When to buy tickets from Boston to Paris for the week after Christmas?

May 5, 2023 7:05 PM

What's the best time to buy tickets from Boston to Paris for Tuesday, Dec. 26 to Monday, Jan. 1?

Currently they are about $1200 with one stop or no stops. Is that likely to get any better this year?

Thanks for any advice!

posted by wenestvedt to Travel & Transportation (8 answers total)

Nope. That's the most expense time of year to travel internationally. You can't know for sure but I doubt it will go lower and it will probably go up. Probably the only way to save money is to fly on the 25th or 31st instead.
posted by emd3737 at 7:14 PM on May 5, 2023 [3 favorites]

The Points Guy says: "For international trips, we recommend starting to monitor prices 6-7 months in advance and expect to book 3-5 months in advance."

But $1200 for round trip? At Christmas?! BOOK IT NOW. I just this week paid about $2k for October.
posted by intermod at 7:26 PM on May 5, 2023 [4 favorites]

According to the Hopper app:

Current lowest price: $1053

Prices will vary over the next 5 months, dropping as low as $655.
Prices will probably rise about $65 after October 2.
Prices are expected to climb at least $333 after November 30.
posted by mezzanayne at 7:30 PM on May 5, 2023 [1 favorite]

My relatives with European family always fly on Christmas itself, which means late evening from the East coast. They say the prices are lowest on December 25. I don't know if you can make that work, but it might be worth a search to compare costs.
posted by citygirl at 8:11 PM on May 5, 2023 [2 favorites]

yeah, I was going to suggest The Hopper. Can be an annoying app, but it is useful in helping determine when the best time to buy based on historical data and trends. I usually open the app only when I am actively searching and then deleting my search and the app when I am done until the next time I am traveling.
posted by terrapin at 7:51 AM on May 6, 2023

While I’ve never applied this principle to an international flight, in general I’ve found that Christmas Day is the most pleasant day of the year to travel.
posted by staggernation at 7:53 AM on May 6, 2023

Nthing the suggestion to fly on Christmas Day. You are doing almost exactly my own itinerary for my first visit (only I flew out of JFK and my return was on the 2nd); I flew out Christmas Day and allowed for a connecting flight through Chicago, and that cut the price considerably. (Every other Christmas I'm on my own and that's what I did with myself that year.)
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 12:42 PM on May 6, 2023 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: For future searchers, the prices dropped all summer, and now in September they continue to drop. It's frustrating, but I console myself with the fact that we didn't buy at the peak, and having tickets in hand gave us the certainty to book an AirBnB and begin making the rest of our plans.

So what I learned is: no one can predict airline prices.
posted by wenestvedt at 12:35 PM on September 21, 2023