Els Posted May 16, 2009 Posted May 16, 2009 Does anyone have any experience buying international flight tickets a week or so before departure date? During peak times especially, such as summer? My SO will only be able to find out whether or not he will be free for his summer break, a week or two before the actual time comes. Problem is, I'm not sure how easy or difficult it will be to get tickets then. The break is also only for 2 weeks, so there can't be any such thing as 'week Y is full, never mind, we'll just book a ticket for the following week' -- we can only afford to give and take a day or two else it simply won't be worth it. I'm trying to figure out whether or not it'd be more worth it to simply buy one of those refundable tickets and take a loss of a few hundred dollars if the plans don't go through. But if it's almost certain that we'll be able to get tickets the week before, I don't suppose that will be worth it, since we're both not exactly rich. He says there are several airlines that ply that route -- so if one is full he could probably take another. I'm not so sure that all of them won't be full (we can't afford any class either than economy) though...
arthurfl99 Posted May 17, 2009 Posted May 17, 2009 Unless it's a flight that consistantly books up, you will be fine. I've looked at flights from America to England on Friday, for travel that tuesday, and the tickets are not only available, but they tend to be cheaper! The only catch is if you need reassurance (like to book ahead) this way will never work. You have to also come to the reality that if you do it this way you may NOT find tickets. It's a gamble. But as long as you have everything else in order (house sitters, passport, school/job taken care of), you can really get a good deal doing it this way.
TaraMaiden Posted May 18, 2009 Posted May 18, 2009 I just bought myself a ticket to Italy on-line yesterday (Sunday) for this coming Wednesday. it cost me less than £100.00. it was one of the easiest things I have ever done!
Trojan John Posted May 18, 2009 Posted May 18, 2009 They may always have an availability, but are not always cheaper at the last minute. I once booked a short flight to London, but the airline "lost" my reservation and I had to buy a ticket on the day. I ended up paying 3x the original price for a flight that was half-full. Prices also depend on how many flights per day the airline makes between the cities you want, and if you're flying during a holiday period.
Mountainlove Posted May 18, 2009 Posted May 18, 2009 To book flights a week before you go is no problem but it is not always cheaper - it can if you are lucky. Why don't you check flights for next week to get a comparison? Thats what I usually do. Also check the special offers on websites - sometimes if you are flexible on a date it would give you good discounts as well.
Lyssa Posted May 18, 2009 Posted May 18, 2009 You might want to book online cause it's always cheaper esp if you book a week in advance. It could differ from country to country, over where I am - it's always way cheaper to book weeks/months in advance.
Author Els Posted May 18, 2009 Author Posted May 18, 2009 I did check the tickets for this week and next, and they're available. However, this isn't summer period yet... So I assume there'd be more people flying in June than currently. From what you guys have said though it sounds like it'll most likely be okay?
arthurfl99 Posted May 18, 2009 Posted May 18, 2009 yeah I think you will be ok. Tickets will be higher for summer yes. It's about $120 more expensive for me to go to England in july rather than may. But yeah, it's a gamble, but you should be ok in my opinion.
carhill Posted May 18, 2009 Posted May 18, 2009 OP, I answered your inquiry in your similar thread in the Water Cooler. Specifics are almost required to provide informed advice. For example, if you're flying to Europe this summer from the US, prices will be high and availability tight, even in this economy, especially for close-in ticketing. Conversely, flying from the US to Australia and New Zealand, since it is winter there, is not an issue and prices are low. Rinse and repeat for nearly every imaginable international destination and you have really no advice at all.
Author Els Posted May 18, 2009 Author Posted May 18, 2009 My apologies, carhill, hadn't had time to check the other forums. It'll be from an Oceanic to a SouthEast Asian country, round trip. Yes, granted noone ever wants to come here, but not many airlines ply this route either.
carhill Posted May 18, 2009 Posted May 18, 2009 Well, still not much help, but I'm familiar with SIN (Singapore), SYD (Sydney), MEL (Melbourne), AKL (Aukland), WLG (Wellington), HKG (Hong Kong) and BKK (Bangkok). Malaysian, Emirates, and Philippine Air currently have the best non-APEX (no significant advance purchase) deals going on those routings, from 700-1150AUD depending on departure point. Given the seasonality and current world economy, I wouldn't expect loads to be significant outside of special events/holidays.
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