When to buy a plane ticket?
Guadeloupe, Canada, Thailand and Bangkok, Madeira, Nice, Toulouse, Lyon, Mauritius, New York, Reunion, Marseille, Calvi and Corsica...
Which destinations do you dream of? But buying a plane ticket?
When to buy plane tickets on the Internet.
This is the question that everyone asks when you want to go on vacation.
And the answer is not that obvious.
There are actually 3 different techniques you can adopt to book and pay for a cheaper plane ticket.
These techniques all have advantages and disadvantages.
Discover them below and choose the one that best suits you:
Benefits: you are guaranteed to have a plane ticket at a price close to the cheapest possible.
Disadvantages: not easy to plan a trip 6 months in advance! The chances of having to cancel your flight ticket are quite high.
From 6 to 9 months in advance, prices are at their lowest. Why ? Because airlines play on the probability that something prevents you from flying 9 months later.
It can be an illness, an accident, a personal event such as a marriage or death, or even a professional event such as a replacement that you absolutely must do or a conference that you cannot miss.
In short, in any case, this life event will force you to cancel your ticket. As a result, the company has a good chance of being able to sell your seat a second time! Now you understand why the prices are lower when you buy them months in advance.
Be aware that most airlines put their plane tickets on sale 1 year in advance, but not beyond.
For others, like most low cost airlines (EasyJet type), you cannot buy your ticket more than 6 months before departure.
So, if you do it too early, you won't be able to compare the price with the low cost companies! Which is still a shame. It is therefore best to inquire to see if the route in question is served by low-cost companies. If so, it is better to wait a bit.
Anyway, unless you are going during school holidays, there is not really any advantage in buying your ticket more than 6 months in advance.
Benefits: it's the cheapest period if you can't book 6 months in advance. There is also a much lower chance of having to cancel your ticket.
Disadvantages: prices are very fluctuating. To find the best price, it is necessary to check the prices every day early in the morning.
Serious studies have succeeded in demonstrating that it is really during this period that the price of plane tickets is the lowest. We talk about it here in this tip.
Be aware that during this period, price variations are significant, including between ticket comparators. So don't hesitate to compare the best comparators! We give you here the list of the best comparators.
Some comparators like Kayak or Algofly also allow you to see the history of price changes. This allows you to see if you are on a price peak or in a trough at time "t".
Benefits: it could be the jackpot...
Disadvantages: ... but also a big disappointment. And don't look for a miracle during school holidays (both for school holidays in France and for those in the country of arrival).
Be aware that the good deals are not necessarily on the sites that claim to be specialized in selling tickets at the last moment. So take a look at the comparators, but also on the sites of regular and low cost airlines.
To hit the jackpot, bet on a purchase on the penultimate day. In any case, if you want to find a good price, you have to know how to be flexible on the destination.
- Remember to buy your ticket during the week and more particularly Tuesday early in the morning . As a general rule, plane tickets are cheaper on Tuesdays, then on Wednesdays and finally on Thursdays. You can expect price increases the rest of the week.
- Be on the lookout for big price drops. Sometimes prices drop for no apparent reason. It could be due to a cancellation of a group, but also a new plane chartered for this date, etc.
In any case, if you want to take advantage of this drop, it is important to create an alert prices on flight comparators. It is best to create an alert 3 to 4 months before your departure date.
These tips are effective for all companies and low cost flight comparators or not:Air France, French Bee, Air Corsica, Air Canada, Ryan Air, Eseayjet, Volotea, Go Voyage, Opodo, Skyscanner, Liligo, Trivago...
And you, what is your technique for booking and buying the cheapest possible ticket? Share your techniques in the comments. We can't wait to read you!
