How soon before a trip can you find the best prices for airline tickets?

Jump to Last Post 1-6 of 6 discussions (6 posts)
  1. nmdonders profile image72
    nmdondersposted 10 years ago

    How soon before a trip can you find the best prices for airline tickets?

    Is it best to purchase a ticket well in advance or wait until it's closer to the date to get the least expensive plane tickets (for U.S. and Canadian flights)?

  2. epbooks profile image78
    epbooksposted 10 years ago

    Whenever I book a trip, I usually book it about a month before I leave.  If I have to do it last minute, I try for at least 2- 3 weeks before.

  3. KoraleeP profile image59
    KoraleePposted 10 years ago

    I would say, It depends on how much of a gambler you are and where you are flying to, ie. domestic or international. There is a chance that a  couple of days before the flight prices will go down because the plane still has seats available. However, sometimes it doesn't work out that way, and the price of the flight could go up.

    Chances are very good that you will also get a seat at the back of the plane, and if you're travelling with someone there may not be two seats together waiting for the last minute. This only really becomes an issue if you get travel sickness and require a seat ahead of the wings.

    It's always a good idea to look at various airlines and flight deals, and not just watch one. For example, when I flew to Germany in January from Calgary to Frankfurt, Air Canada and Lufthansa were selling the exact same seats on the same plane, but Lufthansa was selling the seats for $400.00 less than Air Canada.

    However, you need to watch some cheap travel deals. For example, Cheapoair, will sell you a really cheap ticket, but then they will send you an email (after they take your money) telling you that the seat is no longer available and they apologize for the inconvenience, but they can sell you another seat, at a much higher rate. That being said, they are good at refunding your money quickly if you choose not to buy the more expensive ticket.

    There was a study done by Time magazine that found that tickets are cheaper six weeks before the flight.

    As well, the cheapest day to fly seems to be Wednesday. When flying overseas anyways. So when you are looking for airline flights, make sure you try out different days of the week.

  4. cebutouristspot profile image78
    cebutouristspotposted 10 years ago

    Well on my experience.  I usually book 3 week in advance and I usually try to check the price of airplane ticket at 1 am they seem to be lower during that time smile   This is base on my own experience so solid proof

  5. tirelesstraveler profile image61
    tirelesstravelerposted 10 years ago

    At least 10 days is a good rule. In a pinch I have had good luck with Orbitz..  They will do 24 hours before departure. Not always the best price though. They also will give you 24 hours to cancel a flight with only a $17 charge.
    If you have a family death call the airline.  Have the name of the funeral home and phone number handy.  Airlines sharply reduce bereavement fares, but only upon verification of death.

  6. edhan profile image38
    edhanposted 10 years ago

    So far I get good rates when book way in advance according to my vacation plan like 6 months to a year.

 
working

This website uses cookies

As a user in the EEA, your approval is needed on a few things. To provide a better website experience, hubpages.com uses cookies (and other similar technologies) and may collect, process, and share personal data. Please choose which areas of our service you consent to our doing so.

For more information on managing or withdrawing consents and how we handle data, visit our Privacy Policy at: https://corp.maven.io/privacy-policy

Show Details
Necessary
HubPages Device IDThis is used to identify particular browsers or devices when the access the service, and is used for security reasons.
LoginThis is necessary to sign in to the HubPages Service.
Google RecaptchaThis is used to prevent bots and spam. (Privacy Policy)
AkismetThis is used to detect comment spam. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide data on traffic to our website, all personally identifyable data is anonymized. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Traffic PixelThis is used to collect data on traffic to articles and other pages on our site. Unless you are signed in to a HubPages account, all personally identifiable information is anonymized.
Amazon Web ServicesThis is a cloud services platform that we used to host our service. (Privacy Policy)
CloudflareThis is a cloud CDN service that we use to efficiently deliver files required for our service to operate such as javascript, cascading style sheets, images, and videos. (Privacy Policy)
Google Hosted LibrariesJavascript software libraries such as jQuery are loaded at endpoints on the googleapis.com or gstatic.com domains, for performance and efficiency reasons. (Privacy Policy)
Features
Google Custom SearchThis is feature allows you to search the site. (Privacy Policy)
Google MapsSome articles have Google Maps embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
Google ChartsThis is used to display charts and graphs on articles and the author center. (Privacy Policy)
Google AdSense Host APIThis service allows you to sign up for or associate a Google AdSense account with HubPages, so that you can earn money from ads on your articles. No data is shared unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Google YouTubeSome articles have YouTube videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
VimeoSome articles have Vimeo videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
PaypalThis is used for a registered author who enrolls in the HubPages Earnings program and requests to be paid via PayPal. No data is shared with Paypal unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook LoginYou can use this to streamline signing up for, or signing in to your Hubpages account. No data is shared with Facebook unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
MavenThis supports the Maven widget and search functionality. (Privacy Policy)
Marketing
Google AdSenseThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Google DoubleClickGoogle provides ad serving technology and runs an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Index ExchangeThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
SovrnThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook AdsThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Unified Ad MarketplaceThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
AppNexusThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
OpenxThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Rubicon ProjectThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
TripleLiftThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Say MediaWe partner with Say Media to deliver ad campaigns on our sites. (Privacy Policy)
Remarketing PixelsWe may use remarketing pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to advertise the HubPages Service to people that have visited our sites.
Conversion Tracking PixelsWe may use conversion tracking pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to identify when an advertisement has successfully resulted in the desired action, such as signing up for the HubPages Service or publishing an article on the HubPages Service.
Statistics
Author Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide traffic data and reports to the authors of articles on the HubPages Service. (Privacy Policy)
ComscoreComScore is a media measurement and analytics company providing marketing data and analytics to enterprises, media and advertising agencies, and publishers. Non-consent will result in ComScore only processing obfuscated personal data. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Tracking PixelSome articles display amazon products as part of the Amazon Affiliate program, this pixel provides traffic statistics for those products (Privacy Policy)
ClickscoThis is a data management platform studying reader behavior (Privacy Policy)