How Far Advance Can You Book Flights?

It is recommended for travelers to book their flights early in advance so that they get cheaper fares and choice seats and also avoid being restricted on the flexibility to change their travel plans. However, booking too early also has its disadvantages, especially with regards to the flexible schedules of business travelers. The benefits and drawbacks of advance bookings and the main guidelines on how to find an optimal length of time in advance to book a flight for domestic and international flights will be discussed in this article.

However, it is advisable to begin to compare fares as well as searching for the available flights two to seven months before the intended travel date, although you may not buy the ticket immediately. They keep track of prices within this timeframe, and it provides you with a clear indication of the prices and when is the best time to seal the deal and purchase your tickets. It is always recommended to book very early to increase your probability of getting good discounts and beating the promotional package and rates before they run out, especially during high demand times. However, there is also the disadvantage of paying a higher amount for change and cancellation, which is why it is better to buy tickets earlier.

Domestic Flights According to many gurus, domestic flights within the United States should be booked between three weeks and two months prior to the travel date. Any earlier and you will end up paying a lot of money because airlines typically do not post their inventory more than 330 days ahead. More often than not, this is when the prices are highest, and they are usually within the range of two to three weeks in advance. Past that, and you can come across good last-minute offers for whatever destination you wish to go. Although such last-minute fares are available, they are not guaranteed; you might not be able to get the specific airline or connection you wanted. While you can occasionally find these rates during the final two to three weeks before a flight, the greatest opportunity to lock in these prices while receiving your desired airline, flight times, and airports is when you book one month up to two months before the trip. It also makes it possible for you to window shop your competitors, plus it offers lots of flexibility if you need to alter your reservation somewhere down the line. All the airlines that have their headquarters in the United States allow the consumer to cancel or change their reservation within a period of 24 hours of the initial booking. After that, charges could be incurred for a change or cancellation of the booking depending on the time remaining before the set date of departure.

International Flights International carriers usually release inventory for sale much earlier, so it is advisable check and compare fares from as early as 10 to 12 months prior to the date of travel, especially if the travel is to be from North America directly to Europe, Asia or South America. However, most of the time, the prices do not drop until much nearer to the date of travel, which is why it is suggested to wait until 4 to 6 months before the intended date of travel before making the actual reservation or purchase. This flexibility is another similarity with the local airlines, with the international airlines giving passengers a free cancelation or rebooking within the first 24 hours of the original booking. They also charge for change fees that start low and rise even higher depending on how much closer one is to the date of travel. To places more remote from one another, there is even greater variability of your itinerary due to factors beyond your control, such as political changes in the country regarding visa restrictions, disturbances, climatic conditions, etc Thus, it is better to book the trip in advance in order to avoid huge penalties for change in plans. It also pre-purchases right to access economy fares that are competitive before the seats are fully sold. If you are going on a trip comprising several legs around the world, it might be a little too late to start booking around 4-5 months in advance since it involves a lot of coordination among airlines, airports, hotels, tours, and transfers. The better course of action is to finalize the main contingencies before addressing the minor details and making small changes. Sometimes there are good deals on international premium cabin seats also at the 6-8 months to the date of travel too.

The most limited options are called basic economy tickets, which mean that a flight must be booked at least three weeks in advance and can be changed in very limited cases. These do not fit most leisure travelers' requirements. As for discounts, choose the standard or flexible economy tickets rather than the basic ones. All in all, you will incur slightly higher costs for this but you will also be able to keep essential rebooking and cancellation abilities. It is justifications like these that make the extra dollars worth it when one or more of the trip participants have uncertain or changing plans. Three LCCs alone, namely Spirit, Frontier, and Southwest, have their own policies, which have distinct rules for change and cancellation fees. You will normally find the cheapest flights by booking earliest with them, apart from the following:. The last key aspect that one should follow to avoid rigidity in travel plans is that one should always buy travel insurance in addition to air tickets against any eventualities that may hinder travel plans. Some providers let you cancel for any reason, but this comes with a special feature: the Cancel For Any Reason upgrade. However, it is advisable to go through terms and conditions to be aware of the coverage details every time you opt for a travel insurance plan.

These are some general guidelines to follow when it comes to advance booking and as with most things related to the airline industry, things could be quite fluid. Finally, knowing that the cheapest or most convenient flight may be 3 months before or 2 weeks to the date of the travel. It entails frequent checks on prices and being quite opportunistic each time sales of airline tickets are made. There are associated consumer sites such as Kayak, Google Flights and Hopper that facilitate temporal and price alert settings depending on the advance booking period appropriate to your circumstances. The key will be to track often, be willing to adjust your schedule and latitude, and get a little lucky, and eventually you will be able to find a fare that tips the scale at the right price, time, and comfort.

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