When to buy

If going to Europe in May, when would you guess would be the best time to buy? I saw a couple people talking about waiting till October...... anyone know why?

No idea why because nobody knows the future. Or if they do, I need to consult with them before heading to the sports books in Vegas in a couple weeks.

May is start of he high season. Prices won't be cheap no matter when you book, most likely. Odds are they'll only go up.

The best time is when you find a price that you are happy with (or failing that, willing to live with).

There is no "magic time", "magic date", "magic interval out" or "magic website".

That is, unless you hear about it from the Easter Bunny and Santa Claus confirms it.

If going to Europe in May' date=' when would you guess would be the best time to buy? I saw a couple people talking about waiting till October...... anyone know why?[/quote']

 

No idea, as no one can predict the future and what prices will be on any particular date. People do, however, fall for all sorts of "secret tricks" to booking, but just because someone once got a cheap ticket on a Thursday morning at 10:33 a.m., or got a cheap ticket booking exactly 53 days in advance, doesn't mean tickets are always cheap if purchased at 10:33 am on a Thursday, or exactly 53 days in advance, or ....well, hopefully you get the picture.

 

The best time is when you find a price that you are happy with (or failing that, willing to live with).

 

 

To expand on what FlyerTalker said, and at the risk of repeating this for the umpteenth time, when deciding when to book, ask yourself:

 

1) Am I willing/able to pay MORE than the current price?

a. If yes, feel free to wait for a price drop., since you are willing to pay more if prices go up instead of down

b. If no, ask yourself question #2

2) Am I willing/able to pay the current price?

a. If yes, buy tickets now.

b. If no, you have no choice but to wait.

 

You can't get to question 2 and say "well yes, but I don't want to buy now because I'm hoping the prices go down, because they MIGHT GO UP which means you're back to asking yourself question 1.

Agree. There is no magic time. If there was, EVERYBODY would wait until then, and guess what the the airlines would do? No, not drop the prices!

If going to Europe in May' date=' when would you guess would be the best time to buy? I saw a couple people talking about waiting till October...... anyone know why?[/quote']

Who knows why? Specifics would be helpful. From what airport to what airport do you want to go? Europe is a big place. You can search yourself here:

 

http://matrix.itasoftware.com/

 

Try different dates and city combinations to try and get the price down. There are fares to Europe in May from the east coast in the low ~$700. See what you can find.

Other considerations: what city will you be flying into in Europe? How many days pre cruise and post cruise?

then get a feel for different schedules, different airlines and the prices. When you are ready to pay the price, book it and never look back... :)

I am a fan of quantitative analysis. At farecompare.com, they have used their large database of airfares and draw the following conclusions:

It turns out airlines don’t start releasing cheaper seats until 3-4 months before departure for domestic travel and conversely 4-5 months before international travel.

I'm sure there are caveats, and this is a general finding that may not apply to every O/D pair and season. This finding is based on an article that is a little less than 2 years old. Clearly things change. But, until something more recent is published, it is what "what one can hang their hat on" at the moment.

FlyerTalker has it right.

I would take his advice.

Keith

The best time is when you find a price that you are happy with (or failing that, willing to live with).

 

There is no "magic time", "magic date", "magic interval out" or "magic website".

 

That is, unless you hear about it from the Easter Bunny and Santa Claus confirms it.

It's all about Magic!!! I mean.......(a puff of smoke) Boom! I just changed a fare....(another puff of smoke) Boom! another fare is changed....

I mean look the airplane also flies with magic!

I mean look the airplane also flies with magic!

I thank everyone for help. I'm about to buy. Just wanted to make sure that everyone here didn't know something I didn't.

Looking at flying from CLT to VCE on May 2nd (mayby 3rd). Then back from BCN to CLT on May 17th (maybe 18th).

Think I'll look at some of the recommended sites. Then choose whether do on own or through Carnival.

I thank everyone for help. I'm about to buy. Just wanted to make sure that everyone here didn't know something I didn't.

 

Looking at flying from CLT to VCE on May 2nd (mayby 3rd). Then back from BCN to CLT on May 17th (maybe 18th).

 

I see fares for your routing/dates as low as $894 on a combination of Turkish Airlines and AA.

I thank everyone for help. I'm about to buy. Just wanted to make sure that everyone here didn't know something I didn't.

For timing the purchase of tickets: We all know that we don't know

Think I'll look at some of the recommended sites. Then choose whether do on own or through Carnival.

If you mean buying air through Carnival, read the sticky at the top of this forum so you know if you're buying a "scratch and dent" airfare. It's good to hear you're preplanning....either identify the sailing date(s) of the cruise you want, then check airfares. Or nail down dates with cheap airfares and find cruises that match..too many people book the cruise before they even think about the flights and end up sticker shocked or peeved at the price.

I see fares for your routing/dates as low as $894 on a combination of Turkish Airlines and AA.

I'm finding $1100ish on US Airlines. Know anything about Turkish Airlines?

I'm finding $1100ish on US Airlines. Know anything about Turkish Airlines?

It's based in Turkey.

And a heck of a lot better than any US airline flying to Europe.

I've been looking at the biggies and Turkish air isn't showing (neither this rate). Do I need to use a different site?

http://www.airlinequality.com/Forum/turkish.htm

Doesn't show on Expedia, etc.? Try http://www.turkishairlines.com/ I've never flown them. Been to the Istanbul airport, but not for transiting, and it was many years ago.

As far as timing, one other question besides price: are you ready to commit to a non-refundable ticket? I've seen prices go up more often than down.

I've been looking at the biggies and Turkish air isn't showing (neither this rate). Do I need to use a different site?

Yes, and I've already provided that link to you.

Just remember that prices are constantly changing.

I my book my Europe tickets whe I find a fare under $1000.00. I also check air fares several times every day on several different sites..I just booked a ticket to London for next June on Virgin Atlantic from Nashville for $965.00. I got lucky as when I found the same fare from Chicago a couple of days later for my kids it was gone before I could go get my credit card!:mad: I'm still waiting for that Chicago fare to London to drop.Good luck.Just find a good place like Kayak,Orbitz,1800flyeurope and keep checking.

I have been looking at airfare and have a price alert set in Yapta. they have only gone up so far. Been watching since we booked our cruise in Jul for Next May to europe also. I just bought ours.

For timing the purchase of tickets: We all know that we don't know

 

 

 

If you mean buying air through Carnival, read the sticky at the top of this forum so you know if you're buying a "scratch and dent" airfare. It's good to hear you're preplanning....either identify the sailing date(s) of the cruise you want, then check airfares. Or nail down dates with cheap airfares and find cruises that match..too many people book the cruise before they even think about the flights and end up sticker shocked or peeved at the price.

We booked our air through cruise line last August 2012. Had to cancel 10 days before cruise,I fell had to have surgery. My bad did not have insurance,lost it all. Now if I had purchased air on my own I would have to pay a penalty,and received a voucher to use in one year. Lesson learned. 2600 hundred dollars,for air to Europea

Cruise line resold our cabin and air, they made out ok. Me I am sitting here in my wheel chair. Just venting.

Bia

The date of your return flight is the start of the Whitsun holiday in Europe. The weekend you are flying is a long weekend. Especially in Catholic countries (think Barcelona!) the kids normally have a 2-week school holiday that ends after the Corpus Christi weekend. Lots of European families will use this long weekend or 2 week-holiday to fly somewhere, either within Europe or maybe also TATL in the direction you are going. The chance that tickets prices will go down is therefor unlikely in my opinion. Find a fare you are comfortable with and book it.

Glad I booked when I did. The prices just keep going up. Thanks for the advice.

I have been saying to wait to book (July) but I bit the bullet and booked today. Vancouver London, Lisbon Toronto. Going to try air transit. Wish me luck,lol, I have been seeing prices creeping up slowly but I still think the deals maybe coming. Not going to look anymore though.