I'm just looking at booking air tickets to Europe via the Middle East and, as expected, they are far higher post-COVID. Before COVID I read that the best time to buy air tickets was 5 months before departure. Does this "rule of thumb" still apply post-COVID?
Does The Buy Air Tickets 5 Months before Flight Still Apply Post COVID
scottishdave on 22/02/2023 - 12:46
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Post COVID is still very recent. We dont have enough operational history and data to say for sure such an assumption is reasonable.
what we did for a trip to the US in December was set google alerts for price changes 4 months before we wanted to leave. Then just basically watched the flight prices go up and down for 2 months, before buying at a price we were comfortable (still freaking expensive compared to pre-covid)
I just booked a flight to Europe via Vietnam Airlines May-Jun for $1251 which is better/same as before Covid.
I was able to get a Qatar flight for $1156 in 2018 during the same time period (booked only 2 months beforehand), however this year their prices are like double the price (checking right now 3 months beforehand).Generally, the earlier you book, the cheaper. If you already know the 'when and where', you might as well book it now.
“Post Covid” lol
I didn't know that 'rule of thumb' existed.
You could compare prices for bookings 5 months or more in the future to prices for dates prior to that, and see if such a rule applies. If I had to hazard a guess, I'd say no. I recently booked a flights to Europe for May and the prices varied wildly depending on which exact departure and return dates (within a 2 week window) I used. I also tried later dates (September) and the prices weren't better or worse than they would have been for May.
Your best bet is to look for flights using sites like Expedia or Webjet, and then see what the prices for the same dates are when booking directly through the airline.