Don't Buy Airfare Too Far in Advance!
by Wendy Perrin
Lately several readers have written in to ask how they can get lower fares for transoceanic flights they need to make in the late spring or summer. My answer: Wait! Airlines usually don't even begin introducing fare sales until at most four months ahead, and these days the lowest fares are often popping up only one to two months ahead.
Just yesterday, for instance, I booked airfare from Newark to the Caribbean island of St. Maarten (non-stop) in mid-February for $328 per person. I could have gotten a lower fare ($238) had I been able to get my act together to book just a day or even a few hours earlier, but if I'd booked several months ago I would have paid hundreds of dollars more.
Here's just one of the airfare questions that have come in. Reader Bmachold asks,
"We're 2 couples traveling to Ireland in August or Sept '09. I haven't found an airfare for less than $1,100 per person (that's from Denver). Do you have any recommendations?"
Absolutely. Here are a few suggestions for Bmachold and anyone else looking for the lowest international fares:
(1) Sign up for low-fare alerts for the route you want. Every day I get fare alerts from both FareCompare and AirFareWatchdog for the specific routes and/or airports I've signed up for. Within the past couple of weeks, by the way, both sites have alerted users to fares from the East Coast to Ireland for less than $500. Be sure to read the advice from my November Perrin Report on "Nabbing that Affordable Fare", in which I explain in detail the smartest way to register for and utilize fare alerts.
(2) Consider connecting flights. If you can't find an affordable non-stop from your home city, look into combining two flights: one to a gateway city that has a lot of flights to your destination--or a city where an airline has just introduced service to your destination and is running inaugural sales--and the second from that city to your final destination. If you're trying to get from Denver to Dublin, for instance, combine a flight to New York, Boston, or Dulles with a flight onward to Dublin.
(3) By all means read my Perrin Report, in Conde Nast Traveler's January 2009 issue, on how to travel smarter and save money in 2009. Of the 25 strategies listed, focus on 7 through 10.
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The one big exception to this is if you are claiming frequent flyer miles!
Posted by: tnsauerkraut | January 07, 2009 at 07:50 AM
Yes, if frequent flier miles or if you are using miles for upgrades you can't wait too late or there won't be any inventory left. I had to purchase tickets to Europe for July now so I could use my two system wide upgrades I had earned.
Posted by: calypso | January 07, 2009 at 10:25 AM
Thanks for the airfare watch links. Those should come in handy. TravelZoo is another great tool -- their newsletter provides many great weekly deals. British Airways actually just had a Friends & Family offer that ended on Monday where you could buy airfare through May from $300 RT including taxes from Boston. Didn't jump on it thought as my friends I'm travelling with were too slow!
Posted by: travellove | January 07, 2009 at 03:38 PM
As an expat who lived in Ireland for five years, I learned a thing or two about finding cheap flights to and from Eire. As you're open to August or September 09, my advice is to wait until after mid-September, which traditionally marks the end of the peak summer season. Airfares (and everything else) drop after around Sept 15. Also, sign up for email alerts from AerLingus.com, which almost always beats/matches other airlines for Irish-bound flights.
Posted by: SuzanneKelleher | January 07, 2009 at 04:09 PM
Aer Lingus has now launched a summer sale to Ireland, for travel through the end of August. Check it out here:
http://www.aerlingus.com/cgi-bin/obel01im1/Services/usa2.jsp?BV_SessionID=@@@@0189999498.1232286144@@@@&BV_EngineID=ccckadegffiielkcefecfigdffgdfkj.0&P_OID=0&Category=3
And a note about the frequent-flier-mile comments: The title of this post was "Don't BUY Air Fare Too Far in Advance." Buying = paying money for. Not redeeming free mileage for.
Posted by: WendyPerrin | January 18, 2009 at 08:43 AM