kisumu blues.
May 2, 2011 5:30 PM Subscribe
Air fare is silly high right now. I'm planning to go abroad in August for about six months; help me strategize on ticket costs...
I went for two weeks to Kenya in December and it cost about $1200 for the tickets. I'm looking right now at going again, from August - March(?), and it looks like ticket prices are at about $2200... Holy price spike, batman!
Q1: How far out must one buy tickets to get a significant early-bird effect?
Q2: What's the probability that fares might decline significantly before the answer to Q1?
FWIW, I prefer Delta or affiliates (including KLM and Kenya Air), since I have a small mountain of miles with them from the last time I went to Kenya...
I went for two weeks to Kenya in December and it cost about $1200 for the tickets. I'm looking right now at going again, from August - March(?), and it looks like ticket prices are at about $2200... Holy price spike, batman!
Q1: How far out must one buy tickets to get a significant early-bird effect?
Q2: What's the probability that fares might decline significantly before the answer to Q1?
FWIW, I prefer Delta or affiliates (including KLM and Kenya Air), since I have a small mountain of miles with them from the last time I went to Kenya...
If you want help with finding a good air fare, it might help to tell us what airport you're leaving from.
posted by John Cohen at 6:07 PM on May 2, 2011
posted by John Cohen at 6:07 PM on May 2, 2011
Response by poster: Ah, I'm likely leaving from SFO, though it's really quite feasible to do something like fly to Boston or Paris to hit some targets-of-opportunity as need be...
posted by kaibutsu at 7:48 PM on May 2, 2011
posted by kaibutsu at 7:48 PM on May 2, 2011
Nthing John Cohen- and remember, just punching in "me -> kenya" into a flight search thing might not get you the right price.
An example: melbourne -> canada = 2,000. (ouch) BUT! fly Melbourne->Sydney->Hawaii->Canada = much, much cheaper.
If you're USAian, try looking at what it would cost to get to Kenya from- Paris? Madrid? London? Other hub closer than where you are?
The other thing to keep in mind is seasonal variation. The August bit might be hitting Northern hemisphere summer travellers peak.
Yeah. The secret is sitting down with a map, a calendar, and a few flight search engines. It takes time. :)
posted by titanium_geek at 7:52 PM on May 2, 2011
An example: melbourne -> canada = 2,000. (ouch) BUT! fly Melbourne->Sydney->Hawaii->Canada = much, much cheaper.
If you're USAian, try looking at what it would cost to get to Kenya from- Paris? Madrid? London? Other hub closer than where you are?
The other thing to keep in mind is seasonal variation. The August bit might be hitting Northern hemisphere summer travellers peak.
Yeah. The secret is sitting down with a map, a calendar, and a few flight search engines. It takes time. :)
posted by titanium_geek at 7:52 PM on May 2, 2011
Response by poster: Thanks, ChrisHartley for the ITA link; it's already proving helpful. And thanks also for the August travel density consideration; that hadn't occurred to me.
posted by kaibutsu at 8:16 PM on May 2, 2011
posted by kaibutsu at 8:16 PM on May 2, 2011
Flying to and from the US in the summer is often going to be more expensive than off-season.
Kayak Buzz can be really helpful for searches where you don't need exact dates. Choose SFO as departure city and "Africa" as destination, with August as your departure date, and you'll see some interesting options pop up -- notably, $1642 to Kenya.
You can also sign up for an account with Kayak and track tickets to Kenya and get fare alerts.
posted by bluedaisy at 11:14 PM on May 2, 2011
Kayak Buzz can be really helpful for searches where you don't need exact dates. Choose SFO as departure city and "Africa" as destination, with August as your departure date, and you'll see some interesting options pop up -- notably, $1642 to Kenya.
You can also sign up for an account with Kayak and track tickets to Kenya and get fare alerts.
posted by bluedaisy at 11:14 PM on May 2, 2011
Oh, and definitely check for an LAX departure: I just saw a round trip flight of $860 for LAX to Nairobi--and certainly you can hop down to LA for a few hundred bucks.
posted by bluedaisy at 11:19 PM on May 2, 2011
posted by bluedaisy at 11:19 PM on May 2, 2011
Sorry for the multiple answers, but there isn't really an early bird discount for buying early. Airlines match other airlines' prices, and fill up seats at the last minute. But don't expect to buy early and save. I think those days are long gone.
posted by bluedaisy at 11:20 PM on May 2, 2011
posted by bluedaisy at 11:20 PM on May 2, 2011
I guess you're right, bluedaisy, the ye olde days of buy early, get a great discount are long gone. But if you're flying a budget airline, the cheapest tickets will go the quickest. (Not so relevant for international travel, but worth considering.)
posted by titanium_geek at 4:16 AM on May 3, 2011
posted by titanium_geek at 4:16 AM on May 3, 2011
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by ChrisHartley at 5:43 PM on May 2, 2011