Quote:
Originally Posted by RW99
I have a quick question as an infrequent flyer. When is it the best time to buy a flight to the US? Is it immediate or 4-6 weeks out, etc? Do I buy now or later because of the dollar. It would be near the end of this coming winter.
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It really doesn't seem like the currency fluctuation has had that much impact on prices of U.S. destinations. At least not yet. A Calgary - Los Angeles flight that was $400 CAD/$347 USD when the exchange was 1.15 is now simply priced at $400 CAD/$307 USD, now that the exchange is 1.30.
It may have had some impact on Canada - Hawaii prices, which have been noticeably cheaper by historical standards for a while. But that could also just be the high level of competition. Haven't really noticed anywhere else in the U.S. that's had noticeably cheaper prices.
But if the 1.30+ exchange continues, you would have to think it would certainly impact the demand for popular U.S. leisure destinations from Canadians at some point.
It really isn't possible to predict the precise best time to book (until it's in hindsight), but in general, you're usually safe watching prices up until about 8-10 weeks before departure, other than for dates that have unusually high demand.
If you see a noticeable price drop during that timeframe, I would pull the trigger. After the 8-10 weeks out mark, the odds of prices rising can start to outweigh the odds of a price drop.
For the most part, airfares are priced very efficiently.
A bit more on the 'best time to buy' myth can be found under Myth #4 in this article:
"Travel Booking Myths That Just Won't Die"
http://yycdeals.com/travel-booking-m...-just-wont-die