The wife and I are off to London for a week beginning in mid September. I had thought about flying with Virgin Atlantic, but I see that the return flight I wanted is no longer available. I'm now looking at British Airways, even though their airfare is a bit higher. I also note that their price for the flights I want have gone up $160 in the past week. Should I book (and pay for) my non-refundable tickets now (June 22), and take the chance that everything will still be on track by mid September, or should I wait a bit longer, taking the chance that the flights I want will still be available?
Posted by
Centennial, CO, USA
1883 posts
If you find a fare that you feel you can afford, buy it now. If you wait, the seats will fill, and you will not find the flights you want.
People are still flying, and the airlines are cutting back on the number of flights, so there are fewer seats, and the price goes up.
I've checked several times for flights to Munich, it went up and down by around $200. I just booked it.
IMO, its better to have the ticket and stop worrying about getting it and saving money, than to agonize over when it will be the cheapest.
you can use several web based services that will watch the fares for you and alert you when it gets to your price range. Travelocity offers one of these, check this out it it helps you to feel like you are getting the "lowest" price.
I can promise you that on the plane there will be people with fares below what you paid, and some will have paid more.
Buy travel insurance.
Posted by
Atlanta
3250 posts
Hi Jim,
Here are some tips from Rick:
Flying to Europe
We track airfares using www.kayak.com and then we know how the fares are trending. Personally, I'd watch the fares for another week or so--if you see a fare that's reasonable, then go for it! I've read that purchasing tickets on the week-end is more expensive than during the week as the airlines know that people have more time to shop for tickets on the week-end and increase the prices.
Posted by
Seattle, WA
689 posts
Airlines have had their summer sale fares (these were good through mid September) advertised for a couple months now. Since you missed the sales, I'd be a bit worried that the cheapest fares are gone, and I'd buy when I saw a fare that I thought was reasonable.
Posted by
Eastern Iowa, USA
7555 posts
If there were the brief words of advice, it would be:
Start tracking Fares early to know what a good deal is, buy when the deal seems right, don't look back.
Typically, somewhere around 12 weeks out works for me for a purchase, the deals are starting to happen and there is still good availability.
In your situation, you do not have the luxury of time, so you may need to jump now. You may consider looking at Ticket Consolidators, they will discount tickets to start moving them now.
Still< I am showing tickets in the $600 round trip range (including taxes and fees) for September, not too bad, but not sure how that compares to your budget and expectations. Added: tickets based on Dulles to London, leaving 9/14 returning 9/30