How Practical Is It To Book Cheap Flights in Advance?


 

It has often been told to the people that the best way to book cheap flights is to book in advance of the travel date.  Often people have a conflict over whether the last minute booking is good or the advance booking. Some people would like to wait till the end to see if the airline drops the price or not. However, due to the inherent problems associated with this way of booking, the next best course is to book in advance.

While the literature does say that advance reservations are cheap, it does not say with conviction how much early it shall be done. You would find varying recommendations from different sources. Some would say about 10 days, some would like this to happen 3 weeks before while few others will like it to be done 3 to 6 months in advance. This leaves the reader confused about the best time frame for ticket booking.

But, is it really practical for the people to predict way in advance about when they are going to travel? By account of most of the people, the travel plans are mostly made at the level of taking action at most 2 months in advance. Having a plan in mind for years is not a travel plan as such. Therefore, if the cheap air tickets have to be bought, it is generally done during this time period. To say that you will get cheap fares after 3 or 6 months is like saying that you stand to gain the most by booking this much in advance, when the plan is still in the realms of mind and cannot be put into action.

There could be one more reason why the airline would like you to book early. The airline knows that the more is the time period of advance booking, the greater is the chance of cancellation of tickets. With more cancellations, there is a fee associated with it and this translates into earning of more money. Even if the airline provides cheap fares, it is could be like a bait to trap the passengers into cancellations later on.

So, when shall the customers book cheap flights? The simple answer is as early as they have finalized dates and firmed-up plan for vacationing, without worrying about the time period whether it is weeks or months in advance. The rule is to go by when traveling and booking suits you, not by the fares.

If people do want some discount on flight tickets, they can look for deals on web resources, make use of their loyalty rewards programs and make use of off-season and non-peak times for reservations, which are more credible ways of reducing the airfares.

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