Flight Avaliability and when to book for low fares?
 

Hi

I am going to be in the US next year in March into April and am looking to fly from DEN to GRR during that time. I looked at Southwest but there are no flights after the beginning of January. Have they stopped flying this route after this date?

Thanks

Schedule is currently thru JAN 6, 2019

Actually, if you look online, there are no flights ANYWHERE past the current schedule which is Jan 6th. They do not put them up as far in advance as some airlines do. This allows them to be flexible and make operational changes easier.

Ah ok I see. Thanks for that, so when would be the best time to book to get the best price?

Most say to book the day the schedule is release and then re-fare when/if prices drop (I use TripIt Pro to alert me to price drops).

Since the OP does not seem to live in the US and will probably never be able to use any travel funds, most people find the best fares at around 4-8 weeks out, unless travel is taking place at a holiday or large event.

Best time to book?
 

Hi,

SO I am looking to fly from DEN to GRR on 31st March one way. The availability has just came on. There is a direct flight at 11.15am for $196. Is this likely to come down any lower than this? If so when is likely to be the best time to book it?

Thnaks for your help :)

Being Southwest, go ahead and buy. You can always rebook at a lower fare and hold the difference for a year from now. Unless you never fly Southwest that is the best strategy.

Using the Low fare Calendar it looks like the lowest fare for a Sunday is $146. Your fare is already being pushed up by previous sales (Spring Breakers?) so is unlikely to drop much further.

Weekends fit into a special Southwest bucket, different than weekday flying. Unless there is a sudden fare sale for Grand Rapids I wouldn't expect much of a decline in Sunday fares.

If you have any WN points the fare is only 13000 points. Buying with points insulates you from fare changes, since unused points come back to you.

Buy it now. But remember, the refund clock starts the day you buy, not the day you fly.

WN typically charges less for direct flights than for connections, but YMMV.

Buy now...no significant downside. I find that +/- six weeks out generally yields the cheapest fares on a variety of routes.

Thanks for your advice guys. As far as changing the booking if there is a cheaper fare later, I am Visiting the US from the UK so probably wouldn't use the difference again which is why I am trying to get the cheapest fare possible.

If you look at each month in the fare calendar, you can probably get a sense of what normal rates are for the route. If $146 is on the lower side, chances are it won't go down much more. But you never know.