Best Time to Book International Flights?

[Haley53]

So yes, I have googled this, and googled it, and googled it. Seems there are a myriad of different opinions and so I'm wondering if there's an actual pattern - such as Tuesday evenings/early Wednesdays are cheap days to book - or if it's more a matter of luck. :P

As some of you may know, I'm looking to book a flight to Dublin for a couple months in the summer, ideally early July through early September, though I can go later into July and a little bit later into September if need be. I have been watching the prices for a couple months now, and the prices seem to rise and fall by up to $20.00 pretty regularly. Currently, they're under $1100, which is about what I'm willing to spend and don't really want to go too much higher than that. :/ I have read numerous articles and a lot of them have said 3-5 months in advance is good when it comes to booking an international ticket, but I've read an equal number of sources that say when these seats are released, they're snapped up real quick and so you're better off booking, for tourist season, well in advance, even up to a year for some.

My question to you is, what do you do? What have you found gets you the cheapest seats for international travel? How do you track it? Although I could easily book now, seeing as I paid for my boyfriend's ticket here, I don't want to break my bank and have absolutely zilch by booking a second ticket without any period of recovery (I don't work on school holidays). So, help?

Note: If worse came to absolute worst, I could stay for 4-6 weeks, though I'd hoped to stay a couple months. :P

[lucybelle]

Well booking during high travel times (the summer or Christmas) is always more expensive. So your flight will be more in July than say.. September.

I've always found flying in and out on Tuesdays are the best. But of course, it does differ.

So I just found out bing has a travel thing. https://www.bing.com/travel/flight/f...FM&o=LAX&e=LHR I'm not sure how long that link will be good, but I did a search of LAX to London (Dublin wasn't a choice) and it shows you what the prices are and when it's best to travel. They also suggest whether you should buy a ticket now, or wait.

Personally, if you're going in July, I'd wait until April or so to really look. Just look once a week and if you see a really good deal, get it. You've got PLENTY of time.

Just FYI, I'm going back home to the States in May and I haven't even started looking at tickets yet!

[mllebamako]

I usually book 3-6 months in advance. I usually check around a few sites, but I mainly use Kayak. They have a price alert feature where you can put in your destination and which month you want to travel in and they'll send you weekly emails with current prices. That's how I kind of see if they're dropping or getting more expensive.
But honestly, it's easier for me because flight prices to Bamako remain pretty constant throughout the year. So as long as I buy a month or 2 in advance, I know I'll have the same (exorbitant) price that I always pay.

Also, if you're under 26 and/or a student, I've had good experiences using STA Travel to book flights to Europe. I've found the prices to be comparable or even lower and, if I remember right, they're date change fee is really reasonable.

[Haley53]

I currently have Kayak sending me price alerts. I generally have them sent daily even if weekly would suffice. :P I think I tend to panic, is all, when I see prices shoot up by $20. It's amazing how quick travelling can turn you into a penny pincher!

Thank you both though, and I'll look into STA Travel. I've heard of it but have never used it (I'm both a student and under 26).

[greensweatergirl]

I've never used it, so I don't know if it's any good, but I once stumbled across a website called compete4yourseat. You put in your destination, when you wanted to fly etc. and travel agents competed against each other to give you the lowest fare. Might be worth checking out.

[Haley53]

Huh, interesting, I'm looking at it now and signed up. We'll see what happens/how things go. :P

[Sierra]

Most airlines now are cheaper than any 'discount' websites. It's always best to book on a Tuesday and pretty much as soon as possible. (not right now, after the holidays) It's most expensive to fly in an out on any other day other than Friday - Sunday.

[Haley53]

Really? I always find Wednesdays and Tuesdays to be comparable, and generally Wednesdays are cheaper. I'll definitely be toggling around though. The thing is that I'm wanting to wait until I have a little more savings set up. Since we booked an impromptu trip in the spring, which I don't regret (I paid for the ticket), I was hoping to wait until March or at the very least February before booking. Prices have settled at around $1070 again for the dates I'm looking into so I've relaxed a bit since I made this post. I'm hoping to find a flight even cheaper than $1000 but I'm not sure how likely that is to happen. :P They offered me a $990 deal through the compete4yourseat site but I'm not entirely sure how that works and am thinking I'd rather book directly through the airline... I simply don't want to regret my decision waiting until February/March/maybe even April to book.

[Sierra]

Usually with trips to Europe the later you book the more expensive they get but you CAN get insane deals. Just keep your eye on airfare and set a budget, when/if you see airfare within your budget, buy it. Maybe your parents could help you if you don't have the funds saved up yet? I know one year I went to England and back with $320 round trip tickets. It was a VERY last minute deal (2 weeks before the trip), but if I was planning a trip, I'd never wait that long to book it.

If you find they are cheaper on a certain day, go with that, don't worry about what anyone says, just find your cheap airfare