When to buy plane tickets?

[quickstepstar]

We are flying with kids (5 plane tickets!!!) in December to Germany from NYC. I need any help I can get with when to buy tickets, and where to fly into. Our ultimate destinations are Stuttgart and Munich, but we are open to taking the train to get there to make it cheaper!

[Deleted]

Track prices on Yapta. Often plane ticket prices drop and then go back up in a few days. Yapta has saved me a ton of money.

[marytini]

I usually buy about 3-4 months out, after stalking flight prices for a few months. If a cheap price comes along, I buy. If flights are stable I try to hold out and then usually buy when I am ready to book other things like hotels. I'm not sure how popular flights will be for that time of year.
I'd look into flying into Munich or maybe even Frankfurt.

[alleinesein]

Sign up for the airberlin newsletter. They tend to run some decent sales a few times a year and since you will be flying out of NYC you might be able to find a ticket for under $700 per person

[babsbunny]

It really depends on how flexible you are, for example flying on Fridays and Sundays are more expensive so you want to book in advance. The other key is to know what is a good price. Look at random march dates and get a feel for winter travel prices.

If you get a feel for prices then you know a price might go up $200 vs down $400 in which case it's in your favor to wait. Prices can also go up though.

With wanting 5 seats, I would book earlier than later. Meaning 3-5 months out vs 2-4 weeks.

[Deleted]

If you're a little flexible on dates this site is good:

www.hopper.com/flights/feed/

H's sister saved $200/ticket for SLC to LHR for her 2 kids by shifting the dates of travel just a few days on either end.

There's another site where I'm drawing a blank on the name (not kayak), but it will tell you the average fare for the route that you're trying to fly, when it's been the cheapest and what price is a good price to book at. I'll keep looking to see if I can find it.

[frlcb]

Check hipmunk

[Whitecaps]

Follow Airfarewatchdog on Twitter.

[simone]

We always buy tickets months before the actual travel date because it is cheaper.