It's before. I believe that only covers one trip, though (there's a different plan, that costs more, for booking multiple trips throughout the year). I used them in 2003 because I had some time deadlines to work with in booking tickets 330 days ahead for the Olympics, in both directions, and it was easier for them to track the deadlines and book for me. If you search here on FT, you'll see a post where a rep says they don't have access to any inventory you would not find on your own, but the initial post here would seem to contradict that.