Air ticket prices very high for July - could they go higher if bought in Feb/Mar?

What class of tickets are you interested in?
If you set up Alerts on Google Flights, you should get an idea of pricing in the next few weeks. You can also research price history. You can look at the entire month, as often just switching dates by a few days can save a lot.
Prices seem to be fluctuating significantly right now. (After I purchased our spring flights, I left price alerts on, and am getting daily emails regarding price changes.)
You can set Alerts from SFO to Europe, to determine if other cities are cheaper. Decide what your price comfort zone is, watch for a few weeks, then pounce! Good luck!

PS
Always buy directly from the airlines, but I'm sure you already know this.

I completely agree with Pat. Switching days of the week based on the fare calendar can save you hundreds. Alerts, days of the week, direct from the airline, and know a good fare when you see it, then pounce!

Also, when you look for flights, check the option gives says you can be flexible, as it will show you the varying prices for different days of the week.

So for S&G's I put in a random date in Google Flights. Yup, pretty pricy. If you go to my link and you scroll down to the "Date Grid" you can see the cost options based on moving your travel dates around a bit. No real significant savings on this flight.

https://www.google.com/travel/flights/search?tfs=CBwQAhonEgoyMDI1LTA3LTA3KAFqBwgBEgNTRk9yBwgBEgNBTVOIAVqQAfABGicSCjIwMjUtMDctMTQoAWoHCAESA0FNU3IHCAESA1NGT4gBWpAB8AFAAUgBcAGCAQsI____________AZgBAQ&curr=USD

The filters are 1 stop or fewer and a 1.5 hour to 4 hour layover. Thats sort of my comfort range.

I remember last year about this time prices were pretty high, but then they came down about 90 days prior. But that was last year, this year would be a guess. Remember its dynamic pricing. Right now they are obviously expecting a great summer. If they dont sell as many tickets as they had anticipated on some routes, those routes may go down ........... or they could go up, but cant believe it would be by much.

You didnt say why you were going to AMS, but if you have any flexibility maybe you start your holiday in a cheaper market for a few days?

If you are willing to make a stop along the way, it might come out cheaper.

Since more flights from SFO to into London than any other European city--at least I believe that's true--you might look to see what it would cost to fly to London and then switch to a flight to your final destination.

That noted, the number of tourists expected this summer in Europe are higher than last year so prices are skyrocketing.

Set your google flights to multiple airports besides SFO. I would shop Seattle, Portland, Las Vegas, LAX and maybe even Denver and DFW. You never know what might pop up. It is just a matter of crunching the numbers to see what might fit. Also, take a hard look at the days of the week you are flying.

Monitor google flights - set price alerts - and watch for the next 2+ weeks.

Airline ticket prices are volatile / dynamic, change day to day, and I see +/- 20 percent moves - this is not recent, it has been this way since pre pandemic.

Study the prices for a couple of weeks and gain a sense of how they are moving, and of course figure out what the "low end" of that range is.

As for the price you are seeing for nonstop in July, those seem pretty OK to me. I mean, it is prime / peak travel season...could they go up from here? Yes. Could they go down? Yes.

I generally do not buy tickets this far out, but most people do. I aim for 2 to 3 months out...but I also do not fly to Europe in mid summer, we are "shoulder season" travelers - Oct to Dec, and April/May...

Good luck.

Pre-pandemic I paid a bit over $1700 total, a couple of times, always Basic Economy on Air France non-stop , always in the summer SFO to Paris CDG. It may well be likewise this summer when I fly out at end of May. Hopefully, not worse.

Fred, given the inflation of the last 4 years, to pay 2019 prices this year is a deal.

Our travel dates (for our group of 5) are a function of when someone can leave on vacation, availability of certain hotels, and avoiding cruise ships on dates when we'll be at a particular place. Also we prefer no more than two flights before reaching our destination from SFO. All these factors have limited our flexibility in travel dates and route. Anyway, it looks like we may be able to move our departure date by a couple of weeks, and that will reduce the ticket price (that's what it shows right now). We have to buy our tickets asap.

With given restrictions I recommend to book asap because based on demand in Holy Year there is no need for airlines for price reductions.

Holy Year ... Huh?

• The 15 million or so of new tourists to Italy would have to have a signficant number coming from SFO and traveling to Italy through AMS (yes, I am using the low number)
• Americans dont even make up 10% of the tourists in Italy in a typical year, how many will be changing in AMS. Dont know
• And those tourist would have to be tourists that would not otherwise have gone to Europe if not for the Jubilee. Dont know.
• I presume that a signficant number of those tourists are European and coming by train or car. Dont know.
• BUT, if all 15 milion of those new tourists to italy were international travelers and coming to Europe when they otherwise would not, then the increase in tourism for Eurpoe would be about 3% greater than last year which was about 1% greater than 2019.

Way to many variables to begin the guess the impact or begin to panick over. More certain things in life to worry about.

But your trip is in July and July is coming close. You got great advise above. I was traveling to Europe 3, sometimes 4 times a year, and tracking prices for a few months generally worked for me. I guess on average i purchased 90 to 120 days prior and saved maybe 10 or 15% over the price when I started tracking. Oh, and when the price does go down, do a new search cause one of the more expensive flights when you first looked might now be the cheapest. But dont play too long.