Every penny counts when you’re traveling on a tight schedule. The price of plane tickets, unfortunately, can quickly deplete your budget. But that shouldn’t prevent you from going on your ideal vacation. According to CheapAir’s CEO, Jeff Klee, there is a “sweet spot” for maximizing value. For starters, the most important rule is fairly obvious: don’t wait until the last minute, as that rarely works out. But beyond that, you also don’t want to buy too early. So the question remains, “How far in advance should you book a flight?”
Let’s find out…
How Far in Advance Should I Book a Flight?
When to Book Domestic Flights
A study by CheapAir.com in 2022 found that the optimal time to buy domestic airline tickets was 76 days before departure. This is just an average, so don’t feel like you have to start planning your trip 76 days in advance just because of this. In fact, CheapAir.com has a fairly broad prime booking window, ranging from 127 to 21 days in advance.
When tickets for domestic flights are first made available, typically a year before departure, they are priced at a premium. According to CheapAir.com, prices drop gradually over time, reaching a minimum of four months to three weeks before a flight. After this “prime booking window,” however, prices typically skyrocket.
When to Buy International Plane Tickets
When planning an international trip, it’s best to book your flights well in advance, preferably at least six months in advance. However, regional differences do exist. CheapAir.com has calculated the best times to book flights to the following locations:
- Canadians should leave 300 days to 3.5 months in advance.
- Four and a half to one month prior to departure in Mexico
- Five to two and a half months before departure is ideal for the Caribbean.
- Plan your trip to Central America 5–2 months in advance.
- 4.5-1.75 months prior to departure for South America
- Six and a half to one month prior to departure for Europe
- For Africa, Book Ten to Two Months Prior to Departure
- 10–9.5 months prior to departure for Oceania/South Pacific
- Ten months prior to departure for Asia.
- Ten to two months prior to departure for the Middle East
When Should You Buy Your Summer 2023 Plane Ticket?
Since summer is one of the most popular times to travel, it’s not surprising that there aren’t many good airfare deals to be had then. Expedia and Hopper both agree that seasonality will drive airfare prices up. If possible, you should book your summer flight as far in advance as possible, preferably at least six months in advance. Look for late summer travel to find the best deals on airfare, as both Expedia and Hopper note that prices are likely to peak in June and decrease throughout July and August.
When to Buy Tickets for the 2023 Holiday Season
You might think it’s too early to start planning holiday travel, and you’d be right — September is typically the best time to book flights for Thanksgiving and Christmas. However, it’s always a good idea to start keeping an eye on airfare rates as soon as possible, so you can book at the earliest opportunity.
How Far Ahead of Time Should I Book Award Travel?
The best time to book award travel is when the schedule becomes available or at the last minute. This is due to the fact that airlines typically release a first batch of award space when the schedule opens (between 330 and 362 days before your flight) and a second batch just before the flight.
Do I Have to Book My Flight When It Becomes Available?
No, but if you book quickly after seats become available, you may be able to snag difficult-to-find awards. However, award availability is constantly changing (due to airlines adding and removing space and passengers making and canceling reservations). So, if you don’t find what you’re looking for when bookings open, keep looking.
Is It Possible to Use Tools to Check Award Availability and Receive Notifications When New Awards Become Available?
Yes, Expert Flyer (owned by TPG’s parent company, Red Ventures) is one of these tools. You can set up alerts to receive notifications when flight or upgrade awards become available on a variety of dates and routes. It should be noted that this method may not work as desired before the booking window opens because some airlines’ schedules appear before the flights are actually bookable.
Is It Possible to Book a Flight More Than a Year in Advance?
The majority of airlines say no. The exact booking window data for each airline can be found in the chart above, but most are between six and eleven months before your departure date. Even if you can’t book a year in advance, reserving your flight soon after the booking window will get you the best prices and availability.
If I’m Paying Cash, How Far in Advance Should I Book My Flight?
Domestic flights should generally be booked one to four months in advance. International flights should be booked at least six months ahead of time. You should allow more time for research for the latter than you would for domestic travel. When booking vacation travel, it is often best to book as soon as possible.
Is It Possible to Find Last-Minute Flight Deals?
Yes, there are many last-minute deals on both cash and award bookings. For the most recent deals, visit TPG’s deals page. We also have a guide on the best ways to use points and miles for last-minute flights.
When Do Airlines Make Award Availability Available?
While it’s best not to click the “buy” button as soon as the booking window opens if you’re paying with cash, award tickets are the exact opposite. Because the number of award tickets available on any given flight is always limited (especially in premium classes), your best bet is to book one as soon as the window for award seats opens.
The date on which you can get an award ticket on US Airlines is the same as when the booking window opens to purchase tickets. They may only have a few seats available right away and add more award seats later, but this isn’t always guaranteed—so be prepared to click “buy” on an award ticket right away.
When Should You Book Your Flight to Get the Best Price?
The most honest answer to when to book a flight to get the best deal isn’t always the one that travelers want to hear: “It depends.”
While great deals can appear at any time, in our experience, the best time to book a flight (what we call the Goldilocks Window) is 1-3 months ahead for domestic travel and 2-8 months ahead for international travel—unless your trip is around a popular holiday or peak travel time, or you have very specific travel dates. In that case, it’s a good idea to start looking even sooner. In general, we recommend booking during the opposite season: for peak summer, look around the Christmas holiday, while for Christmas travel, look around the Fourth of July.
When is the best time to book award flights?
The shortest answer is “as soon as you possibly can.” Award tickets for US airlines become available around the same time as regular tickets, and because there are so few award tickets available on any given flight, you’ll most likely miss out on the dates you want if you wait too long.
When should you book with COVID?
Not long ago, as travel began to reopen, booking further in advance (or even at the last minute) could have saved you money as airlines attempted to entice travelers back into the sky. There are still some good last-minute deals available, but they will start to dwindle soon. This means that, for the most part, the timelines we listed above (1-3 months in advance for domestic trips and 2-8 months in advance for international trips) are still in effect.
However, one thing to look into before booking is the airline’s ticket change or cancellation policy under COVID.
Most airlines significantly relaxed these policies in 2020 (even waiving change/cancellation fees entirely in some cases), and since many are beginning to tighten them again, it’s a good idea to look into your change or cancellation options before booking a trip.
The good news is that major US airlines continue to waive change fees above basic economy, and you can frequently upgrade from basic economy to main economy for $30-$75 each way—a price that may be worth it for the added flexibility.
Do last-minute flights get cheaper?
No! Despite what you may have heard, last-minute tickets are not cheaper. Sure, you’ll hear about the occasional last-minute ticket deal, but that’s the exception rather than the rule.
There may be a brief window a few weeks out if an airline is attempting to fill a plane that it considers to be too empty, but that is never guaranteed. Generally, ticket prices begin to rise about three weeks before the event and rarely fall after that.
Conclusion
When the booking window opens is critical for airlines that raise fares as more seats are booked (as well as for premium cabin seats, as awards for these seats are limited). If you have one of these bookings coming up, you should set a calendar reminder a day or two before the booking window opens so you can start checking availability. Continue to check availability until you find a product and price that you like.
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- When Is the Best Time to Book a Flight? What You Should Know
- WHAT DAY ARE FLIGHTS CHEAPEST TO BOOK? All You Need To Know.
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