Booking flight for 2009 trip

[Bobo912]

The airline schedules are available up to early July 2009. For those of you who booked trips in the first half of 2009, did you go ahead and book your flight? On one hand, fares could well go up, so it could potentially save some money. On the other hand, it's a big chunk of money to part with when the trip is so far away. I'm going to buy trip insurance, so I'm not worried about losing the airfare if I book, but I'm still debating. Any thoughts?

 

[sayhello]

The airline schedules are available up to early July 2009. For those of you who booked trips in the first half of 2009, did you go ahead and book your flight? On one hand, fares could well go up, so it could potentially save some money. On the other hand, it's a big chunk of money to part with when the trip is so far away. I'm going to buy trip insurance, so I'm not worried about losing the airfare if I book, but I'm still debating. Any thoughts?

The one, BIG disadvantage I've found with buying your ticket way ahead of time (at least these days) is that the airlines will change around their schedules, and therefore change around *YOUR* itinerary, and a lot of the time, you will have no recourse. I'm flying to Seattle soon, and bought my cross-country ticket *ages* ago, because it was a really good itinerary, and I was afraid the prices would just continue to go up (they have). Unfortunately, the airline cancelled all but one flight for the first leg of my trip, so I am now stuck with a flight leaving at *6:30 am*, which means having to leave home well before 4am, and have lost my ride to the airport because my friend *cannot* take me that early, which means the extra added expense of parking fees, and the stress of driving myself to the airport. And then I have a four hour lay-over before the next leg of my flight. At a pretty small airport. So what looked like a really good itinerary months and months ago has become an ugly one that will leave me exhausted by the time I get to dinner that night... And I'm stuck, because the airline has no other flights that day that will meet up with the second leg of my trip, and won't refund my ticket. And trip insurance will not help you with stuff like that.

Just a thought.
Sayhello

 

[abdmom]

Airline prices can be all over the place. Not all airlines "load" their flights into the system at 11 months out. So even if your airline does have the flights available for that time period, their competitor might not, so you may end up paying more for the flight that you would down the road. I like to book around the 8 month window. I find that the rates for my travel are usually the best at that time. I check frequently though, so I have an idea of what a good airfare to my destination is. If I see it for my dates, I grab it.

I have looked at airfares for our ABD trip next summer. I know what a "good" airfare is and will book it when I can. One thing I've learned is: even if my plans change, the penalty is usually $100 per ticket - not the entire fare - so I don't sweat it too much if my plans change.

 

[Bobo912]

Good points. I'm looking at flights to Australia though and there really aren't very many choices. There are only three airlines in Nashville that fly to cities in Australia and only American has anything right now that is acceptable to me. So I don't have many options. The flight I'm looking at is $1820 adult and $1510 child. This is the mutli-city fare, since this tour starts in Cairns and ends in Sydney. I experimented with roundtrip to either city and it didn't really save me anything. I found one slightly cheaper fare, but it had too many stops. Unfortunately, I have no idea if this is a good fare. Don't really like the idea of forking over that much money 10 months in advance!

 

[mountainjourno]

Good points. I'm looking at flights to Australia though and there really aren't very many choices. There are only three airlines in Nashville that fly to cities in Australia and only American has anything right now that is acceptable to me. So I don't have many options. The flight I'm looking at is $1820 adult and $1510 child. This is the mutli-city fare, since this tour starts in Cairns and ends in Sydney. I experimented with roundtrip to either city and it didn't really save me anything. I found one slightly cheaper fare, but it had too many stops. Unfortunately, I have no idea if this is a good fare. Don't really like the idea of forking over that much money 10 months in advance!

That's a pretty good fare for the time of year you're going - I wouldn't expect much less.

If you think you might want to extend your time in Oz, be sure to plan that before you buy your flights. Domestic flights within Australia are generally cheaper if purchased as part of your international flight. Also - just wanted to suggest you consider a stop-over in New Zealand or Hawaii on your way back. There is so much to see in both places, and it usually doesn't cost much more for the airfare than the non-stopover flights. (I love to break up my trips back home with a jaunt in either country!)

Happy planning!

 

[SLK1]

My trip is in June but I went ahead and booked my airline today...not realizing until now (reading these posts) that my "perfect" itinerary could change. But, I am using miles and we were worried the flights would be gone, or worse, the airlines would do away with their miles programs, or de-value the miles. So, we are set to go and will now have to worry about potential changes.

 

[sayhello]

My trip is in June but I went ahead and booked my airline today...not realizing until now (reading these posts) that my "perfect" itinerary could change. But, I am using miles and we were worried the flights would be gone, or worse, the airlines would do away with their miles programs, or de-value the miles. So, we are set to go and will now have to worry about potential changes.

Oh, if you're using miles, it's a completely different story. Your itinerary could still end up getting changed, but the availability of flights you can use mileage on DOES decline (and rather quickly) as time goes by! And a lot of the airlines ARE re-vamping their mileage programs. You were absolutely right to book those tickets now. It's best to get them while you can. I'd've done the same thing. Having your itinerary changed is easier to deal with than not getting flights at all.

Sayhello

 

[mwebsite]

I thought someone posted not to book the flights a year ahead of time. I believe they stated the fares were higher one year out ($1600 for Italy one year out last year) and dropped about six months out ($1200 when they booked this year in February). I was planning to watch the available seats on the flights I wanted and book later. Hopefully, with the oil price dropping, it will make a difference??

 

[beansf]

Good points. I'm looking at flights to Australia though and there really aren't very many choices. There are only three airlines in Nashville that fly to cities in Australia and only American has anything right now that is acceptable to me. So I don't have many options. The flight I'm looking at is $1820 adult and $1510 child. This is the mutli-city fare, since this tour starts in Cairns and ends in Sydney. I experimented with roundtrip to either city and it didn't really save me anything. I found one slightly cheaper fare, but it had too many stops. Unfortunately, I have no idea if this is a good fare. Don't really like the idea of forking over that much money 10 months in advance!

Well, for reference, we bought our tickets in May for a trip in October from San Francisco to Australia and we paid a couple hundred more than this. We had some options that were maybe two or three hundred dollars cheaper per person but it meant a longer trip with more layovers. No thanks! The trip is plenty long the way it is, even from the West Coast.

 

[Bobo912]

Well, for reference, we bought our tickets in May for a trip in October from San Francisco to Australia and we paid a couple hundred more than this. We had some options that were maybe two or three hundred dollars cheaper per person but it meant a longer trip with more layovers. No thanks! The trip is plenty long the way it is, even from the West Coast.

Thanks! That's good to know. I've got the extra leg from Nashville to LAX that you don't have, living on the west coast, so the fare I found is sounding pretty decent. I'm with you on the layovers. The savings definitely aren't worth the inconvenience, especially when you're traveling with kids. Have a great trip! Look forward to hearing about it when you return.

Also - just wanted to suggest you consider a stop-over in New Zealand or Hawaii on your way back. There is so much to see in both places, and it usually doesn't cost much more for the airfare than the non-stopover flights. (I love to break up my trips back home with a jaunt in either country!)

Thanks for the suggestion, mountainjourno. I'm going to check into this possiblity.