When do you book your flights?

To me prices are so variable on airfares there is no "sweet spot". I buy them when I have room in my budget to pay for them. I went on Delta at the end of the year just to look at prices for April and was shocked at the low price I got from Spokane to Paris so grabbed it even though I didn't really want to pay for it right now, hahaha.

You should start looking now and as soon as you see a price you can live with book it.

I got a great price on a Comfort Plus level. I've been flying Delta One but the RTs I'm seeing on Delta from Spokane are over $6000 which to me means they don't want any bookings, hahaha. Economy Comfort for my dates this spring were just over $700. I have not paid that little E-V-E-R. Or well maybe when I flew Laker from FL to Gatwick back in the 80's, hahaha.

Good advice from Pam. I rarely wait until 4 months out as RS suggests. Instead, I monitor prices for my preferred flights on Google flights and purchase while seats I want are still available. I always book with the airline, not an online agent, and always with a US carrier (Delta, United or American) so that I can easily use any flight credit that I get if I cancel or rebook the flight. If prices drop after I book, then I cancel and rebook using the credit leaving me with excess credit for some future flights. I usually book Business Class for an overnight flight so I can sleep and premium economy for a daytime flight, thereby saving some money. I also book multi city which is sometimes cheaper than flying in and out of same popular airport. Hope this is helpful.

I agree with Pam. I buy as sooon as my plans are firm and I can live with the price.

I think waiting till 4 months out can be risky. We ended up on a less desirable route going to Sicily because our plans were slow to solidify and by the time they had, prices had gone up sharply. I wasn’t willing to pay the elevated price for nonstop to Rome. So we had two connections because we waited. We bought maybe 5 months out. Now one time I bought tickets to London six weeks out (it was work related) and I got a really good price. But I could not do do that usually no matter how much money it saved. I like things settled.

I do not think it is too early to buy for September. But certainly you should start looking so you know what is a good price on your route.

That's easy, when the price is the lowest.

But then that is the problem. Seriously though, I find decent prices anywhere from 6 to 3 months before my dates, and that works. I have in my mind what a "good" price is from my regional airport to most places in Europe (Little less for some hubs, bit more for Greece and airports requiring a connection)

Class of ticket does not change timing too much. Being a Delta guy myself, I do not think timing between Main Cabin and Comfort Plus is really any different. I do notice that Premium Select seems to be popular and sells out earlier than other classes though.

With Delta, you will also see upgrade offers all the time, so check back, the offer will be for a specific flight, not all segments, but once in a while you can snag something cheap, up to Comfort+, Premium, or even Delta One, but usually not a great deal.

The other advantage with Delta, is if you do check back, and your ticket price dropped significantly, rebook and take the savings as a credit for future travel or upgrades.

Good advice above.

When booking comfort plus and above (premium economy, business etc), which is all the time internationally, I take into consideration the limited number of seats available in that class. I’m looking to snag two seats together on one of the sides in a 2-3-2 or 2-4-2 configuration - further narrowing my choices. I start looking as soon as I know I’m going and like Pam, sometimes I’m looking before I know I’m going. : ) I usually track prices for a few weeks and check the seat map(s) at the same time watching for availability of my desired seats.

In my experience, if you want anything other than main cabin, waiting 4 months out may leave you stuck in a middle seat, separated from your traveling companion(s) or worse, empty-handed.

I’m picky about my seat location (front row Comfort Plus, aisle seat), so that drives me to purchasing my ticket earlier than if I didn’t care which aisle seat I wanted. I purchased my flight to Prague & home from Rome a month ago for a trip in May/June & was surprised that half of my desired seats were gone.

Personally, I know that my preferred method of travel happens to save me a lot of money traveling by train and going to less touristy cities where activities & lodging are cheaper, so I don’t stress as much with the price of an airplane seat that will give me some sleep to enjoy the trip. I’m usually looking on Delta as soon as I have the starting & ending locations of a trip determined- around 6-9months.

If you want the Premium seats - up from Comfort, those do get reserved faster. I purchased those for one trip, and they’re a nice option.

I'm not traveling abroad again until March 2027 (into Rome, out of Bari), but if we're saying that 9 months is not too early to book, then I'll probably be looking at it towards late spring.

We booked last April's trip in July 2024, so I guess it was that far in advance. Question--do all airlines nickel-and-dime you up from the basic fare? Last we had booked Lufthansa was in 2017, and this must be a relatively new thing as then I did not remember the number of surcharges for booking a seat, for bags, for certain parts of the cabin, for taxes/charges and of course the 'Economy Plus'--different name for each carrier-- where seats are same width/height but charge $200-$300 for an extra 18" of leg room. Worth it? In some cases yes. But even without it, I think it turned an $850 Boston/Zurich/Florence, Catania/Munich/Boston into nearly $1100 per person.

Incidentally, I may be the only one but in four trips, they've always been 'open jaw' so it's been easier and more cost-effective to not book direct flights but 2-legged journeys stopping in prime European hubs, like Frankfurt, Zurich or Munich. Some people might just want to get there, but with a 2-3 hour layover, it breaks up the long trip and to me is more enjoyable. One caveat--those two legs need to be with the same carrier, so there will be no worries about the bags being transferred one flight to the other.

I am intrigued by the Delta Comfort Plus deal, and will be investigating when we start to 'check the board'. I'm always looking for a way to build a better mousetrap here. I'm definitely a value guy, and I'm convinced that for booking air doing due diligence in research can save a lot of money.

Thank you to the RS community for so many really thoughtful replies. I thought 4 months out seemed risky, thus my question to you all.
I’m seeing flights from Cincinnati to Florence and Milan for >$2300 for main cabin seats Premium Economy looks too high for us to swallow for two.
I suppose we could buy down with points, but it’s too early to make those decisions today.
I like the idea of checking back in for a credit if prices fall though.

Hello

You've already received great advice, but I just wanted to add that last year I watched flight prices to Europe for a few months and the September flights were consistently the most expensive.

So if I was set on flying in September I would mentally prepare myself that the tickets (on Delta in Premium Economy) will be a 'Screaming Deal' if I can find them for less than $2500. Especially if I like the connections, etc.

Play around with your dates on Google Flights (for research, but of course book with the airline) if you have that flexibility and you might save a few hundred dollars.

Good luck and enjoy your trip!

We are flying from Seattle to Venice in April and return from Rome in May. We booked using Google Flights and were amazed at the pricing in late December - $1650 total RT for both of us on Air France/Delta.

I've already booked my flight for my northern Italy trip in late September/October. Canadians don't have the array of choice for multi-city trips that those flying from the USA have, unless you have a flight with a stop. Also, I decided to splurge and not fly economy for the long overnight flight. There are very few premium economy seats so I wasn't going to wait.