Most prospective travelers are on the lookout for cheap fares, be they cheap airplane tickets, discount hotel rooms, or cheap vacation packages. Determining how far in advance to purchase tickets so as to buy the cheapest fares is tricky.
Recent world events have been causing the price of oil, which is a key factor in ticket prices, to fluctuate, making the decision of when to purchase even more unpredictable.
On select routes, prices are especially volatile. On February 15th a round trip United flight from Seattle to London in mid March cost $718. Four days later the price increased 35 percent to $966. Later in February it fell to $772 only to rise to $976 on March 13th.
There are always fare sales, but the timing of such sales is hard to forecast.
Travel experts recommend the following when deciding whether now is the right time to purchase your airline tickets:
If you are planning on traveling between now and the end of May, purchase your airline tickets now.
Advice is conflicting for summer flights. Some experts recommend buying now because high fuel prices, limited seat capacity, and strong consumer demand, all suggest prices will increase further. Others believe that because of higher fares some travelers will decide not to fly, forcing airlines to reduce prices as holidays near and seats go unsold.
Purchase tickets now if you want to fly in Business Class to Europe. Several airlines, including Continental and Delta, are running Business Class sales to Europe now for spring and summer travel.
Consider hedging your position by buying early and monitoring prices drops to get a refund if possible. Most carriers will refund the difference in their fares, less a rebooking fee, in the form of a voucher when asked. There is a website called Yapta which uses your confirmation number to track the changing price of your ticket and also takes into consideration rebooking fees which usually range from $75 to $150. If the difference in price is greater than the fee, Yapta will, at no charge, notify you via email or Twitter.
If you want to hold off buying today, consider Continental who is offering its customers the right to lock in a fare for 72 hours for a fee of $5 or for seven days for $9, depending on the flight, with no commitment to buy.
Look into purchasing a package deal that includes a hotel. Sometimes the total package price is cheaper than purchasing the same airfare by itself. www.cheapfares.com