Best time of year to purchase air fares

Gerri, This same question was asked maybe a month or so ago by a young man planning his honeymoon (you could probably put in airfare and do a search on this site). While the answers were somewhat different(it really is anyone's guess...no one, probably not even the airlines, knows for sure what fares will do between now and May). Way too many variables.....price of oil, economic factors, peace/war factors, consumer confidence factors, and MOSTLY supply/demand for airline seats. That said, in the past, generally around the second week of January (post holiday) airfares have dropped. But, that is the past, and we live in different times where the past does not always predict the future. I think the consensus of people answering his particular question is that if you see airfare around $1000 for coach, jump on it, and if you see it lower than $1000 grab it fast.
And, of course, nowadays, the trend is low cost airfare, but a zillion dollars in tack-on fees.....ugh. I generally don't like to wait till the very end to book, because then some of the better connections and better seats are taken, but you can keep an eye on how fast a plane is filling by looking at available seats on their web site.

P.S. And, of course, the $1000 price I mentioned really depends on WHERE you live. If Midlothian is 15 miles out of NYC or Atlanta, you could probably get a direct flight to Rome for less than $1000, whereas someone in my city would have a connection cost. I'd guess $800 would be an attractive cost for a direct flight from a international hub city in the US. The other bit of info that I don't have is whether or not you can be date-flexible. Will you be meeting a tour on a certain date, or can you be flexible re: which weeks and days of the week on which you will fly there and return............that all matters on cost and the ability to snag a bargain Other readers agree/disagree?????

Short answer - no one knows. Figure out what you're willing to pay, and grab a ticket if you see that price. Then don't look back.

Gerry, another thing to keep in mind is that Tuesday through Thursday flights seem a little lower than other days. The flights I'm checking so far show about $150 difference.