Best time to purchase Plane tickets

I have a trip planned for France this summer. We are planning to depart in late June. We still have not purchased our tickets, does anyone know when the best time to purchase tickets is. From what I reading on other forums most recommend 2 months prior to travel

carmenpreston14, I have read that the cheapest days to fly are Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Saturdays. The most expensive days to fly are Fridays and Sundays.

Personally I think you are cutting it close waiting two months. Have your been tracking the fares? What are you seeing? You definitely don't want to go under a month. Without knowing where you are starting it's hard to give much advice however. Also, are you willing to have one or two layovers or do you want "non stop" at great times? Makes a difference.

...the cheapest days to fly are Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Saturdays. The most expensive days to fly are Fridays and Sundays.

Some airline booking sites (e.g. Delta) allow you to search for "flexible dates" around your preferred travel dates. The flexible date search results will show a calendar and the cheapest fares for those days. However, keep in mind that some of the really cheap fare may come with undesirable connections and/or connection times.

Most article discussing these strategies are based on domestic flights but international travel is different. I would say "in round numbers" that summer flights to Europe never go on sale and the time to book is now.

The best time probably would have been months ago....I would say start looking at fares as soon as you can. Two months prior to travel for international flights does not seem like good advice - more like six months out or more. Sometimes you will get lucky with slash fare sales but their timing is hard to predict. Right now Turkish Air is having a great sale for some markets for example, even for flights in May (example: Washington DC to Bucharest is $749 all taxes included).

For certain needs, such as reserving premium seats on an aircraft (i.e., exit row, "2-seat rows", etc.), you may need to book very far in advance.

The below article states international fares should be bought 2 months in advance for summer travel. If only it were that easy. I always think it's a crap shoot.
http://www.farecompare.com/travel-advice/tips-from-air-travel-insiders/#/

Where are you flying from? That can be a big factor. Over many international flights we have found the earlier the better. Probably around six months or more. If there was a magic time to get the lowest fares, then everyone would wait and do it on that day. Travel writers like to float the idea of a magic time. There is no magic time. On a few occasions I have seen a price break in the last week when they have a few middle seats to sell. But that is a big gamble. And there could be, might be a break in the next few weeks, IF there are a lot of cancellations caused by the recently terrorists attacks but another big unknown. Personally I think you are pass the best prices so it will only go up.

Last year I purchased my tickets at 10 months out and never saw them cheaper. Perhaps I just got a really good deal.

My experience over a number of international flights, from a relatively small market, is that about six months or even more, is the sweet spot for best airfares, least stops, best connections and available preferred seats. Those able to predict the absolute best airfares from all markets are unknown to me.

"Travel writers like to float the idea of a magic time. There is no magic time. "

Exactly. Furthermore, there are accounts in this Forum of people who got burned following such dubious advice as "wait until 63 days out for the best fare."

The airlines have gotten better at limiting capacity, yet demand is up. When supply goes down and demand goes up, not only do prices go up, but leverage of buyers goes down - meaning the airlines have the upper hand, not the passengers.

The principles for booking flights these days:

1) Start looking now so you can learn about your options. Use Kayak, Google Flights, the airlines' own websites, etc. Don't overlook some of the budget carriers that may not show up on regular searches (look at an airport's Wikipedia page to learn all the airlines and routes it serves).
2) Decide how flexible you can be (dates, airports of arrival and departure, etc) and how much "suffering" you are willing to tolerate to get a cheaper fare (how many stops, how long a flight segment, how long a layover, etc).
3) Have these discussions with your travel partners now, so you'll be ready and can book without delay.
4) When looking, have your credit card info handy so you can book without delay.
5) When you see a fare you can live with, pounce (it can be gone in an hour).
6) Once you've booked (assuming it's not refundable or changeable without a stiff penalty), don't look back.

When you see a good price, snap it up. Don't wait. My flights for my upcoming trip this year (October 2016) bottomed out at about $960 RT multi city right before Christmas. I stupidly let it slide until after the holidays, and when I went to book in early Feb. the RT multi city was just over $1,000. My stupidity. I knew better, but just couldn't deal with it at Xmas. It ended up costing me about $100 - and by the way the price has only gone up since.

When you see a price point you feel good about, don't wait. Buy then.

They don't always go up. I bought tickets for an upcoming trip and the price has since gone down $100 per ticket for the exact same flights. I figure you can't win them all. I just keep checking regularly as I plan my trip and I also check on how many seats are booked on my 1st choice of fight times. In this case, there were tons of "unclaimed" seats and lo and behold, the price has gone down. At least I got great seats. When I see a flight filling up, I am more likely to book earlier so that I can pick desirable seats. Rarely would I book a flight that only showed a few middle seats available to reserve.

Here's what the "queen of travel" at the LA Times has to say on this always-argued matter:

"My rule of thumb is to be familiar enough with airfares (look at them from time to time) and know when you've found a good one. Then book it.

You may be able to lock in a fare. United offers such an option; you might also check out OptionsAway.com, which suggested a June 9-11 round-trip fare to Seattle from LAX of $186.20 on Alaska. That's about $40 less than I've seen on regular checks of the fare. If I bought that today and paid $9, I would have a two-day hold at the price (with no obligation to buy the ticket).

If I buy the ticket and the price goes up, I don't pay the increase. If it goes down, I get the difference — and I protect my reputation as the diva of saving a dollar"

http://www.latimes.com/travel/deals/la-tr-spot-20160403-story.html

Best time to get the best seats? The best route? The best price?

For me its about route and price. If I can fly direct I do, otherwise my layover must be at least 2 hours and I research the layover airport to see if there is a better option and with Europe I like the layover to be in Europe and not the US...with that being said I usually start tracking the price about 10 months out, because I can't know what a good price is unless I have a base to start with and I can't set my budget unless I know about how much tickets are, plus airfare is the biggest single expense for the trip.

I usually land up purchasing 6 months out, does the price go down? Yes it may, but by the time it does seat selections go way down and when I do look after purchase (I know bad!) closer to my dates I find that, Yes I could have saved $60.00 but husband and I would not have been able to sit together, and that is 1/2 the fun for us.

Hi,

You're not alone. We've never, for 12 trips to Europe, bought tickets more than 3.5 months before leaving. Usually between 2 and 3 months out. We always have everything else in place and done and buy the airfare, which is the most expensive and only non refundable component of our trip, last. We've never felt we paid too much or waited too long. I start looking at fares about 5 to 6 months out.

Paul