Travelling May 2016

As far as cost I'm not sure you save much until about 6 wks before the flight when the prices go up, but as far as seat selection it is very important. I usually fly economy plus and like to get the seats on the very front row on the left side so we can get off in the first group and get through customs quickly. Also, the first row seats have more leg room. To me and my wife having the seats we like is important, this may not be a factor for you.

Hi MarkM0506,

We're looking at buying ours for a July trip, so I've been doing the same research.

A site I found says to buy around 276 days in advance for USA to Europe, unless you are traveling during peak season, and then as soon as you can. I agree with the previous poster that if you want a great seat, then purchase as early as possible. With international flights you are much more likely to miss out on a good fare by booking too late than for domestic flights — and much less likely to regret booking too early. But if you're very flexible with dates/cities then obviously that's a bit moot.

Here's the article I read that said this:
http://www.cheapair.com/blog/travel-tips/how-far-in-advance-should-you-book-an-international-flight/

Hope that helps -

One thing to consider is flying into Shannon or Dublin, Ireland, on a major airline and then using a regional carrier to get to Germany or Switzerland. We're going to Austria and Switzerland next June and found it tremendously cheaper to do it this way - it just adds a bit of time (and gave us the opportunity to spend a couple days in Ireland)