When is the best time to buy New Year's tickets?
Perhaps we won't be telling you anything new if we say "the earlier, the better." The other question is how quickly prices rise and for which destinations demand exceeds supply.
First, decide where you'd like to go. Yes, making plans in advance is difficult, we understand. But it's one of two things – either you sit down, think everything through, and buy in advance, or you drag your feet and overpay at best 60%-70% of the regular ticket price.
Tickets within Russia increase in price the least. Asia is in second place (a ticket to Vietnam, Thailand, or Indonesia will increase by an average of 50%). The cost of tickets for Christmas holidays in Europe will skyrocket, if not to the heavens, then very close to them – colorfully decorated Prague, Vienna, Paris, and other European capitals attract tourists like a magnet during the New Year holidays, hence the law of supply and demand – those who didn't make it in time, missed out. Or they also made it, but paid a very high price.
Will there be discounts and sales for New Year's dates?
Perhaps, first, we need to explain how and when you can "catch" a discount on an airline ticket. Airlines organize promotions and sales to ensure flights are full and planes don't fly back and forth empty. For example, in January, it's difficult to predict how popular flights in October and November will be, so discounts are offered for these dates. Or an airline opens a new route and doesn't know with 100% certainty if it will be in demand (high competition, convenient or inconvenient schedule, passenger loyalty – everything plays a role). Actually, you don't need to be a salesperson to understand: a sale is an excellent way to attract customers. So what happens during Christmas and New Year holidays? Well, this is almost the only time of year when everyone needs to fly somewhere at once. And every airline can be sure – the plane will depart completely full. Full boarding, ladies and gentlemen. Needless to say, prices for this period not only don't go down, but on the contrary, they increase by one and a half to two times, and that's at best. Therefore, don't expect sales in December. There won't be any.What to do if it's already December and you still don't have a ticket?
- Choose short flights; they don't get as expensive as long-haul ones. You'll overpay anyway, but definitely not by double.
- Review departure and arrival dates. Perhaps it's worth taking an extra 2 days of vacation or time off work and flying out not on December 30-31, but on the 27-28, or returning a couple of days later instead of exactly at the end of the weekend – the difference in ticket prices will be significant.
- Track prices. If you see an upward trend, don't delay. Today a ticket might have gone up by 5%, and tomorrow it could go up by 20%. The closer to departure, the more expensive it gets and the less chance you have of flying anywhere at all.
And a new hint for Flight Friday
