Originally Posted by
k374
lol, i'm tracking it to learn for the future what is the best time to purchase a ticket. Clearly 8 months out was a bad move. I have heard suggestions that 4 months for international nonpeak was optimal. The issue was that I needed this exact airline/flight and could not be flexible due to work time off.
I paid $621 for the flight + $610 in taxes, and it's now $331 + $610 in taxes. Now I find it absolutely crazy that an airline would only charge $331 for 20+ hr flight to Africa and back (4 segments each 10 hours approx) so I thought what I paid was a good deal, apparently airlines give away flights for nearly free as well... I did not know that. Now I am educated.
It might not really be $610 in taxes. Airlines are notorious for burying junk fees into tax-sounding names. To the individual cash buyer, it might not matter. But to a travel agent getting a commission, or a corporate buyer getting a discount on the base airfare, it can matter. And you might also get the pleasure of paying the junk fees on your FF-mile redemptions.
Anyway, $610 in true government tax sounds high. Although I suppose it's possible depending on the country (-ies) involved.
I usually try to buy long-haul int'l about 3-4 months in advance. I think that's a decent general bit of advice, unless the trip absolutely must be flown on specific dates. But others here are right in that there's no hard/fast rule. Flights can fill up and send fares a *lot* higher just as easily as they can stay relatively open and available when an airline markets its coming-season sale fares.