Airfare prices have a tendency to change frequently. You may check a price of a flight and decide to wait to see if it goes down. However, the next week you find that the price of the airfare has been raised considerably. If you learn to anticipate airfare price drops, you can save a lot of money.
Look at historical trends to find out when airfare prices are going to drop. Websites like FareCompare provide graphs for users to use as a guide to when the best time is going to be to buy tickets. You should go back over the past 12 months to see how the airfare prices have fluctuated (see Resources below).
Check to see if the fares are steadily climbing. If the airfare is going up, you should buy soon since the rate is probably going to be the lowest you may see for awhile.
Wait until the travel date is closer. Flights booked way in advance are going to be a higher rate than a flight that is reserved approximately 3 months prior to departure.
Consider the time of year. You can anticipate price increases during the peak summer travel season and then drops during the winter months.
Keep up-to-date on airline news. Budget news about an airline can help you anticipate whether fares are going to plummet in the near future.
