What is more expensive, booking flights way in advance or shortly before travelling?

Answer 1

Unfortunately there is no one good answer to this question. Although in general, airlines do make only a certain number of lower priced seats available on any particular flight and your chances of getting one of those seats is better the sooner that you book, the airlines also use incredibly complicated (note that I didn't NOT say sophisticated) fare computation systems. these systems have become so complicated that they often produce bizarre results.. and sometimes you may get a cheaper seat by booking at the last moment.

We travel a lot, and our solution has been to book when we are finally sure of our travel dates, and just look for the best deal on the day that we decide to book (our favorite site is Travelocity). After many years of trying to second guess the airline systems, this method has reduced our anxiety level about getting the best deal.

You just never know in advance how much better of worse you can do, so we've found it better to just focus our energy on the rest of the process of getting ready for the trip.

Good luck and happy traveling.

Answer 2

The closer you get to your flight date the more expensive it'll be, generally speaking. You MAY be able to find more deals within 2-3 months of flying than within 5-6 months of flying, though, as rates tend to dip very slightly around 2 months before departure if the flights aren't filling up fast. ALWAYS stay away from booking flights within 2 weeks of departure, as they tend to be MUCH higher. I was going to book a flight to Phoenix last year 5 days before departure, and when I went to book the same flight a day later the price had nearly DOUBLED. Talk about frustrating. ;-)

Answer 3

It really depends on where you're going. Within USA, you do have to book in advance. International flights you may book on day of travel if you book through a travel agent. In Europe, you can book on the day as well for travel within Europe for anything less than $5 ...

You just have to diligent and do the research yourself.

Answer 4

Most often, if you walk up to the counter to purchase a ticket, it's many times more expenseive than if you purchased even 7 days in advance.

Answer 5

It will usually cost more to book late than to book early and the benefit of booking early is that you can save up money in the interim to upgrade to 1st class its what I do.