What Time Do New Flights Go On Sale?
May 25, 22, 7:38 am
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Nov 2018
Posts: 16
What Time Do New Flights Go On Sale?
Tomorrow (5/26) will be the first day that I can buy flights that I need for next year in April. Does anyone know what time the flights open up? Is it midnight? I am usually up early around 5:30 AM and usually the new flights are open at that time. I just want to be as quick as possible because its an expensive time to fly due to school vacations.
May 25, 22, 10:42 am
#2
Join Date: Dec 2021
Programs: AAdvantage, SkyMiles, TrueBlue
Posts: 59
It's actually a misnomer that the farther out you buy flights, the cheaper they are. You typically shouldn't buy flights right when they come out for sale. Most airlines automatically put flights in the most expensive fare they can when they go out for sale until an analyst has time to decide the inventory setup (fare distribution) for the flight.
JFK to MCO on JetBlue, all flights for 4/7/22 to 4/16 are in JetBlue's most expensive fare bucket.
That being said, it should be at midnight.
JFK to MCO on JetBlue, all flights for 4/7/22 to 4/16 are in JetBlue's most expensive fare bucket.
That being said, it should be at midnight.
May 25, 22, 11:27 am
#3
Join Date: Feb 2019
Location: Syracuse, NY
Programs: JetBlue
Posts: 69
Originally Posted by mbg1998
It's actually a misnomer that the farther out you buy flights, the cheaper they are. You typically shouldn't buy flights right when they come out for sale. Most airlines automatically put flights in the most expensive fare they can when they go out for sale until an analyst has time to decide the inventory setup (fare distribution) for the flight.
JFK to MCO on JetBlue, all flights for 4/7/22 to 4/16 are in JetBlue's most expensive fare bucket.
That being said, it should be at midnight.
JFK to MCO on JetBlue, all flights for 4/7/22 to 4/16 are in JetBlue's most expensive fare bucket.
That being said, it should be at midnight.
That's not really true. I'm looking at some pretty cheap flights for where I go march and april 2023 in the neighborhood of 12,000 - 30,000 points. Same flights now in the short term are 60,000 - 136,000 points which I would never pay. The sweet spots for good prices are far out or last minute when they start to panic if the flights aren't full. In between be prepared to get screwed.
May 25, 22, 6:24 pm
#4
Join Date: Sep 2011
Programs: Delta DM, Hilton Diamond
Posts: 1,376
Originally Posted by Jimval26
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That's not really true. I'm looking at some pretty cheap flights for where I go march and april 2023 in the neighborhood of 12,000 - 30,000 points. Same flights now in the short term are 60,000 - 136,000 points which I would never pay. The sweet spots for good prices are far out or last minute when they start to panic if the flights aren't full. In between be prepared to get screwed.
That's not really true. I'm looking at some pretty cheap flights for where I go march and april 2023 in the neighborhood of 12,000 - 30,000 points. Same flights now in the short term are 60,000 - 136,000 points which I would never pay. The sweet spots for good prices are far out or last minute when they start to panic if the flights aren't full. In between be prepared to get screwed.
May 26, 22, 6:52 am
#5
Join Date: Dec 2021
Programs: AAdvantage, SkyMiles, TrueBlue
Posts: 59
Originally Posted by Jimval26
.
That's not really true. I'm looking at some pretty cheap flights for where I go march and april 2023 in the neighborhood of 12,000 - 30,000 points. Same flights now in the short term are 60,000 - 136,000 points which I would never pay. The sweet spots for good prices are far out or last minute when they start to panic if the flights aren't full. In between be prepared to get screwed.
That's not really true. I'm looking at some pretty cheap flights for where I go march and april 2023 in the neighborhood of 12,000 - 30,000 points. Same flights now in the short term are 60,000 - 136,000 points which I would never pay. The sweet spots for good prices are far out or last minute when they start to panic if the flights aren't full. In between be prepared to get screwed.
Originally Posted by Billy Mumphrey
My rule of thumb for holidays or other periods of peak demand, book as early as possible. Fares almost never go down and almost always go up from when they first go on sale. For other times it's just a gamble, could go up or down depending on demand.
Jimval26 Mostly, actually, systems have found fares that follow a "u" shape, where the 5-7 months out is cheaper, to be optimal, not the "n" shape you describe, where the cheaper flights are on the ends of the spectrum.
May 26, 22, 8:34 am
#6
Join Date: Feb 2019
Location: Syracuse, NY
Programs: JetBlue
Posts: 69
Originally Posted by mbg1998
Shoot, I forgot that I learned nothing from my long tenure in revenue management optimization for various legacy carriers Jimval26 Mostly, actually, systems have found fares that follow a "u" shape, where the 5-7 months out is cheaper, to be optimal, not the "n" shape you describe, where the cheaper flights are on the ends of the spectrum.
Jimval26 Mostly, actually, systems have found fares that follow a "u" shape, where the 5-7 months out is cheaper, to be optimal, not the "n" shape you describe, where the cheaper flights are on the ends of the spectrum.
May 26, 22, 8:59 am
#7
Join Date: Dec 2021
Programs: AAdvantage, SkyMiles, TrueBlue
Posts: 59
Originally Posted by Jimval26
Shoot I forgot that I have been watching and tracking jetblue flights from/to the same destination everyday since 2019. I guess "management" wins over real life experience.
Generally though, many sources agree not to buy your flights right when they come out. Have you found that not to be the case in certain regions? For my own curiosity!
https://scottscheapflights.com/guide...-book-a-flight
Booking a ticket too early in that window can be an expensive mistake—second only in cost to booking at the last minute
For domestic trips, pricing is elevated when tickets are first released, about a year before the flight. Per CheapAir.com, those prices will slowly creep downward, all the way to their lowest point sometime between 95 and 21 days (roughly three months to three weeks) before the flight, after which you'll likely see that last-minute spike in cost.
