I have been planning a trip to the south Pacific for some time now, but I was curious as to when everyone books their flights. I'm not leaving until Jan. but im so excited that I want to have all my flights booked now. When does everyone think is a good time to do so?
Reply to this Hi Susie,
Even if you don't book this far in advance it's worth keeping an eye on fares, in case special deals come up.
How far ahead to book can also depend on how flexible you can be with travel dates.
Reply to this Hello Susie 😊
Usually you can book flights up to 11 months before their departure date. If you know that far ahead it can be a good idea to book then, because the cheapest flights are not yet sold out. And as Jo mentioned, sometimes there as special offers and deals, so it is worth keeping an eye out for those too.
Mel
Reply to this Thanks for the advice!
Mell, you seem to travel frequently; how far in advance do you usually book your tickets?
Reply to this I booked my Christmas 2008 ticket to India in Feb 2008. I booked the one for Iran around 10 months before the flight date. There is a downside to buying this far in advance though. It means I have to risk being turned down when applying for the visas and then lose the flight money. But, I have never yet been refused a visa... I booked my next months flight to India last December. I already had a six month visa for India for my Christmas trip, so decided to make another trip before it expired.
I booked my next months flight to Ireland just a couple of weeks ago, because the airline had special offers for a limited time.
Those are a few examples of my flight buying habits. One year, I bought return flights to 10 European cities because an airline was offering bargains. I took a short trip to each of those cities in different months of the year.
Also, how much a flight to a certain place costs can depend on the time of the year you go. My return flight to India next month cost 100 Euros less than my Christmas flight because the weather in Mumbai in May is very hot and humid so not inviting for tourists.
Reply to this That helps a lot, thanks! and thanks for reminding me about getting visas ahead of time, I def need to get on that.
Reply to this Often with visas you can only apply for them within a certain amount of time before entering the country. For example, my Indian tourist visa became valid from the date of issue and I had to be out of India within the following 6 months. With the Iran one, they asked me when I am going and issued the visa to suit that time.
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