SteveF

If it's within the HR limit now then I'd make sure that I have it in writing that I asked for the tickets to be booked now and that if the company wants to delay booking then any overspend is at their risk.

T8191

Nothing wrong with the OP booking now if the price is acceptable.

We usually book 10 months or so ahead ... If the price is right. I'm just hanging on a May booking in the hopes of a sale later this month.

DrGee

If I've got a trip planned well in advance then I generally like to get the seats purchased around 10 or 11 months beforehand so I'd suggest that there isn't a problem with booking well ahead as long as the price is right.

For instance, I'm in the process of organising a fixed date LHR-SEA-LHR and flydrive for a group of 3 of us in September next year. I'll be looking at the prices in October with a view to booking around then. There is a suggestion that I should hang on for a sale though. But when is that likely to occur? I'd be grateful for any suggestions.

SteveF

You'll hear about it here first. Probably...

HIDDY

Yes you'd think the earlier you booked the cheaper it would be even in Y. However that's a bit of a myth perpetrated by late bookers who claim they subsidise the ticket of every other person on the plane.

A BA ticket from EZE to LHR leaving in the next couple of weeks is cheaper than one leaving in 11 months time.

DaveNCL

If the price and flights are right for you then why not?

I was looking at Tokyo in March and was expecting to have to do Ex-EU therefore at least 6 flights from NCL for the full trip. I ended up getting a good deal through AMS with no need for a positioning flight.

Ironically this was £400 cheaper than the other J fares I had been looking at. It took me 2 days to book partly I believe because I had done so much looking around I didn't realise it was a good deal. I stopped looking around at prices and took stock of my options before I thought "why the hell have I not booked this".

Sure sales might reduce the fare a little but I'm happy paying what I did and most importantly I can start arranging hotels and it's a weight off my mind.

AdamUK

I'm looking at next May LGW-MCO for some friends, departing the week before half-term but it's about £775, which to me is quite high?

BA0197

Tbh, here is my personal opinion (and 1.5 years of working in the airline business) experience- for Summer holidays, it is best to book late Jan-early Feb.

Right now, BA have truly not added the lowest fare prices (O class, T class, I class). Don't forget, BA are still in the process of securing the summer schedule and, as a result, make the fares relatively expensive comparatively to cover their cost of flight changes. Also, late Jan-Feb time is usually a very slow time for the airlines and most typically (including BA for the past few years) offer their cheapest fares of the year during this time for the summer season (to encourage booking, as people usually do not book summer holidays until April at the earliest).

To give you an example, in Y class, when I booked last year around this time for my regular LHR-IAH return, I paid £456 (O-class). At the moment for the same dates of return BA has not loaded O-class fares this far in advance and is offering an N-class fare at £813. Thing is, even the N-class fares will be cheaper if one books in the early new year.

My general rules:
For summer (Longhaul) -book late Jan/Feb
For Christmas (longhaul)- book around now- Aug/Oct
For all shorthaul- book 2 months in advance if possible

Of course all fares are season dependent (although less so in shorthaul).

Saying that, if you are getting a corporate discount on a flight- I know for a fact that corporate fares are 99% of the time a set price, regardless of time of booking/season. So if you are booking through a coporate contract, there is no point in waiting.

BA0197

Yes it is, I personally would follow the rules I've posted above. With your sepecific flights they have not released the cheapest tickets in Y class yet (O class) and BA is only selling a reltively expensive non-flexible N class ticket- refer here for the fare structure-

http://flyerguide.com/Booking_Classes_(BA)

People tend to want to book their entire year's worth of flights in the summer (and BA know this) so they take advantage of the "buy" aspect in consumers during this time. I promise, if you take a look at the flights in October/November/Jan/Feb, the flights will be considerably cheaper. I would expect less than £500 for a LGW-MCO/TPA flight during that time if booked correctly.

CarolynUK

Ive just booked next year's late spring break to Antigua this week!

Going early may 2015, I got return tickets in WT+ and a week's AI at a 4-5* hotel for £500 less than I paid for the same trip this year - booking 10 weeks or so ahead... and this year it was WT out and WT+ return

AdamUK

Thank you! ^^

BA0197

This is an interesting point and I could quite see how this could happen. I personally do not do holiday routes and regularly visit IAH (and airport that is very much a business destination). Consequently, fares are often booked last minute, therefore cheap fares remain available during the times I've stated above.

However, on leisure routes, I could quite see all the holidaymakers booking their holiday relatively far in advance (and pay with down-payments and the like) therefore, holiday routes such as ANU might not work with my above analysis. Fact is, if BA do sell quite a lot of tickets early, they may not feel in necessary to open up lower fare classes to manage capacity and obtain high yields. If I may ask, what fare classes are the flights booked into? I still highly doubt they are the cheapest in the cabin. I still firmly believe that if BA DID decide to open up cheaper fare classes, one gets a much better deal booking in NOV/JAN/FEB.

BA5E

Brain is having a senior moment, m no understand!!! give me your comment please in simple language

CarolynUK

how would I find out which fare class my tickets are in?

Im just happy to have got myself a considerably better deal than I got this year - and as a returning guest to the hotel - will also get a free bottle of champers and a free massage in the spa!

BA0197

Usually in MMB (Manage My Booking), if you click on the flight segment, it will enlarge to show more flight details. Then in the lower right hand side of the details there is a phrase that says something along the lines of "More flight information". This will open up a pop up window and the last row in the pop up window ill say "Selling Class". This letter is the booking fare class.