In Today in the Sky, Ben Mutzabaugh asks a question that I've been pondering myself: "With the high demand winter-holiday travel season approaching, should fliers find the best fares they can find now? Or, should they wait for fare sales that the airlines typically roll out in early fall?"
I'm not much of a gambler, so I decided to cut my potential losses and buy now. Last year, my roundtrip holiday ticket from SFO to DFW hovered right around $300. This year, it's nearing $500, and I don't want to risk it going any higher or not getting a seat at all.
Considering capacity cuts, the high cost of fuel and a potential drop in consumer demand, Ben's blog also notes that "most industry observers say it's still unclear just how much the capacity cutting will allow airlines to raise fares."
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Comments
I've been wondering exactly the same thing. And I too have been coming down on the side of "buy now, no regrets." But then I think "well, what if I wait JUST a little longer?" Next thing you know I'll be promising my firstborn in exchange for a December ticket to Singapore.
If you're saying buy now, I'm buying now. Better safe than sorry. And broke.
I bought our family of three tickets for our Christmas trip to ELP-ORD-MEM a month ago. I am happy with the price though now I'm fretting a bit over whether or not there will be a major change to the scheduled itinerary. There's already been one though minor.
Price, regardless of the turbulence of the airline industry, will always be a factor. But I can never recall a time when we found ourselves wondering "Will I be able to even get a seat?"