flipance

Is there any difference in prices if you book early? or leave it till the last min? Or do they stay the same?

magnumpi

We bought flights to the UK from Toronto leaving mid Aug 2010, in April. Have since kept an eye on the price and no movement in that area. The only change now would be that we would have had to pay 8% more via HST.

JonboyE

No GST/HST on overseas flights.

There is GST/HST on some of the fees associated with the ticket - e.g. the airport landing fee.

magnumpi

Ohh well, same price then. Thanks.

Maybe very last min flights would drop in price, but if your trip is date sensitive then is it worth the risk

castra

Book early to get the best deal. As a particular flight becomes popular, the more you pay. The airlines follow seasonal trends. Plan to travel mid summer or a few days before Christmas - You'll get stung. October/November or late January/February - you'll get a better deal.

During quieter times you may find a few reductions close to travel if booking loads are light but (imo) taking that chance is well risky. In reality its unlikely this time of year. More chance of you paying more than getting a bargain.

Aviator

There are different seat classes i.e. Class A, B, C etc. The lowest priced are sold first then as that sells out the next class sells at a higher price. You may well find yourself on a flight sitting next to someone who booked after you and paid twice as much as you did. Ninety days before is around the time the lower prices become available. Scheds & Charter vary on how they charge, but usually low shoulder and high are the seasonal groups. Scheds often charge more as they offer more, have better slot times into major airports and sometimes use higher cost airports, Heathrow is more expensive than the Gatwick for example.

Last minute bookings are usually more expensive, the days of last minute discounts are pretty much gone now.

magnumpi

I have re-checked our flights and:

April, for 3 TO - Man $3,050 August departure

July, similar flt, $2,850, Thats leaving a day later and returning 2 days after. If we book the exact same days then the price would have gone up by $300 (100 each). BUT, for the sake of a day thats not what we would do.

jimf

I had been keeping an eye on the Manchester/Calgary prices since easter time on a spreadsheet. Once a week or fornight or so I'd update the prices on the spreadsheet to see if there was any pattern with prices changes.

I found that generally prices did drop at around a month to six weeks from the date of the flight. However, sometimes closer to the date of the flight the price then went back up to a price higher than the original price. Eg 1 August started at approx 420 GBP when down to 320 GBP then up to 600+GBP (these are just single prices)

el_richo

People have way too much time on their hands.

Just book a flight, with an airline and price that you're happy with and be done with it.

Muskoka

I make you about right. I fly to TO on a with CA and have just yesterday booked this years flight 24th Aug & return to Uk 13th Sept (£348 return) and I could have done it for £338 return.

jimf

Didn't take much time at all. When booking flights for a family of 5 I certainly can't afford to be cavalier with the cost of the flights.

CanadaJimmy

Sounds like good research to me, certainly not a wasted effort, especially if you can save yourself and others hundreds of pounds!

Calgary Colemans

If you are flying from Canada to the UK, try phoning the London Branch of Canadian Affair and ask for a quote in UK pounds.

We did this, after a recommendation on here, and saved over $1000 on our October flights to the UK.

Hope this helps,

Nicky

JulieandDave

We did the same it was really easy, we emailed them to see if it was possible and they rang us straight back to book the flights. Saved loads