Airplane tickets - When to Buy

[ljwillia]

Late October tickets on Delta from Richmond, Va. were $718 yesterday. Today they are almost $200 more. What gives? The earlier October dates are $1098.00 I'm not sure whether to wait and see if they go down or purchase now. Anyone have any info on trends?

I noticed that the price of tickets in June - Sept are in the $700 - $800 range. I don't know if that is because they are less popular times to travel or because they are closer departure dates.

I feel like I'm playing airfare roulette!

 

[DustyC]

Delta pricing to Bonaire has been all over the place this year. Generally, in our experience, tickets are never much, if any, cheaper than the week they become available.

 

[tursiops]

Yeah, you pretty much need to get them the day they open, or the day before the flight, or just bite the bullet. For a while, the United flights were not bad, except for coming home on Sunday, and American was in the middle. Now they are all bad!

 

[Snoweman]

Get on Kayak.com and set up a price alert to email you every day with the latest prices for your travel dates. Set up multiple alerts if your dates are flexible, or if you have alternative airports to fly out of. Just make sure to check your email every day.

 

[tkaelin]

There does not seem to be a best time to buy or best time to fly to get the best price. We are going to keep our eye out for a reasonable fare for traveling in June or Sept next year. We also have price alert set. We have been passing on Bon for CUR because of the outrageously high air to BON. If we can find it around $600 nonstop from NYC we may go for it even though CUR fare is consistently around $350-$400.

 

[woodcarver]

I have found the best pricing is by going directly to the airline's website. Could have bought RT last month to go this weekend for $530, but we have puppies due on Sunday. August is usually the cheapest time to go as that is the slow season on the island. By booking one way for both halves, using 1 carrier to go and another for the return, $520 total for the RT in August.
Mid-winter is typically the worst as far as plane fare goes. But if you are flexible, I've found reasonable, <$700, even in the fall and winter. It does seem to matter where you are flying from, even though almost everyone ends up on the same airplane in either Atlanta or Houston. From Denver, the more stops the plane makes, the more expensive the ticket! If I had time and money to burn, I can always get the flight through NY to the Netherlands to Bonaire for a mere $12k! And 2 days of travel, lol!

 

[Trailboss123]

I have found the best pricing is by going directly to the airline's website. Could have bought RT last month to go this weekend for $530, but we have puppies due on Sunday. August is usually the cheapest time to go as that is the slow season on the island. By booking one way for both halves, using 1 carrier to go and another for the return, $520 total for the RT in August.
Mid-winter is typically the worst as far as plane fare goes. But if you are flexible, I've found reasonable, <$700, even in the fall and winter. It does seem to matter where you are flying from, even though almost everyone ends up on the same airplane in either Atlanta or Houston. From Denver, the more stops the plane makes, the more expensive the ticket! If I had time and money to burn, I can always get the flight through NY to the Netherlands to Bonaire for a mere $12k! And 2 days of travel, lol!

I have also found August to be one of the cheapest times of year for flights to BON. Any time around Xmas and New Year is the highest. That said, it is never a bargain flight destination. Anything under $700 RT from the West Coast and I jump all over it these days.

 

[herman]

American is going to start flying to Bonaire in June. They hopefully will have some impact on the prices. My best advise is to watch the price daily and be ready, CC and passport in hand if you see a drop.

 

[boat sju]

Make sure you check the full round trip itinerary. What starts out looking like a good fare can turn ugly when you see what return flights go with it. From Michigan anything in the mid $800 range is probably acceptable for a winter price. That's a Delta flight through ATL, I would assume you would be in about the same boat. Like herman said - keep the cc and passports handy.

 

[bethie]

I have found the best pricing is by going directly to the airline's website. Could have bought RT last month to go this weekend for $530, but we have puppies due on Sunday. August is usually the cheapest time to go as that is the slow season on the island. By booking one way for both halves, using 1 carrier to go and another for the return, $520 total for the RT in August.
Mid-winter is typically the worst as far as plane fare goes. But if you are flexible, I've found reasonable, <$700, even in the fall and winter. It does seem to matter where you are flying from, even though almost everyone ends up on the same airplane in either Atlanta or Houston. From Denver, the more stops the plane makes, the more expensive the ticket! If I had time and money to burn, I can always get the flight through NY to the Netherlands to Bonaire for a mere $12k! And 2 days of travel, lol!

We also often buy one way tickets going and returning on different airlines. Sometimes from different nearby cities.(We are from upstate NY) The prices really fluctuate from day to day. Delta flies both Sat and Sun, with often a $200 price difference between the 2 days. Check daily! And good luck- Aruba Airlines now has a direct flight to Bonaire from Aruba, if that works. Usually much cheaper to fly to Aruba.