The Bottom is Near — Don’t Wait Too Long to Snag Cheap Flights

May 6, 2009 | Posted in: Airfare News,Forecast,Pricing Activity

My crystal ball is starting to send me signals… For the first time in a long time, the situation appears to be improving for the airlines. April traffic figures are showing some improvement – United’s load factor held steady, for example, while American’s load factor actually edged up, compared to a year ago. As USA Today put it, “U.S. airlines…may finally be coming out of their tailspin.” In other words, the airline strategy is working – all those cheap airfare sales we’ve seen this year have started luring passengers back on the planes. Oh, they still have a ways to go, but – things are changing. My advice? The bottom is near, so don’t wait too long to make your purchase for summer vacation and fall travel. These great weekly sales may start to get fewer and farther apart.

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2 Responses to “The Bottom is Near — Don’t Wait Too Long to Snag Cheap Flights”

1. Joel says:

   May 6, 2009 at 10:56 pm

   Hi Rick,

   Love the website and all the information. I am an infrequent flyer and I would really appreciate your advice. I found a flight from Minneapolis to Rome for around $850 a little over a week ago. I did not buy at the time because I did not know if my plans were solid. Now that I do, the flight has gone up DOUBLE and I just don’t get it.

   My first question is, do you think I’m likely to find anything like that again or should I just settle into something higher. I’m a student and, you can guess, funds are limited. I’m going to try the email alerts, but what if I don’t even get to the email in time?

   Second, how is it possible that a flight could be so unbelievably low in the first place and then go up so very high.

   Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

   Best,
   Joel, the infrequent flyer
2. Rick Seaney says:

   May 8, 2009 at 11:26 am

   Joel,
   You shouldn’t be paying more than 1k for that ticket this summer, and it should be more like the $850 you found before, and, if you leave after 31-Aug the price should be below $700.
   Airfare prices can and do change, from week to week, day to day, even from hour to hour. The reason is simple: airlines want to charge the most they can get. If their planes are empty, prices take a dive, and if those planes start filling up, they simply readjust the price upwards. The airlines watch these factors very closely, throughout the day, and make changes as they deem necessary.
   Hope this helps.
   Rick