Are the days of "timing" flight purchases over?

[HappySaver]

The vacation thread going on right now got me thinking. Riverwed mentioned that prices had gone up on the flights since first checking prices.

We just bought flights to Florida for Christmas. Yes, it's early, but we've been buying them in early July (about 6 months out) for the last few years. Otherwise, it seems like options just get more limited and prices just go up.

This year we waited a little longer and our options were way more limited, and the prices far higher.

I wonder, with ever increasing numbers of travelers and airlines more crunched than ever, if the days of "timing" flight purchases are over. Is it always better now to just buy as soon as you know your travel dates? I can't think of the last time I saw a price drop.

[hamchan]

I buy a lot of plane tickets, and I watch the prices for a while before buying. They definitely go up and down. I bought tickets to San Diego recently and when I first checked they were $150 each way. A week later they were $85.

[rennigade]

Im sure you can time buying plane tickets for the best price.

I know for a fact rental car prices can change daily/weekly. I rebooked a rental car for our next trip 3 times. Im saving $150 from when I initially booked.

[feh]

You might find this useful:

http://fivethirtyeight.com/features/when-to-hold-out-for-a-lower-airfare/

[Like2Plan]

You might find this useful:

http://fivethirtyeight.com/features/...lower-airfare/

That is an interesting article.

[George707]

That is an interesting article

Shame the study was conducted on such a short time frame. - I'd like to see the variance in price over buying three months out, versus buying the week before. - certainly have some personal experience of an air fare dropping considerably in price in the last week (this makes sense surely if they're about to send out an empty aircraft).

Any thoughts or experiences on this?

[feh]

Any thoughts or experiences on this?

Just anecdotal...from my experience (and from what I've read), airlines are much more disciplined about filling seats, compared to 5+ years ago. It's been a long time since I was on a flight with more than a handful of empty seats.

I imagine that means fewer discounts as the departure date arrives.