When do airfare prices drop (if ever)?

Airlines don’t “set” prices like that. In 2020, everything is controlled by computer algorithms that absolutely no one knows any inside information about. Prices fluctuate as often as hourly, based on information that no one is privy to. Trying to determine what time of day, day of the week, month of year, etc. is best for booking the lowest airline price is truly a fruitless exercise.

Some people will claim they know exactly when the book, but their one or two proof points do not actually mean anything that’s able to be extrapolated over airfare as a whole.
 
I second ITA Matrix as the greatest site for looking for fares. One thing to remember....Southwest is only allowing bookings through August 10. According to their site, they'll open more dates on March 12. This could lead to lower fares across the board as more capacity is suddenly available.

The matrix and google flights are total proof that you don't need to clear cookies when looking for flights. They won't be more expensive for you on an airline website than you can see on either of those pages. If you see fares go up, they're up for everyone, not just you since you went back to an airline site. I work on a computer, so when I'm looking for a flight, even if it's 6 months out, I'm refreshing the page on ITA Matrix every other hour or so while I'm working. I was looking for flights from Newark or Philadelphia to the LA area for August and bought flights last week when United dropped their price....5 times in 48 hours, from $195 to $140 one way...then down to $120 after four $5 drops. Would have been about $90 for basic economy, but I won't deal with that. I cancelled (within 24 hours of purchase) with no fees and rebooked their $5 drop each time. None of the other airlines matched, so the prices went back up the next day.

Bottom line....look OFTEN on ITA Matrix and always for just ONE flyer. Play around with the different parameters and sort options in the results. You never know when the drop you need will hit and you need to be ready when it does....then keep looking for the next 24 hours to see if you can improve your tickets. If you need 4 tickets and the airline has 3 available at $150 and the 4th would be $180, make two sets of reservations. If you put all 4 on one reservation, you'll pay $180 apiece for all four people. That's why you always want to search for one to start.

Good luck!!
 
I second ITA Matrix as the greatest site for looking for fares. One thing to remember....Southwest is only allowing bookings through August 10. According to their site, they'll open more dates on March 12. This could lead to lower fares across the board as more capacity is suddenly available.

The matrix and google flights are total proof that you don't need to clear cookies when looking for flights. They won't be more expensive for you on an airline website than you can see on either of those pages. If you see fares go up, they're up for everyone, not just you since you went back to an airline site. I work on a computer, so when I'm looking for a flight, even if it's 6 months out, I'm refreshing the page on ITA Matrix every other hour or so while I'm working. I was looking for flights from Newark or Philadelphia to the LA area for August and bought flights last week when United dropped their price....5 times in 48 hours, from $195 to $140 one way...then down to $120 after four $5 drops. Would have been about $90 for basic economy, but I won't deal with that. I cancelled (within 24 hours of purchase) with no fees and rebooked their $5 drop each time. None of the other airlines matched, so the prices went back up the next day.

Bottom line....look OFTEN on ITA Matrix and always for just ONE flyer. Play around with the different parameters and sort options in the results. You never know when the drop you need will hit and you need to be ready when it does....then keep looking for the next 24 hours to see if you can improve your tickets. If you need 4 tickets and the airline has 3 available at $150 and the 4th would be $180, make two sets of reservations. If you put all 4 on one reservation, you'll pay $180 apiece for all four people. That's why you always want to search for one to start.

Good luck!!
I believe google flights is the same as ITA Matrix (they bought ITA maybe?). I think google is a better UI.
 


I second ITA Matrix as the greatest site for looking for fares. One thing to remember....Southwest is only allowing bookings through August 10. According to their site, they'll open more dates on March 12. This could lead to lower fares across the board as more capacity is suddenly available.

The matrix and google flights are total proof that you don't need to clear cookies when looking for flights. They won't be more expensive for you on an airline website than you can see on either of those pages. If you see fares go up, they're up for everyone, not just you since you went back to an airline site. I work on a computer, so when I'm looking for a flight, even if it's 6 months out, I'm refreshing the page on ITA Matrix every other hour or so while I'm working. I was looking for flights from Newark or Philadelphia to the LA area for August and bought flights last week when United dropped their price....5 times in 48 hours, from $195 to $140 one way...then down to $120 after four $5 drops. Would have been about $90 for basic economy, but I won't deal with that. I cancelled (within 24 hours of purchase) with no fees and rebooked their $5 drop each time. None of the other airlines matched, so the prices went back up the next day.

Bottom line....look OFTEN on ITA Matrix and always for just ONE flyer. Play around with the different parameters and sort options in the results. You never know when the drop you need will hit and you need to be ready when it does....then keep looking for the next 24 hours to see if you can improve your tickets. If you need 4 tickets and the airline has 3 available at $150 and the 4th would be $180, make two sets of reservations. If you put all 4 on one reservation, you'll pay $180 apiece for all four people. That's why you always want to search for one to star
 


Are you able to fly Southwest? I would be ready to book on March 12th when Southwest releases their flight (meaning- on the computer waiting for them to release as early as 7 am or as late as 10:30ish). I've found SW to be the cheapest as soon as they are released. We booked SW PVD to MCO end of July at release and the prices have already increased by $300 each Roundtrip ticket.
 
I believe google flights is the same as ITA Matrix (they bought ITA maybe?). I think google is a better UI.

They use the same engine and ITA mentions that Google is faster, which it is. Google definitely has a better UI for the average user. What you can do with ITA is search using more parameters than you can with Google and then filter the results in so many ways. I'm searching from 5 airports when I look at ITA and often to more than one airport. I want all the information and I can only get that using ITA.
 
They use the same engine and ITA mentions that Google is faster, which it is. Google definitely has a better UI for the average user. What you can do with ITA is search using more parameters than you can with Google and then filter the results in so many ways. I'm searching from 5 airports when I look at ITA and often to more than one airport. I want all the information and I can only get that using ITA.
Really? I've set up searches on Google using three source airports and three destination airports. I also like (maybe ITA does this, I don't remember it) being able to put in "watches" in Google, even with the multiple airports. That's actually how I scored international RT tix for $650 when they had been running $1200+. It was less than a 36 hour sale.
 
Really? I've set up searches on Google using three source airports and three destination airports. I also like (maybe ITA does this, I don't remember it) being able to put in "watches" in Google, even with the multiple airports. That's actually how I scored international RT tix for $650 when they had been running $1200+. It was less than a 36 hour sale.
Sounds like Google works for what you need. Stick with it.
 
Sounds like Google works for what you need. Stick with it.
Sorry, I wasn't trying to say it's better, but let you know Google has the capability to search multiple airports. I thought that might be helpful to you (and others). Does ITA give you the capability to save a search?
 
Sorry, I wasn't trying to say it's better, but let you know Google has the capability to search multiple airports. I thought that might be helpful to you (and others). Does ITA give you the capability to save a search?
No offense was taken. ITA saves your most recent searches by default. You can't ask it to alert you about price drops. Need Google for that. I know Google makes it easy to put in multiple airports. ITA does too and you can vary the range to see how far the other airports are. I can look on multiple days around the date I think I want to go - I can add in one day earlier, one day later, +/- one day, +/- 2 days. The results all appear in one list, where I can start filtering and customizing the results in more ways than I can on Google. I want to know all my options when I have to connect, not just what Google tells me is the best flight. I can see the fare class in the flight details, so I can avoid the American "B", United "N" and Delta "E" fares, I know I'll be paying more since I don't want those "basic economy" fares. I want to pick our seats in advance and need the main cabin or equivalent fare. It's often $30-$35 more than the base, but American is the exception.

Anyone reading this should play around with a set of dates in ITA Matrix. You might not feel you need all the complexities it offers on a daily basis, but knowing what's available when you need more than Google is fantastic and could make your trip a better one.
 

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