NY in December, When to buy ticket

[millie2112]

Hi all

I am wanting to go to NY in December 9th until 22nd
I would like to fly (on 9th) to LA. Leave LA on the 15th. Spend 15th - 22nd in NY and then fly back home.

Is it too early to book and pay for a ticket.
Qantas is the cheapest at the moment($1900) and I am not sure if to go ahead.

any help would be appreciated.
thank you

 

[drron]

Unfortunately experience here has told me that no one has a crystal ball that works accurately.However december is high season in NYC and for Aussies flying to the States so it quite possibly will be as good as you get.However if the economy has a second dip this year all bets will be off.
Now AA also has a deal at the moment flying one way via NRT and the other direct.It is slightly cheaper than the QF price.Flying via NRT to JFK adds about 4 hours to the elapsed time but you miss doing customs etc in LA-and that could be worth it.
Early december still has all the chrissy decorations etc in NYC so would you put LA at the end of the trip?
Personally this is where I use a TA-book this price,have it on hold and pay 6 weeks out unless something better comes up.
And welcome to AFF and enjoy your trip.

 

[tuppaware]

I got told by a Student flights guy that everything is released upto March then from then they start on sales for Dec.

It seems April might be the sweet spot to book?

 

[millie2112]

Thank you very much for your replies
I was thinking about end of March too.
Its just that there are 3 of us and it gets quite expensive.
Plus last year I got a bit stung with airfare to Paris. Bought it in January thinking we had a great deal with Cathay and then by the time we left (June) the price dropped.
So I don't want to repeat the same mistake.

 

[Alanslegal]

For a peak month like December I would anticipate that fares AUS-NYC would unlikely drop much further below the current $1,900 return mark. For me, this would be a fair and reasonable price to pay for this time, and I would be happy to purchase that at this price. However, having said that, you could wait for a sale - hope that it gets closer to $1,500 at best imo - but also take a risk that it may nudge up even further.

I know friends who have bought AUS-NYC return fares in Y for close to $3k for the same period last year.

 

[Alanslegal]

Plus last year I got a bit stung with airfare to Paris. Bought it in January thinking we had a great deal with Cathay and then by the time we left (June) the price dropped.
So I don't want to repeat the same mistake.

welcome to AFF millie2112

there is no mistakes in when to purchase a fare. you were happy with the fare at the time of transaction, 'thinking it was a great deal' at the time but as it turns out, the fare dropped, but that is part of the game when booking airfares.

often you will hear people ask rhetorically; 'what if the fares went UP?' so if the fares did go up what do you thnk should happen, how would you feel if the airlines asked you to fork out the difference etc.

anyway, hope you find that deal and enjoy your trip to NYC.

 

[millie2112]

Re: NY in December, When to buy ticket(an UPdate)

Hi
thanks to those that answered my query last time I posted.
I really wanted to hold out until March/April for those tickets to NYC on 9th of Dec until 22nd.
However, just attended the Travel Expo in Melbourne and Qantas was advertising the fare I wanted for $1790 flying out of Melbourne on the 8th of December. stopping in LA and then flying to NYC on the 15th. Flying out of NYC to Melbourne on the 22nd.

I thought it was a pretty good deal. So have booked and will be paying in 2 days time.

I myself do not know when is the best time to book. But now I have it out of the way and can start saving for the accomodation & spending money!!!!

 

[ric_melb]

And if flying Qantas make sure you are signed up for Qantas Frequent Flyer, to get points.