When to purchase airfare

We are planning another trip to Disney in August. Our children and a set of parents are coming this time. When is the best time to purchase airfare for this trip? (Due to cost) I have read that the best time is 6-8 weeks before the trip. Anyone else heard this?

When to purchase airfare

We are coming the last 2 weeks of May. I booked on Expedia. I started playing around with dates in Dec and in January I felt satisfied that I had gotten a decent deal on air, hotel and car. So for me was about 4 months before our travel dates.

We are coming for 2 weeks and traveling a Thursday to a Thursday so that seemed to be a little cheaper than on the weekends, but it can definately be touch and go!

I was happy with Expedia because we could pay half now and the other half is due 30 days before you travel which helped with budgeting and saving.

When to purchase airfare

Found this string.

tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g34515-i19-k775855鈥?/a>

I think you will find there is not a clear answer here, everyone has their opinion, and they vary based on subjectivity (cost, availabililty etc.).

I did hear on the radio today that the cost of jet fuel is 60% of an airline%26#39;s operating cost.

My assumption is that the increasing cost of fuel will be passed onto consumers... etc. And, perhaps there will be fewer flights available - trying to pack people on what is being offered.

Just hunches, i could be wrong.

Found my best rates about 8-10 weeks before

I did alot of checking on a daily basis, and this worked out the best. Booked thru airline directly.

I do not know what airline you are flying, we chose Delta and could pick our own seats, so booking early gave us a good selection as the plane at this point has only 4 seats remaining last I checked.

I always check multiple sites - lately I%26#39;ve been using www.sidestep.com they compare everyone at once from the airlines to expedia, etc.

Your price also depends on what day of the week you fly. Last year, we saved a bundle just by shifting our whole trip ahead a day.

This time, I kept watching airfare so I%26#39;d know a base price. Then every couple of days I%26#39;d check again. Supposedly, Expedia has lower fares on Wednesday.

When I checked the last time, the tickets were on sale for the dates/times I wanted and we saved $430. I bought them immediately. ( 4 1/2 months out) The standard airfare from KC to Orlando is the same as it has always been. At least on our flights, the price of gas hasn%26#39;t changed the prices much.

6-8 weeks is probably ok. If you wait closer, you may find ';last minute'; fares, but you may have to fly at odd times. The flights I got were nonstop early morning, we%26#39;ll arrive at 12:30 and our return flight doesn%26#39;t leave Orlando until 7:00 pm - which gives us another whole day at Disney. I was afraid those specific flights would be gone if I waited.

CheckersMidwest-

Thank you for your reply. That actually sounds like what we would like to do. We would like early flights on the way out and late flights for the way back home. Basically, we can book anytime now.

Thank you to everyone that responded. We just took a trip to Orlando in March and got really lucky on last minute fares. I think we paid $180 p.p. If I could get that again for a good flight, I%26#39;d book now. ;)

Here%26#39;s a trick to determine if there maybe cheap tickets coming on the flight you want. Go to a site that shows the available seats still left on the flight you want to take. If more than 1/2 the seats are still available around 8 weeks before the flight most of the time there will be a price cut on the tickets forthcomming and you need to check prices every few hours. At 6 weeks before the flight if 1/3 or more(1/4 depending on the size of the plane)seats are available also look for a sale to come.

NOTE: At the 4 week mark the ticket prices are going to start to skyrocket unless the plane is only 1/2 filled. The airlines figures that if you are looking for tickets this close to a flight you are desperate to get on it and will pay any price.

I don%26#39;t know if you are near an airport which has Spirit Air flights, but we went for around $100 roundtrip in November. I wasn%26#39;t even planning to go but I get Spirit emails and when the flight prices were so good I booked 3 of us for 5 days.

8 weeks works well here. I booked about 8 weeks ahead. Our flights did go down 15.00 at one point after, and then went up 100.00 as the dates got closer. One thing I noticed since I was buying 8 tickets, the airline would sell me 4 tickets at a lower price then the 8 I was buying. I bought 4 tickets, waited 2 days and was able to get the same price for the remaining tickets. It was a gamble but I knew there were plenty of seats left on the plane.

For next year May 2009 you wouldnt suggest getting tickets way ahead of time? Im not sure we will be flying at the moment we may be driving but im sure if we got a good deal the 5 of us would fly.

Ginger- Tickets way ahead of time are usually more then last minute tickets. FYI It was only 5.00 more for us to fly out of White Plains vs. JFK. It was worth the money to fly out of such a small airport. It will probably be cheaper to fly from NJ, several bargain airlines to shop from.

ideal marriage age