How early do you get airline tickets

[cruiseobsessed]

We are cruising in April 2006. I was wondering how early we should get our airline tickets. Seems like it's too early right now, but I also hate to lose any good deals. Any opinions would be greatly appreciated!

[jleq]

Begin to periodically monitor airfare right now. Generally, I get mine 6-8 months prior to cruise. I decide on a price I'm willing to pay...and I take it when an airline gets to [or reasonably close to] that price. With the ever-rising price of oil, i question whether there will be many last-minute "deals" in the future. Travelocity has free "FareTracker" feature. You input the amount you're willing to pay...and they e-mail you when an airline offers that fare.

 

One last factor...should a discount carrier such as AirTran/Southwest go between your city/the city you want to go to, airfares may drop when they release prices. There is no guarantee, though.

[TowMan]

My family is also cruising in April 2006. Most airfare from NY to Orlando is running $245-$280 per person. The cheapest is one that takes a puddle jumper from Rochester to either Philadelphia or Pittsburgh, then a bigger plane to Orlando and gets there around 5 pm. Since we are spending the night before the cruise in Cocoa Beach, I don't want to drive in rush hour traffic on a Friday night.

 

Right now I'm thinking Southwest out of Buffalo - big plane/non-stop for about $245 and gets to Orlando about 10 am. Doesn't bother me to drive to Buffalo. Atleast we won't have a puddle jumper and we won't have to change planes. Unfortunately, Southwest isn't booking that far out yet.

[jordanaire]

We got our airline tickets about a month ago for our April 1, 2006 sailing aboard the Glory. I monitored the prices for about a month and found that they changed daily. At first, the flight from Lexington, KY to Orlando were $229 pp, then dropped to $198pp. By the time I bought them, they were $218pp, and this is for a non-stop flight down the night before we sail.

 

Considering we are going during our school's Spring Break, I figured that I better get them as soon as possible before all flights from LEX were sold out!

 

:cool: Bill

[mc'smom]

Also please take note.....

 

purchasing your air this far in advance does not mean the airlines can't and won't change thier schedules.. this has happened to a few people on these boards.

 

:)

[palmtre2]

Good point about the schedule changes - Spirit did this to us a few years ago and we wound up having to fly out a day earlier because the new schedule would have had us missing the ship.

[gtalum]

As a fairly frequent traveller, I never, ever buy tickets more than ~6 weeks in advance. Usually I buy them within a month of travel. I always start monitoring about 6 weeks or so ahead of my trip, if I know I'll be going that far in advance. I also constantly monitor the fares on my most frequent routes, so I know what a good fare is. I find that buying morer than 6 weeks in advance generally is more expensive than buying closer to the travel dates.

[silentbob007]

I think it really depends on the time, destinaiton, and airline. In April, I booked tickets from Indy to Orlando in October on Southwest for like $130 roundtrip and now the same tickets are going for $290. Perhaps they will get cheaper again, but I'm still tracking the prices for fun, and more and more of the "discount" fare rates are being removed.

 

I'd say, start looking ASAP and see if you can get a deal. If not, at least you can tell what the general cost is going to be. I always figure if I can go for cheaper than about $175 after taxes, it's probably a good.

[tribbs1]

Well, you need to keep in mind that April means Easter and spring break. With Easter being on 4/16 the week prior to then and the week after will have higher priced tickets and will be harder to get. Also, it depends on where you are flying out of and to where. If you are going to Florida during those 2 spring break weeks then get your airfare now. You will not be able to find it later or if you do it will be terribly expensive. If you are traveling the last week of April you could probably wait a couple of months more.

[DEL67]

I start monitoring airfares as soon as I book and buy if I see a good price, especially if it is a vacation period. Otherwise, I tend to book about 90 days out.

[jerseygirl3]

I just purchased our tickets for next May. I got RT on American Airlines, Philly to Miami non-stop for $158 pp. I figured I didn't think we'd do better than this, and I had to buy 7 tickets, so I went ahead and booked. We normally fly Spirit Airlines from Atlantic City to FLL, but since we're cruising out of Miami and the cost was good, I figured this was too good a deal to pass up.

[hillbilly cruiser]

I book as soon as I book my cruise. Last June we sailed from NY. Got non stop from Louisville for $200 round trip. Checked four weeks out and price was $850.

Thinking of doing again in June 2006 and price is now $160.

[jcanino]

We are cruising in April 2006. I was wondering how early we should get our airline tickets. Seems like it's too early right now, but I also hate to lose any good deals. Any opinions would be greatly appreciated!

 

I am contemplating a southern Caribbean cruise during April school vacation which also happens to be the week after Easter. There is no cheap availability getting my air seperately and I seriously don't see prices dropping so If I do this cruise, it will be with cruise line air.

[cruiseobsessed]

Well, after reading all of these posts and talking to people around here, I went on and bought our tickets. No looking back! I got a round trip Washington DC-National to Miami for $213. I live 10 miles from Dulles airport, but the fares out of there were running around $330. Thanks to everyone for the help. If the prices go down, I guess I'll be a little sad, but having it off my mind is a relief. Happy Sails everyone! Only 250 more days eeeeekkkk

[picktowncruzr]

I bought tickets for our April 2006 cruise in May, 2005!! Got great airfare $226 pp non-stop direct from Dayton, OH to Ft. Lauderdale. Checked prices today since my daughter may be bringing some friends and its $292. Glad we booked when we did.

[karessamom]

I started pricing airline fares even before we booked our cruise (one of the reasons we chose New Orleans) then after we booked i really started to monitor fares on a regular basis and ended up getting them last October for our Aug 7 cruise. I got a good deal because i had been monitoring them and jumped on them when the price came down. Guess what--since then the price has only gone up. My advice (from a first time cruiser) is just to watch watch, watch and when they go for a good price jump on it.

[Forchunut1]

We just booked a cruise for the week after Thanksgiving. We'd be flying into Miami on the Saturday after Thanksgiving. I'm thinking that fares for the Thanksgiving weekend will only go up as it gets closer and that I would be better off getting my tickets now rather than trying to wait (hope) for a deal. Any opinions??

[cruise pup]

There have been times I won't book the cruise until the air reservations are made. This is usually for a Christmas week cruise. In fact, I just did this because I wanted to make sure I could book something non-stop at a reasonable price. Last year I booked my Christmas cruise in October and the non-stops from NYC to Orlando were over $1,000. This year I did better. However, 4 days after I purchased the air it went down $20. I better do well in the casino! I also booked my air for the Liberty transatlantic next April-May. I found a fare so low I just booked. I figure if I need to cancel it will most likely be covered by my insurance (bought that right away too).

[picktowncruzr]

Personal opinion - - yes! I purchase tickets for my daughter every year to Florida and prices have always gotten higher the closer to November. Just my experience.

[MAGNUM PI]

Now is not to early, IMO, to start looking.

 

For our January 2006 flights, I started monitoring the prices, weeks before.

 

The very first moment that the particular airline, allowed reservations for that date, I immediately checked the internet. Detroit to San Juan roundtrip, was less than $300(including all taxes). This was in March 2005.

 

Today, with still 6 months left before the flight, the price has risen to $520- for the same exact flight!

 

For a family of five people, the $220 difference per person, is plenty.

 

With the uncertainty of jet fuel costs, etc.,in the future- I like the idea of locking in, on what I consider a great price.

 

One less thing to worry about, when the time for the cruise, gets closer....

[jerseygirl3]

Cruise Pup, just a reminder that travel insurance won't pay for your airline tickets if you cancel just for the heck of it. There are certain criteria that must be met, i.e.., medical condition that your physician feels makes it impossible for you travel, job change, etc.

 

To the poster who said the price of her tickets came down, if you contact the airline, they will usually issue you a voucher good for one year for the difference in what you paid and what it's now selling for.

[cruiseobsessed]

We just booked a cruise for the week after Thanksgiving. We'd be flying into Miami on the Saturday after Thanksgiving. I'm thinking that fares for the Thanksgiving weekend will only go up as it gets closer and that I would be better off getting my tickets now rather than trying to wait (hope) for a deal. Any opinions??

 

 

Absolutely, get them now. It's supposed to be one of the busiest travel times of the year. I think you'd do better on fares and reduce any potential worry. I tellya...reducing stress is worth some money to me! Good luck. Let us know what happens.

[tazmanrmv]

I've never actually booked my own air seperately. I've always gone with cruise air, knowing that its one less hassle i have to deal with, and with some of the costs lately, its actually not a lot of difference between them.

 

 

Saying that, i would still like to try booking seperately, just cant do it with my next cruise. Getting married on a Saturday, then flying out first thing Sunday morning, so in this instance, for me, cruise air, plus insurance was the way to go so that i dont have to worry about anything.

[WeBCruizn]

I've already booked our air for Feb out of New Orleans, even though Mardi Gras is weeks after we're there the whole month is busy. I would rather have the non-stop flights that fit my schedule then save $20, make an out of the way connection and get in at midnight.

 

General rule of thumb for air...if it's a holiday, or kids are off school (winter break-feb, spring break-mar thru apr, summer vac)....book asap!!

[Sharon2U]

I bought tickets for our April 2006 cruise in May, 2005!! Got great airfare $226 pp non-stop direct from Dayton, OH to Ft. Lauderdale. Checked prices today since my daughter may be bringing some friends and its $292. Glad we booked when we did.

 

We booked airfare for 2/2006 in April, but like others have said, schedule was changed. We also had non stop flights booked from Dayton to Ft. Lauderdale, the day after we booked they were cancelled. We had to change to flights out of Cincy to get nonstop. Not a big deal but a little extra driving. Flight has jumped from 236.00 to 836.00 for this flight, so we are glad we booked early even with the changes.