When to book flights?

diasal

Hi we are looking to book flights to Delhi for march 2009 ,when should we start looking and is it better to book early,which airline should we be looking at?

dhans

Normally as early as possible, unlike the good old days where last minutes were often the cheapest, nowadyas this tends to be the other way around. Look around for bottum fares, and if you see one that's is near the bottum: book it!

Hans

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camelgirl

I think 6 months before the flight is soon enough. March is the hot season so you might get pretty good deals. Peak travel to India is Nov. through Feb. and that's when prices are usually highest.

I would not book 11 months in advance. I've never seen a good deal that far out. Of course, my information probably relates more to the USA. Maybe it's different in the UK.

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The_Londoner

March is peak season so book early.. If you're ok about stopover, try Emirates and Gulf. These are good value airlines to India from the UK. Also try Jetairways. To get best deals, call some Indian Travel agents in the UK. There are couple in London.

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camelgirl

That's really interesting to me. Why is March peak from London? Do alot of NRIs go back? I'm not doubting you, it's just a surprise to me. As my earlier post said, highest prices are in winter from here.

Baba

Know that you can book most flights 330 days in advance. As this concerns both legs, it depends a bit on how long you intend to stay. Do book as soon as possible.
I was a bit late for my Christmas trip and so I fly out on a friday and back on a monday: the weekend dates I wanted were already far more expensive...

As for airlines it all depends on two things: flying times and routing - the latter more than the first. I have developed a strong dislike for certain airports (in the middle of the night) and thus pay top rates...

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Nick-H

If you look at BA's prices, Christmas is peak season from London. It certainly is to Southern India, on account of the combination of European holidays and S. Indian 'winter'. If you want to spend Christmas here, book as soon as you possibly can!

Maybe March is peak for some other part of India?

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nycank

Baba ettentially answered your question - 330 days before you wanna return. 330 is a key frequentflyers use to snag RT award tickets since these tickets are capacity controlled and calling on the midnight+1minute on 330 days ensures one gets an award ticket; specially if one wants Business/First tickets.