Hi,
Next year I plan on going to Texas (from Czech Republic). I want to be there for Halloween, so I want to leave mid-October and stay for 3-4 weeks. So I am going to buy a return ticket Prague-Houston. I should be traveling with KLM with a layover in Amsterdam.
I am wondering when the best time is to buy the tickets. I was going to buy them around May, but my friend said it might be too late and expensive at that point. Is it really? Are there ever any deals/ discounts or is the price stable until it starts increasing closer to the date?
I am also wondering if it’s worth it to get one of those Flexi tickets that make it so I can cancel anytime or move the date without fees, and I can pick my seat and have checked baggage. They are around 300$ more expensive than the “basic” return ticket (that one is 800$ so I would pay around 1100$ for a flexi return ticket). Is it worth it?
I will have checked baggage and I would prefer to pick my seat as I get sick when sitting by an aisle.
I always prefer to get tickets that I can cancel easily.
That way, I can buy them as soon as they are available, and if the price goes down, I can buy new ones and cancel the old ones.
But, if the refundable tickets are more expensive, then you will have to compare the costs.
One time, I did buy the more expensive flexible tickets early, and then when I saw the price go low enough, I bought the regular tickets (non-refundable) at the cheaper price.
Mid-October is not normally a hugely expensive time to fly, except that flights to/from the Netherlands do get pricey on some weekends in October because of school holidays.
With two months’ notice you should be able to find it in the €700 range.
Generally, three months or more provides the best prices. Use Google Flights and set up a notification so you will receive an email when prices change. There are several options besides KLM.
It’s actually way too early to buy tickets or set up a notification email. Most airlines don’t sell them more than 330 days in advance.
@Charlie
Good advice. I would set up a notification email at the end of this year or the beginning of next year and monitor the emails for a major drop.
I prefer buying tickets directly from the airlines, not the agencies. There are many things that can go wrong: cancellations, delays, missed connecting flights, and in such situations, it’s always quicker to solve the problem with the airlines directly.
@Maxwell
We have quite a lot of good travel agencies in Czechia that will take care of the problems - that’s why people use them, so they don’t have to use foreign call centers.
Anyway, delay and missed connection is always dealt with directly with the airline, regardless of where you book.
Not sure how much this still applies, but historically, late February is the best time to buy advance tickets. This was/is due to the fact that airlines tend to offer deep discounts to help generate cash flow during their slowest time of year.
I just really have no idea how much flights are, I have only been on a plane once before and that was a short flight to London.