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Airfare Purchase Timing

Posted by (Knoxville, TN, USA) on

So many people come here and ask "when is the best time to look for airfare" and like I always say it's just luck to snag a sale. Others say the perfect time is 2 months or 4 months or summer or winter. There's just no right or wrong answer. United just had a sale from my little home town in Tennessee to London and home from Barcelona in June 2019 for $650 - so of course we jumped on it.

I'm just saying...you've got to monitor every day and yes, it's a pain in the rear, and sometimes you'll get lucky. But for the newbie travelers - don't listen to people who tell you there's a "best" time to begin searching.

Posted by
23266 posts

There is a best time to begin searching - at least one year in advance. And be prepared to pull the trigger when the price is reasonable. Waiting for it to go lower and lower is a sucker play.

Posted by
4690 posts

We set up searches on Google Flights, and receive price alerts.

Our best sale ever was British Air Business Class from the West Coast to London for $1600 RT, [booked directly thru British Air. ] When my daughter first found it, I thought it was a scan. When research indicated it was legit, we scrambled and completed our booking just 17 minutes before the fare sale expired. We then planned a trip that an hour earlier, hadn't ever been considered. This was Oct 2015 and we booked for summer 2016. It was labeled a fall/winter sale, but as we plugged spring and summer dates in, the sale price remained. So- the lesson is don't assume that a fall sale [for example] is only for fall.
I have waited- in vain- for this sale from the West Coast - to be repeated.

Posted by
4690 posts

What Lufthansa sale? WE have status with British Air, but ........

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