Best time to buy a ticket
 

Flying to the UK from Thailand in May.Should I book now or wait nearer to the day?I saw some prices on "Expedia"that were lower in April& May as its low season here then.I will not return for three months.

https://www.skyscanner.net/bttb/best-time-to-book-uk

https://www.skyscanner.net/bttb/best...ts-full-report

Bangkok - best time to book is 18 weeks in advance but you'll only save 5% on average - but May IS the cheapest time to travel

I got an Emirates business class seat from Gatwick to Phuket & rtn. for £1800 travelling out end of Feb. returning mid March. I booked it in December. The fare was about £500 less than the BAW equivalent to KL. It was also about £450 less than the UAE fare to Langkawi.

Just my opinion but if you book direct with the airlines you get a better service. Same with hotels. Like I said. Just my opinion.

Trent, do you realise that in many cases Skyscanner will actually take you through to the airline to make a direct booking? It's just a search tool. Not that it really seems to matter whether you book direct or not, especially with hotels. My parents swear by phoning the hotel yet always get the room they paid for and always pay more than they need to. I book with whoever offers it cheapest and have had countless upgrades.

With the airlines whatever cabin you're in the crew have no idea who you booked with.

I've used a multitude of travel agents for my flights and never had an issue or noticed any difference when travelling, but have saved thousands over the years using agents.

I do, however, swear by www.hotels.com for accomodation

I do use those type of sites to find the flight/ hotel I want then just book direct. As I have said it's my preference.

I see that various airlines currently have time limited seat sales. I am hoping to fly to Oz later this year but don't want to book until I have had a hernia operation I'm due in March. Do costs generally go up after the sale or is it just sales puff with prices on sites such as Flightscanner not changing?

When I worked for BA res' yes the tickets were reduced at the sales. A booking class was created for the sale price generally W class. Whether you'd get the same price or less is a gamble with Revenue Mangement who look at how the flight is selling so yes at later time the flight maybe cheaper than it was at the sale if it looks like it will fly empty. Whether you'll get a third party bucket ticket again depends how the flight is selling and how many seats that airline has given the 3rd party. The 3rd party also has to sell its allocation so it can sell tickets at a loss. Airline tickets are mine field and fluctuations are daily.

IF you book through an agent you must instruct them to give your contact details to the airline. Or call the airline yourself to do the same. When (not if) things go pear-shaped it does you no good if the airline can only notify the agent, who could be asleep at the time.