When you are this far out, there are a few schools of thought. One, you could bite the bullet and buy the fare now. Get the dates you want and the seats you want. Regularly check to see if the price has dropped, and then call and request vouchers for the difference every time it does.

The second school says that you should wait until it drops to a price you are willing to pay and that is fair. Then, jump on it!

In the end, it's a spend now vs. later proposition. I typically start looking for Christmas fares at the end of July (for Europe) and purchase in September. That's when the fares seem most convenient.

YMMV.

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"There are those who travel, and those who travel well."