How far in advance will airfare differ?
 

Frequent traveler but would appreciate your thoughts here...

Planning a trip from the US to Europe in early August. I've heard that fares are essentially "rack-rates" until 90 days before and that there's no benefit (besides an unexpected massive hit of demand) to booking ahead of 90 days before the departure date (ie 120 days vs 90 days).

Flights from the US - Europe are always expensive in August, I realize. But any expectations, ways to anticipate or things to wait for to see if the fares drop?

Right now the best I'm finding for my destination (Ibiza) is roughly $1200 US.

Thanks.

Airlines don't generally offer extra-low fares until they have a good enough handle on how a specific flight is selling to know that they'll have to. Too few people book more than 90 or so days out to know this. There is no fixed rule as to exactly when it happens, or if it does at all.

To places like Ibiza, look into booking one flight to London (or another European hub with enough service for competition to keep fares within reason) and a second from there on. For the second leg, check both low-cost European carriers and your favorite alliance's program for intra-European tickets bought in conjunction with a trans-Atlantic flight. Both often offer savings over a ticket direct to your destination.

Although this may generally be true, my own experience suggests that the best (and sometimes the only) way to get the lowest fares is to check your dates/routing everyday starting the day tickets go on sale (typically 331 days in advance).

There are certain leisure trips Mrs. MileKing and I make annually for which we start looking for tickets the first day tickets go on sale. In many cases, good fares pop-up for a day or two many months out and then are gone. In fact, most of my advance purchases are in the 4-10 month out range. I continue checking prices after I buy tickets and in numerous cases the prices simply do not come down. Know the regular "rack" fares on a route, check everyday, and when you see a great price, jump on it.