a paranoid rate, and found better process. Could have been coincidence. Anecdotally I have heard that Wednesday's are the best prices of the week, perhaps your experience sorts that. Sorry.

[Pam in CT]

re gamblers' games...

 

I got the best price I ever got going to Hawaii buying 12 hours before I left.  But only one seat was left.  Yes, at the last minute, they do want to fill empty seats, because it's inventory they can't get back.  Early on, they price to fill to a break-even point.  Then they jack up the price to get the most revenue they can.  But very close to take-off, they just want to fill seats.  

 

HOW close to cut it, I don't know.  It kind of depends on your flexiblity.  

 

You can get lucky.  If you have some flexibility on exact timing (sounds like you do) and there are other airlines that fly the same route (maybe not in your case?) and the segment isn't ordinarily nearly-booked or overbooked (in which case: no chance) and you only need one or two seats, you could get lucky.

 

If there's only one airline flying that route (i.e. no competition) and you need a family's worth of seats, it's unlikely.  Airlines with monopoly routes routinely cancel an undercooked flight and combine ticketed travelers onto another earlier/later flight, rather than fly with lots of empty seats or drastically reduce at the last minute.

 

 

It is possible to win, but like all gamblers' games, the odds are not in your favor.  (Ask me how I know, sigh....) 

[Guest]

Pam, I agree.  I get lucky mostly with the one-seat option.  I got the last seat.  :0)  And it might be unique to the situation this airline is in, having one destination etc.

 

[Greta]

Thanks, everyone, for all the help!  I'll need two seats, because my daughter is traveling with me, so that might reduce our odds a bit.  It's a simple, direct flight, and I believe that American, at least, has several per day between these two cities.  I will check other airlines as well.  I was only looking at sites like kayak, I never actually shopped American's own site.  So I will do that, and be prepared to make the purchase immediately if their price is within my range, so that they don't gouge me if I delay and go back later.

 

Thanks again!

[Lanny]

That will vary, with the route, with the airline, and with the country you are in. We live in Colombia. You are correct, normally, the price of airline seats increase, as the departure date gets closer. However, to my astonishment, here in Colombia, I have seen low prices open up, again, as the airlines see which passengers are really solid bookings and which have moved to another flight.  My understanding is that within the USA, the lowest airline fares are typically available approximately 57-60 days before departure.  We try to book a minimum of 30 - 35 days out.   I think for our trip to Orlando in April we booked our airline reservations and paid for our tickets,  during the first week in March, after we received the Timeshare confirmation, for a trip that began on April 24th.  THIS IS THE BOTTOM LINE: DO NOT BE GREEDY!  When there is a very low fare, make your reservations and pay for your ticket. Yes, the price might go even lower, but it might also go up and go up substantially and never come down again.  We paid USD $301 for round trip tickets from Cali, Colombia to Orlando FL USA, including all the taxes, service charges, etc.  On one trip to Bogota, I did not want to wake my wife up, at 5 A.M. to tell her about the low fare I had found, for the days we needed to travel. My wife told me that I should have woken her up...  The opportunity might last a few minutes, or a few days, but you have no way to know how long it will last. Only the airline reservation pricing system computer knows that. And, the data the computer uses changes, constantly,, so the fares may seem to change, constantly.  Have a safe trip!

[Greta]

That will vary, with the route, with the airline, and with the country you are in. We live in Colombia. You are correct, normally, the price of airline seats increase, as the departure date gets closer. However, to my astonishment, here in Colombia, I have seen low prices open up, again, as the airlines see which passengers are really solid bookings and which have moved to another flight.  My understanding is that within the USA, the lowest airline fares are typically available approximately 57-60 days before departure.  We try to book a minimum of 30 - 35 days out.   I think for our trip to Orlando in April we booked our airline reservations and paid for our tickets,  during the first week in March, after we received the Timeshare confirmation, for a trip that began on April 24th.  THIS IS THE BOTTOM LINE: DO NOT BE GREEDY!  When there is a very low fare, make your reservations and pay for your ticket. Yes, the price might go even lower, but it might also go up and go up substantially and never come down again.  We paid USD $301 for round trip tickets from Cali, Colombia to Orlando FL USA, including all the taxes, service charges, etc.  On one trip to Bogota, I did not want to wake my wife up, at 5 A.M. to tell her about the low fare I had found, for the days we needed to travel. My wife told me that I should have woken her up...  The opportunity might last a few minutes, or a few days, but you have no way to know how long it will last. Only the airline reservation pricing system computer knows that. And, the data the computer uses changes, constantly,, so the fares may seem to change, constantly.  Have a safe trip!

 

 

Thanks, Lanny!  I do have a dollar amount in mind that I'm willing to pay.  Beyond that amount, it just makes more sense to endure the long, unpleasant drive.  So if I see it at that price, I'll just go ahead and nab it.

[Lanny]

After my first reply in this thread, I read the other replies.  Some of what you reported is astonishing, regarding variance in fares displayed, depending upon Cookies, IP address, repeat visits to the web page for that route,  and other variables.  That does not happen here.  HOWEVER, I have read, and I believe this is true, that someone checking for a price of something (not airline seats), a TV for example, who logs in with a Windows PC and then logs in with a MAC, may see a higher price, while on the MAC.   I worked in the Scheduling Department of a large U.S. Flag airline. The aircraft are in a pattern of flights each day.  The idea that an airline would cancel a flight, because there are only a few passengers, and put them onto other flights, might happen, but it would cause havoc, with other flights that are scheduled to use the same aircraft that same day.  There are other ways to handle flights with few passengers. For example, Avianca, the largest airline here in Colombia, has four (4) sizes of aircraft in the Airbus A320 series. From small to large...  If there are only a few passengers going from Bogota to Orlando, for example, they can send an A318. If there are a huge number of passengers, they can send an A321. In between, an A319 or the normal A320.  But to just cancel a flight and rebook the few passengers who were on that flight, would really screw things up, for later flights using that same aircraft later that day.  The aircraft ideally will be operational approximately 12 to 14 hours each day, so if they are flying short flights, they need to make a number of flights, within a 24 hour day.  The 2 OTA (Online Travel Agency) web sites that I use here are Despegar and TiquetesBaratos.  They are similar to Travelocity, Expedia, etc.  The fares you see on an OTA should be identical, or within a few cents. If there is a big difference in fares, on the same flight, BUYER BEWARE.  The OTA should be a member of IATA.

Edited June 10, 2016 by Lanny

[domestic_engineer]

If you use kayak, don't forget that they don't include Southwest in their search. And if you fly on southwest, you can get credit if the price drops below your purchase price.

[Greta]

I wish that Southwest was an option, because I've had good experiences with them before.  But this time, they aren't, because of the weird particulars of me needing to arrive at a certain airport on a certain day (they fly to a different airport in the same city).  Appreciate the suggestion, though!

[J-rap]

If you have a smart phone, check out the app Hopper.  It tells you all the best times to get a cheaper flight.

[hellen]

You can look at Google flights. It allows you to search nearby airports as well. Every once in a while it is cheaper to fly to a smaller airport.