Caporegime
I just tried it, the results are not totally the same though.
Best time to book flights?
- Thread starter geekman
- Start date
I just tried it, the results are not totally the same though.
try the hopper app, tells you if its a good price or worth waiting.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.hopper.mountainview.play&hl=en_GB
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.hopper.mountainview.play&hl=en_GB
Soldato
Another vote for the earlier the better, we booked the flights for our last family holiday about 9 months in advance, out of curiosity I checked a month before the holiday and they were 3 times the price.
Last minute is great if you are flexible on dates/destination, but IMO a gamble if you have a specific trip.
Have you looked how much it is if you book as a bundle e.g. with a hotel or car?
It was ~30% cheaper for us to book flights & car together than just the flights! (with BA)
Last minute is great if you are flexible on dates/destination, but IMO a gamble if you have a specific trip.
Have you looked how much it is if you book as a bundle e.g. with a hotel or car?
It was ~30% cheaper for us to book flights & car together than just the flights! (with BA)
Soldato
Hopper got it spot on when my ex was booking flights to America for last year. She went with the early as possible technique and they ended up being a fair bit cheaper 60-90 days out as I had advised 
Didn't know about the hopper app - thanks for that. Just downloaded it and it's red for my dates and saying I should wait....
If you book as far as in advance as possible you will usually get a decent price, I then find if you wait you can get a slightly better price (say 20 - 30% cheaper) but it can also easily rocket to double the price. If you know the dates you are flying I would say its usually better to book sooner rather than later.
Caporegime
Remember to book through Quidco to get cash back.
Use Hopper, an app that tells you whether the current price is good (green), average (orange) or expensive (red). So if it’s green then book now.
Will be booking LHR to HKG for next Jan in next couple of weeks, expected price will be £400 return Upper Class with Virgin, the joys of air miles
Caporegime
Will be booking LHR to HKG for next Jan in next couple of weeks, expected price will be £400 return Upper Class with Virgin, the joys of air miles
Problem with Hopper is that i can't figure out how to get it to show multi city.
Anyway, £680 for 3 flights isn't bad ! I am saving my points for the next trip, spent a chunk to upgrade my seat to Japan a couple of months ago.
And how much air miles do you have?! you are basically saving £3,000 if you are paying only £400.
Supershoppers did an episode on exactly this, and from my recollection a load of factors counted towards the end price, ie. time till flight, device booked on, whether or not they'd searched the prices before, etc.
The TL;DR is that airlines will fleece you if they can. Get the jump on them and you'll be in cheap.
The TL;DR is that airlines will fleece you if they can. Get the jump on them and you'll be in cheap.
Problem with Hopper is that i can't figure out how to get it to show multi city.
Anyway, £680 for 3 flights isn't bad ! I am saving my points for the next trip, spent a chunk to upgrade my seat to Japan a couple of months ago.
And how much air miles do you have?! you are basically saving £3,000 if you are paying only £400.
have just over 233k at moment, these will pretty much clean account out for now (2 x return tickets), did same trip Jan 16 with miles
started saving avios now due to VA not having many options flying east
He cookies argument is generally considered to be hocum.
http://m.huffingtonpost.ca/entry/cookies-flight_n_6430592
What you’re probably seeing is the swing in price from changes in time of day and week. Certain days (and time of day) can be more expensive than others. That’s especially true if searching through a flight comparison site. You can always check by just looking on a different computer, and personally I’ve never seen evidence for it either.
If you’re planning on a trip during a busy time (I.e. Christmas) then book early, but not too early. Tickets go on sale around 10-12 months before flights, but exactly when varies between airlines, and IME the early tickets are usually a lot more expensive than waiting until all the airlines have released their tickets. Realistically it’s going to be the same with low cost airlines on busy routes to.
For longer haul, non Christmas/Easter times then waiting a little bit is a better bet. That way you can wait for sales and figure out prices, especially if you have an idea of what others have paid before. If the price seems reasonable then buy. As mentioned already, usually 4-6 months in advance, or when an airline has a sale.
http://m.huffingtonpost.ca/entry/cookies-flight_n_6430592
What you’re probably seeing is the swing in price from changes in time of day and week. Certain days (and time of day) can be more expensive than others. That’s especially true if searching through a flight comparison site. You can always check by just looking on a different computer, and personally I’ve never seen evidence for it either.
If you’re planning on a trip during a busy time (I.e. Christmas) then book early, but not too early. Tickets go on sale around 10-12 months before flights, but exactly when varies between airlines, and IME the early tickets are usually a lot more expensive than waiting until all the airlines have released their tickets. Realistically it’s going to be the same with low cost airlines on busy routes to.
For longer haul, non Christmas/Easter times then waiting a little bit is a better bet. That way you can wait for sales and figure out prices, especially if you have an idea of what others have paid before. If the price seems reasonable then buy. As mentioned already, usually 4-6 months in advance, or when an airline has a sale.
https://www.kayak.co.uk has a "buy now or wait" thingy top left of the search results - could be worth a look!
Caporegime
Going off topic now, I think may be using the points for some hotels may be better spent for Business or First Class upgrades. A week at the Mandarin Oriental over 2 flights, if the points works out the same.
