How far in advance to purchase plane tickets?

J

jbird327

Member
Quick background - the last time I purchased a plane ticket was 1986. I have been taking the Auto Train to WDW since 2000.
My next trip is in late October 2019, the room and tickets are booked and in November I will be booking the train (11 months out). One of my daughters will be flying down due to her work schedule and wants to avoid the extra days the train adds to the trip. How far in advance should she book the flight? Thanks!
 
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Schneewittchen

Schneewittchen

Well-Known Member
Depends on who you ask.... If you book too far in advance, it can be pricey. If you book too late, it can be pricey and you get a terrible flight too.

Lately, I've been watching the flight prices daily and snapping up the tickets when the prices seem to drop, anything from 2.5 - 3 months in advance.
 
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DisneyOutsider

DisneyOutsider

Well-Known Member
For a domestic flight, what I do is I start looking at about the 7 month mark, and I monitor it every day. I'm picky in that I only like non-stop flights to Orlando from my point of origin, so I zero in on those specific flights and airlines. Swings in price are mostly unpredictable, so I decide ahead of time what I would like to pay and monitor the rates like a hawk. You can also set up price alerts on websites like kayak.com that will email you when a flight falls below a certain price.

You might find that the cheapest price is offered 7 months out, or you might find that the price drops dramatically one month from your departure... it's really hard to predict.

I like booking Southwest for domestic, because often times you can call them and re-book for the cheaper price if you find the price falls way below what you've previously paid. (Note: the only place to track Southwest's prices is directly through their website. They don't participate in the flight-search websites).
 
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Patcheslee

Patcheslee

Well-Known Member
I wait for Southwest to come out then compare prices to other airlines. Usually high priced until some of the cheaper airlines offer tickets.
 
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M

Mickey5150

Well-Known Member
I start looking as soon as I have my dates set and when the number is one I can live with, I book a flight. As for Southwest you can change your flight online if you ever see it cheaper, no need to call.
 
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J

jbird327

Member
Original Poster
Thanks for the replies - I checked Southwest's website and they are only booking up to April at this point, so it looks like I should start checking for flights around March 2019.
 
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Disneyfreak Jen

Disneyfreak Jen

Well-Known Member
If she’s not picky about her flight times, seat location, or whether or not the flight is non-stop, she will have more leniency as to when to book.
I set a general idea in my head about what I want to spend, but I fly the MCO route often enough to know what’s a good price.
I also have some flight anxiety that I take some medication for, so I always get a window seat towards the front half because that’s where I’m most comfortable, as well as getting a non-stop. In addition, I prefer the first flight out in the morning on my way to Disney...less chance of delays and pretty much a full day in the parks.
 
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LeighM

LeighM

Well-Known Member
My only option is JetBlue direct from Richmond to Orlando so I buy tickets when they are first released. I've noticed that their prices are pretty much consistent since they don't have competition from Southwest any longer. I would prefer to have the tickets in hand rather than wait for any last minute deals.
 
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Tinkerbella16

Tinkerbella16

Well-Known Member
We fly Southwest and we always book the moment they release the flights for our time frame. Every time we do, we are glad we did because they have only increased from that day. We like to leave on the first flight out, make sure we have Early Bird Check-in and have everything squared away, so I don't really like waiting to see if prices go down - they never do for us anyway.
 
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graphite1326

graphite1326

Well-Known Member
Usually 3 months is the best price. However, that is not always the case. I start looking at 4 and monitor. I had one I wanted this time and waited one more day. It jumped quite a bit in price and never came back down. I have since learned you should look them up incognito since they seem to know what you are looking for and, from what I was told, adjust the price to your trends.
 
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Weather_Lady

Weather_Lady

Well-Known Member
For Southwest and Jetblue -- book the second the schedule comes out.

For all other airlines, about 3 months ahead of time (unless traveling during a holiday period, in which case flights may sell out faster).
 
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HoustonHorn

HoustonHorn

Premium Member
Southwest releases flight schedules later than everyone else, but I agree on booking as soon as they are released. I'm a fanboy of theirs for a variety of reasons, but if you think another airline may be worth it, you can check their prices after SWA releases their schedule to see who is cheaper. Remember that on Southwest, your 2 checked bags and carryons are included in the price of your ticket.
 
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The Pho

The Pho

Well-Known Member
If you can book JetBlue, I always wait for one of their sales and can usually manage direct flight round trip for $100-$200, sometimes even less (I paid $80 round trip for one last year). The normal price is $300-$500 round trip without a sale from here. They have sales often enough to count on for most trips for me but we always decide to go fairly last minute, there's one going on right now. They sell limited sale tickets per flight though.
 
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Dave B

Well-Known Member
We fly from Colorado and we find that the prices are not cheapest right when they come out, in fact they are most expensive. For Southwest that is 6 months out. I find that if you check daily, Southwest does put flights on sale randomly, their cheapest tickets are to fly on Wed, but ironically, they change prices I have found, they typically change on the computer on Tuesday or Wednesday. Prices are typically $149-$203 at the normal rate for us. I found a $75 rate to get us home on a Wed. We purchased that flight on 8/2/18 for the 11/14 trip. So that one is 3 1/2 months out. It was $149 at the 6 months out. I have been searching everyday since and just found a $119 flight to get us there three days ago. If I would have booked when they came out at 6 months, it would have been A LOT more expensive
 
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T

thomas998

Well-Known Member
jbird327 said:
Quick background - the last time I purchased a plane ticket was 1986. I have been taking the Auto Train to WDW since 2000.
My next trip is in late October 2019, the room and tickets are booked and in November I will be booking the train (11 months out). One of my daughters will be flying down due to her work schedule and wants to avoid the extra days the train adds to the trip. How far in advance should she book the flight? Thanks!
Click to expand...
You need to also consider how cheap you are and what you are willing to have her do to get their. One thing to consider is some airports are significantly cheaper to fly out of to Orlando than others, so if she is willing to drive an hour or take a train to a nearby airport you can also look at prices out of those places as well. While you don't need to start looking for quite a while, you can still go look at the prices out of nearby airports and your main airport today for a flight say 2 months out. In general is one airport is 100 dollars cheaper or more expensive today it will be that way months from now. Also you can plug in potential travel dates today and for trips out 1 month, 2 months, 3 months and so on to get an idea of when the prices seem to drop or rise. Just beware that if you are going in November 2019 that Thanksgiving always gives the airlines the excuse to jack up prices during that week and the days leading up to it... So keep that in mind.

Also if you are trying to get this as cheap as possible consider looking at what airline has the best deal now, and assume it is likely to be the one with the best deal next year... so you could then have her get a credit card from that gives miles on that airline. Now assuming she doesn't charge that much per year, you could always have to get a card in your name when she gets it then charge things you normally buy and send in the full amount you charged each month to increase the miles/points she earns between now and then... Also consider some airlines will run offers on card for a free ticket with a certain amount of purchases within a specific time period... and of course some airlines will throw in a waiver of baggage fees if you have their card.
 
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