American is evil

Aww...... would you like a hug with that warm fuzzy feeling?

Darn! There goes the vibe!!:D

The lesson here from most of the posts is keep checking the prices on a regular basis, if you see a good deal, buy it.

The issue with waiting too long is MrsHammer is traveling with a group, so to guarantee good seats together you can't wait as long as you might if you were a solo traveler.

As for the question "why would you buy the tickets any earlier than you need to?" Some of us are hardwired with the "cross that off the check list gene" and we can't fully relax until that particular item has been completed. But I'm sure none of you suffer from that...

note that AS is a once-daily evening flight BNA-SEA, so you run the risk of having to take the next morning's flight to BZN in the event of a misconnect ... I can think of many worse places to be stuck overnight, but it's certainly not a desirable situation

same caveat for the return; the eastbound jet departs ~830am, so if there are issues (e.g., crew rest) with the 6am departure from BZN you'll have limited recovery options (AS might rebook on AA, but that partnership is also in flux)

I haven't yet been on one of Alaska's 737s in the new Premium Class configuration, but they should have most if not all the fleet done by next summer ... it seems that they're charging a ~$50 premium over coach on the mid-con routes

Yes, I would also agree that now is way too early to book flights this far out, I'd wait around three months before you plan on flying out because 900 is a lot for domestic, I could fly to Europe in the main cabin for less, or a first class seat from SEA-JFK for nearly the same price.

Way too early to book.

Three months from now, SDF-BZN (one-stop in MSP) is $600 each in C+

Important to note that three months from now (October) is very much Bozeman's low tourist season. Since the OP is looking at peak summer travel it would be prudent to begin looking a bit earlier.

One last word of advice to the OP, once you find a fare that is reasonable and affordable to you. Book it and don't look back. You will drive yourself nuts checking prices after the fact as there is nothing that can be done about it at that point.

AS can still place you on a DL flight in IRROPS. Same with AA. They just don't do the codeshare thing anymore. Also with regard to AA, the codeshares aren't ending, but the earnings in each other program are for non-codeshared flights.

If you want to be certain about having your family sit together, especially with an 11 yo, monitor the seating charts for the flights you want and book before you get closed out.

.....and then continue to monitor those seat assignments and watch for schedule changes. However, an 11 year old can sit alone on daytime flights and might enjoy the independence.

Also, remember the 24 hour (actually midnight the next day) free cancel period. When you do purchase tickets--not too early--watch prices until late evening the next day and then do not check further. Be happy about a fare you like and don't try to second guess yourself about whether you could have gotten a better deal by purchasing on a different day.