Originally Posted by dcaflyer1
Its all about the time of day, day of the week and where from flying from and to..
Tougher times will be between 3 and 7pm - M,T,Thur from a major city/hub - fly from Hub to Hub - good luck! Saturdays, Sunday, Wednesday's I notice are easier. A special event in that city will also lessen your chances...
Can someone else confirm these recommended dates and times (for predominantly business markets like BOS-IAH or BOS-EWR - you can guess where I live)? Wednesday is better than Tuesday? I would have guessed that Monday morning and Friday afternoon were pretty tough, but is 3-7pm really worse than 6-9am? If you have complete freedom to book a trip in a cheapie fare bucket months in advance for a trip you can take at any time of the week, when do you try to book it? Wednesday at 10am? Saturday at 3pm (when fares are often $10-20 more expensive because of the weekend)?
For example, next Wednesday's three BOS-IAH nonstops are showing:
dep 10:05am: A4 D4 Z4 Y9 H9 K9 N9 B9 V9 U9 Q9 I9 S9 W9 T9 X9
dep 1:05pm: A3 D3 Z3 Y2 H0 K0 N0 B0 V0 U0 Q0 I0 S0 W0 T0 X0
dep 4:20pm: A9 D8 Z8 Y9 H9 K9 N9 B9 V9 U9 Q9 I9 S9 W9 T9 X9
suggesting that the 4:20pm flight is the likeliest to see upgrades, despite my guess that the other two would be less popular.
Checking a random Tuesday in March (3/22):
dep 7:50am: A4 D4 Z4 Y7 H7 K7 N4 B7 V7 U4 Q7 I4 S4 W4 T7 X4
dep 10:23am: A9 D1 Z1 Y9 H9 K9 N9 B9 V9 U9 Q9 I9 S9 W9 T9 X9
dep 1:20pm: A4 D4 Z4 Y7 H7 K7 N4 B7 V7 U4 Q7 I4 S4 W4 T7 X4
dep 4:20pm: A4 D2 Z2 Y7 H7 K7 N4 B7 V7 U4 Q7 I4 S4 W4 T7 X4
which suggests that, as I'd expect, the mid-morning flight is least popular (although yield management is playing games with the D1 Z1 availability this far out).
Which is typical? It would be great to hear some other people's strategies. Is Saturday better still? Or Sunday morning? Thanks for any help?