Mileage Run Discussion - Well known periods of low fares

Recently there have been several good fares to Japan and several people commented that this period after spring break and before summer is generally known to have these particularly good fares to Japan. I have a memorial day vacation already planned, so I can't get in on one of these (also I'm out of Atlanta, so west coast positioning would require some planning as well) but I will definitely be keeping an eye out next year. was wondering if there are other periods of low fares, e.g. October is a good month to fly to Australia for cheap in economy, or March is known to have good economy fares to Europe. These kinds of trends would be really useful in planning out a year of international mileage (vacation) runs.

mid jan-early mar.....late apr-mid may......mid sept-mid nov....early dec...

these are the usual suspects in general.....nrt may have other dates...

of course, sales & 2x eqm promos can occur at any time...

It depends on whether you want business class or coach.

It depends on whether you want business class or coach.

And where you are going. E.G. the days around Thanksgiving in the US, maybe the worst time for domestic economy all year, but maybe also the best time for international business/first fares all year generally.

Many times I have done runs to EU in February, although I could not test it this year because I had just spent a month in South Africa in January and I think I may have collapsed in exhaustion. But I've found some good deals over the years for SkyTeam in February.

Thanks guys, I totally get the depends answer, so I tried to phrase my question to reflect that, e.g. October Australia Economy.

I will definitely look at the periods mentioned by clacko and although I've never bought a business/first revenue ticket, if I can find a deal like the current one for London over Thanksgiving, I'll probably take it.

Basically, just think of any time it would be convenient to take a vacation if you had children in school - Spring Break/Easter, Summer, Thanksgiving, Christmas/New Years - and go at a different time. Also, the Caribbean during hurricane season is pretty cheap. Just get travel insurance. :D

Another term you can look for is 'shoulder season' - usually a month or so before/after peak tourist seasons. For example, do a month-long search for fares US-Europe in May. There will be several hundred dollars difference between fares at the beginning and end of the month. It won't be quite as cheap as February, but the weather will probably be nicer.

I've gotten some really great deals to from the US to Europe in late Jan - early April. No crowds, no hot weather - it's a great time to visit. We went to Australia over US Thanksgiving on award tickets (breaking the rule, I know, but it's not their Thanksgiving) and it was nice, but I would actually go a little earlier (October) next time. Hong Kong had great availability for both air and hotel awards when we went in late October.

for mr's, look when 2x mqm is offered....