Have you been saving up for your dream vacation? If so, now may be the time to act.
Starting in August airlines are expected to drop rates to four year lows. According to Hopper, an airfare predictor app, domestic airfare prices will drop at the beginning of August and average under $250 until November. Hopper is reporting that they’ve consistently predicted airfare trends within a single percentage point since beginning to release price indices in April
Prices are typically lower in the fall as compared to the summer, but this fall is poised to be a particularly nice reduction in price and would make for the cheapest fares in four years.
Patrick Surry, the chief data scientist of Hopper, says the cheap fares are a result of lower fuel prices and the increased competition from low cost airlines like Frontier, JetBlue, and Southwest. Also, the trend in airlines charging you for one-off items (like drinks or luggage) is helping them reduce the base ticket price.
Here are a few key rules:
- If you are travelling pre-holiday, the best months to buy tickets are August and October (an average of $245)
- If you are travelling over spring break, purchase your tickets in December (an average of $241)
- Purchase tickets more than a month in advance
- Now is the time to go international. Flights will be cheap plus the exchange rate favors the U.S. dollar.
Download the Hopper app from the iTunes Store.
Photo by Aero Icarus 