Best time to book flights

[motherscratcher]

I'm looking at flights to Florida second half of July. Usually I don't rush to get tickets, but it seems like prices keep going up and up. I'm starting to get nervous.

All of you travelers...what is the sweet spot for booking flights? Should I get them now, or wait?

[leadpipe]

Going through the same issue with California in late June.

As a rule they say Airlines don't release cheaper seats until the three month mark for domestic flights.

Man, right now prices are outrageous. I'm sweatin' it out.

Farecompare.com has some good info on this subject.

[pup]

3:00 AM

[jerryroche]

Mother, if you are a little bit flexible, I suggest you try Allegiant Air, which flies out of Toledo, Youngstown or Columbus. You can get a round trip to Orlando/Sanford or Tampa/St. Pete for around $200 (or even a bit less). Allegiant does not fly every route every day, but you can check out the schedule and pricing at www.allegiantair.com.

I'm flying Youngstown to Sanford next month, and my round-trip fare is $219.

[gotribe31]

I'm looking at flights to Florida second half of July. Usually I don't rush to get tickets, but it seems like prices keep going up and up. I'm starting to get nervous.

All of you travelers...what is the sweet spot for booking flights? Should I get them now, or wait?

Walk up to the ticket counter the day of the flight. Pay cash. Have no luggage. Make sure to have several small pocket knives on your person (they're ok now!). Carry a Qur'an.

That should get you where you want to go.

[swerb]

I just booked a round trip ticket to NY in early May for $247.

My experience has been that you get the best deals 70-90 days before the day of the flight.

People that book very early or very late generally have to do so for some reason, thus are charged a premium.

[motherscratcher]

Right now prices are hovering around $500/seat to get to West Palm/Ft Lauderdale airports. That just seems like a lot.

I guess I'll stick it out to the end of April or early May. With all of these mergers lately prices will probably only continue to get worse. We'll also have a 4 month old with us, so that should be nice for everyone on the flight, lol.

[skatingtripods]

Cleveland is one of the most expensive airports in the area to fly out of. Detroit, Columbus, Pittsburgh, and Akron/Canton are much cheaper.

Use Fly.com's fare calendar. You can see prices every day on a month-by-month basis, but only for major destinations. Not sure if West Palm would be considered one. Download the Kayak app to your phone. Also, it depends on what days you travel. Saturdays tend to be cheaper than Sunday or Monday. Usually Tuesday is one of the cheaper days as well.

I just watch the market. I've never booked a flight 3 months in advance. But, I'm also more flexible than you. When I went to Vegas last July, I took Megabus to Chicago, spent a day there, and flew out of there because it was $300 cheaper than Cleveland and $250 cheaper than Akron. You don't have that luxury.

But, as an example, Southwest's special "Wanna Get Away" fare price for July 14-July 18 from CLE to PBI is $532 R/T. Airtran (now owned by Southwest), from CAK to PBI, for the same dates is $390 R/T. Pittsburgh to PBI is $334 R/T. Detroit to PBI is $340 R/T. Flying out of Cleveland sucks.

If you're interested in saving money, Southwest and Airtran have the best checked bag fees. Southwest gives you the first two for free. Airtran is $20.

If you book through one of the travel sites, search Google for a coupon code. Might save yourself an extra $50, but you won't get the refund check if somebody books the same itinerary at a lower price.

[peeker643]

I always find that after a major crash with a high number of fatalities is a good time to book a flight.