How Far In Advance Can You Purchase Airline Tickets?
Most importantly, how early before the date of the desired flight should one book their tickets with an airline?
Some of the strategies that should be employed when organizing a flight include booking the flights earlier to get a cheap ticket. But, exactly when should you buy plane tickets to get the best deal, or, more specifically, the best price? Here are the best times to purchase domestic and international airline tickets, as well as how many days or weeks ahead you can usually book flights.
Bargain hunters will want to know when to buy domestic airline tickets.
As for domestic flights within the United States, it has been found that most specialists advise booking your flights between three weeks and three months before your planned travel dates. Overall, purchasing during this period is most advantageous because it has the right ratio of flight and affordable prices. Here's a more detailed breakdown: Here's a more detailed breakdown:
3 months out: This is generally the time that you can book most domestic airlines™ tickets. Generally speaking, flight tickets become available for purchase around 90 days before the planned departure. At this point there will still be some availability for your selected path, and, more importantly, the ticket prices are going to be higher if you do not book your seat now.
1-3 months out: This is usually regarded as the prime booking window," through which it is fairly easy to obtain relatively inexpensive domestic airline tickets. Flight times and the possible routes are normally not a problem when you are selecting a particular airline to travel with. Now I know this may come as a surprise, but average ticket prices are also generally cheaper than buying them last minute.
3 weeks out: Ideally, it is always advisable to book a flight ticket three weeks before the intended travel date, and there are many instances where you will find good offers on domestic flights. You might start observing that airfares begin rising compared to when you were booking a flight a month or even more before the intended trip. It could also mean that flight options could be in shortage depending on the route in question.
2 weeks out: Flights™ prices may be much higher compared to when it is one month before the preferred date. Travelers are always eager to grab the last available seats; thus, the concept of fare sales is not as common. You will also observe less frequent flights and the availability of non-stop connections.
International flight tickets should be bought during low demand sometimes of the year or when the airlines announce special sales.
In regards to international flights, the common advice is to purchase tickets to a particular flight 120-240 days before the flight date for the best rates based on the chosen location. Here are more details:
8-10 months out: If you are thinking about a long-haul international trip to Europe, Asia, or any other popular destination, it is recommended to start tracking fares about 10 months before. International flights may be booked 11 months and 3 weeks before the flight for international travelers. Getting into airfare sales at the moment when seats are let go generally results in massive displays.
4-8 months out: This is generally the best time when people can enjoy the lowest price offers on the majority of the global connections. You will still get fairly reasonable rates for the travel dates before the actual peak demand starts incoming. A similar pattern can be observed regarding the average economy ticket prices, which also tend to reach the level of their lowest value during this period.
2-4 months out: But if you are overwhelmed by work and family responsibilities, do not stress over making an international vacation reservation here. It is possible to get fair last-minute discounts based on the place as long as the working days or the airline companies are not rigid. However, do not necessarily look for the same variety, and often the fares might be higher than other similar car services.
6 weeks out: Unless you see some unbelievable deal that you couldn't resist or you are forced by circumstances to fly, avoid purchasing international flights in this range. You are likely to have fewer flight/routing options than when flying on a direct flight. But this is fairly common even with low-cost airlines that adjust their fares upwards, especially when a few seats are available. There isn't a great probability of bagging a deal most of the time.
When is the best time to travel and avoid expensive airfare?
Besides the optimal time to purchase airfare, the customer can also enjoy discounted airfare by booking the ticket on certain days and times.
Here is when airlines and fare aggregators typically offer the best domestic and international flight deals:
Tuesdays and Wednesdays: According to traditional knowledge, these two days are considered the middle of the week, providing the cheapest rates for airfares in general. Since the number of business and leisure travelers is low at the beginning of the week, the airlines will set special fares to attract last-minute travelers.
Weekdays in general: Generally, weekdays, from Monday to Thursday, are the days that offer cheaper fare charges for the plane than from Friday to Sunday for both domestic as well as international flights. As compared to weekend business travelers, there are comparatively fewer leisure travelers who travel during weekdays, which makes the carriers offer lower fares to cover the seats.
Very early morning or late night: If you are not very concerned about when you are going to travel and prefer to fly at night, then you can always get the best airfares at many times between midnight and six in the morning. While most people conduct their air travel searches during working hours, you will not experience much competition for them.
Noon onward: It is always advisable to purchase tickets during the time you are awake, especially if you have to work or attend to other commitments; thus, it is wise to check the fares during lunchtime or late afternoon/early evening. They tend to drop from the later morning high point when commuters attempt to arrange travel time around meetings.
How to Receive Alerts for Specific Airlines' Flights or Any Other Flight
Probably the most effective method in budgeting and ensuring that one takes advantage of discounted early booking are airfare alerts. They let you set up an email notification or an application notification for the prices that fall on certain flights and some routes only. Here are some options:
Google Flights: Google provides an independent flight search option that allows a user to set up fare alerts and receive notifications when fares drop. You can track local and global routes in this way.
Momondo: This practical airfare search site offers different ticket prices and also such notification options as sound and SMS. I was also able to configure it in a way that I can receive alerts on rate changes for specific travel dates.
Hopper: The company behind Hopper's mobile apps is based on the use of predictive algorithms to determine the best time to purchase flight tickets. It also allows you to set push notifications to when its technology finds good deals for the dates that one is likely to travel.
Airfarewatchdog: At Airfarewatchdog, you can subscribe to local emailed fare alerts, which tell you about the offered deals from the airport in your country. It is one of the most useful tools when it comes to alerting you about airfares.
Our next step is to configure fare alerts for the airline.
Besides, it's recommended to subscribe to third-party websites and email notifications from the airlines you like. Each of the largest airlines allows you to select certain flights so that the company informs you periodically about the availability of certain flights and the reduction in prices. Use other alerts to get the broadest coverage of what you might get with popping fare drops.
Monitor Prices Daily
That said, even with the airfare alerts, it is recommended that you follow up and check for the flight prices at least once per day on your own as well. The adjustable variability that is not perceived by algorithms could be short-term deals in terms of day-to-day changes. Another area where search engine results might be out of sync with sales is search engine results. Therefore, checking our desired routes frequently increases the likelihood of finding the least expensive fare.
The Bottom Line
Another factor that should be considered as one of the keys to saving money and/or avoiding expensive flights is the timing of the ticket purchase. When it comes to domestic flights, it is recommended to begin checking the fare about three months before the actual travel date. Business travels take relatively longer planning time, about 4–10 months before the trip, depending on its destination. Such fares are normally fleeting and require constant vigilance in the form of daily alerts and price checking to grab them. Of course, keeping all these factors in mind requires an additional effort. Yet the ability to save money on air tickets at the right moment of the day is worth the time spent.