I have traveled to Ireland on 3 occasions, 2004, 2007 and 2008. My wife's family lives there (Kilgarvan) and she has been going regularly since she was a child. We are planning to go in June and take our own baby for the first time. Just started scouting airfare prices and they seem higher than "normal", or what we have paid in the past. We would be flying from Charlotte or Atlanta and the prices we are currently seeing are around $1300.00 each ticket (roundtrip). This is a general question, but does this seem in line with what others are paying? Also, should we book now for a June trip or wait a bit? I know that these questions are hard to answer as airfares are not that predictable, just hoping for any insight.
This is just my personal experience but I found prices to be the cheapest approximately 2 months out on our trip. We went last June and paid about $700 each from Houston to Dublin. I checked daily for quite a while and noticed some patterns that developed.
*Cheapest to fly on a Tuesday or Wednesday *ticket prices dropped when I looked Tuesday-Thursday. Maybe airlines know most people look at these prices on the weekends? Dunno... *Trip Advisor was a really valuable tool for airfare checking. Some of the airfares are only good for 1 person (i.e. 1 fare sells then all the other prices go up. Yes, I'm looking at you, Delta) so you need to put accurate data in the tool but it really helped. *Keep an eye out for fare sales. They pop up at the oddest times.
Anyway, its all a crapshoot so I would suggest setting a price target and as soon as you see that number, jump on it.
Welcome to my forum. I fly out of Atlanta too. Delta flights are usually more expensive than the other airlines. Also fares are slowly creeping up as plane capacity declines. Sign up for their newsletters. Moniter their website every day for deals.
Keep in mind that June is the season. Airfares will be higher than off-season or shoulder season. But keep at it - and when you find a low fare don't hesitate to buy it right away.
Look for spring sales starting after the first of the year.
I usually check both Kayak.com and itasoftware.com for fares frequently. For May or June fares, I usually see the fare 'specials' come out in February/March. I've not paid more than $850 for airfare to the British Isles ever, and I go every couple of years (planning my 7th trip now).
Also, I sign up for airfare sale emails from the majors and have gotten sale information that way. Farecompare and Yapta are also useful tools.
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