mac123

I'm looking to book flights from LAS to PHX in June. Is it best to book now or will prices come down nearer the time. Thanks

MiamiAirport Formerly NY George

Is this on AA I assume. The answer is there's no clear answer. Prices can change up and down between now and flight time. Generally the best time to book is about 4-6 weeks out but by no means is this a guarantee. Also would you be willing to accept a Basic Economy fare and the restrictions that come with it? Right now it's a bit early and I'd personally wait another month but again prices might go up and stay up. I you see a fare you're comfortable with it at the times you want to fly book it. Life's too short to obsess over whether you could have saved yourself $20.

JDiver

Is there a high demand period at that time (e.g. national or international conference or convention, such as CES, scheduled at that time? Buy lower fare tranches while you still can. Is it a low demand time? Book 10-6 weeks out for domestic fares, be aware fares start moving higher as lower tranches are bought up or as you approach usual discount deadlines for 21 and 14 day apex, etc. But Revenue Management is dynamic, so there’s no applicable static formula.

Google can help as well for general information, such as CheapAir.com’s 5th Annual Airfare Study Reveals the Best Time to Buy Airline Tickets

ricktoronto

How much does it cost now? How much do you think it will go down?

Why not drive 5 hours vs. faff about with airports for such a small distance?

QueenOfCoach

1. Use your Magic 8-Ball to predict fare variations

2. Save yourself the hassle and just drive that short distance. 5 hours max.

AA100k

You might not want to limit yourself to AA if your looking for rock bottom fares. Try the discount airlines.

LtKernelPanic

It's a crap shoot. I've had to book stuff almost a year out and for my upcoming trip I booked it at about 8 weeks out which seems to have been a good choice. Look at Southwest for PHX-LAS flights. One of my friends and his wife have flown to Las Vegas on WN for under 60 each way several times in the last year most recently a couple weeks ago.

AAir_head

If you search your route on GoogleFlights and pick the flights you want, you'll see a box at the bottom center of the screen below your chosen itinerary that shows Google's assessment that prices are low, typical, or high. To the extent you trust that, it's a tool you may consider.

Kayak does something similar with a blue box at top left of the results screen--but I've often seen them say they don't have enough data for the route chosen. Same caveat as above: useful if you trust it.

You're best served to decide how much you're willing to spend and buy if the price is acceptable to you. Others have posted about general timeframes to use for domestic/international and peak/off-peak dates.

You're profile shows you in Glasgow (Scotland, I presume); I do not know if GoogleFlights and Kayak search algorithms will work differently for you, but they may.

Safe travels!

AAir_head

Maybe he's hoping to snag the tier points on the cheap?

guv1976

The best time to book is when Southwest or Frontier -- both of which fly this route -- has a sale. There's a decent chance that AA will match -- especially when Southwest has a sale.

Note that, unless you have oneworld status, a qualifying AA credit card, or plan to fly in Business Class, AA will charge extra if you will be checking baggage; all Southwest fares include two free checked bags.

donotblink

How does this actually work? I know revenue management has individual people responsible for each market. Do they just check loads/yields every day and also look at the competition and then file a new fare basis based on someone else's fare? Do they have some sort of automated approach for it?

MiamiAirport Formerly NY George

I'm sure that everything is internally controlled by algorithms and anything outside of a certain tolerance gets exported out to a human being that can adjust fares accordingly. I would assume that the algorithms also monitor competition again with outliers requiring actual human beings. The OP doesn't appear to have status and it's what a <500 mile flight. He'd be better off taking WN if he needs to check bags or just find a fare that looks reasonable and book it. LAS/PHX is not DFW/SYD.

ricktoronto

Still hasn't said what it costs now. So many people have a $179 fare and want to wait until it's $178.49

ryan182

Looking at random dates in March that flight can be as low as $57 round trip on Frontier (basic, no carry on), while AA has r/t fares for $107 next week...I mean how much cheaper do you think it could go?! This is a 1 hour flight with lots of options...not sure price shopping makes sense here.

AAir_head

If OP is trying to book as BA codeshare thru ba.com for the TPs, this might make more sense to me...

OP?