when to book flight to europe for may departure

[pinknic38]

Originally Posted by xanthuos

Generally, if you're booking more than 3 months from departure, the fares that are going to be loaded in the airlines computers are their general fares and not the "deal" or "sale" fares.

Not so true. I booked a flight in December for my trip from Columbus to Frankfurt that was in JUNE and got the tix for like $600 even. I kept my eye on the ticket prices from then on out and by the time May rolled around, it was around $1200. I think it just depends. No predictability at all.

Booking like right before a trip would make me super nervous! I would go crazy!

[xanthuos]

Originally Posted by MattSaint

I am planning on flying into Shannon, or Dublin for the week of February 15th in 2010..... any ideas on when i should book?

I agree with lizz that it is probably better to fly to Dublin than Shannon if you're mostly going to explore the continent. If you plan to see most or all of Ireland though, flying into Shannon is good as well. Don't blindly book on Aer Lingus though. ALWAYS do a comprehensive search of all airlines before you make a booking. I almost got tripped up with that on this recent trip in Europe because I was checking Ryanair frequently for my intra-Europe travel but didn't think about checking other airlines (bmi & airBerlin, etc) until my friend said something to me. For approximately 5 euro more than Ryanair, I got a flight into an airport that was my actual destination (Münster) rather than an airport elsewhere in Germany where I'd have to take a train (for more than 5 euros I am sure)...AND they served free food and drinks on the flight AND I was better protected in the case of weather problems - which is exactly what happened, coincidentally. There was heavy snow in Britain, and lots of flights were cancelled. Of course, Ryanair screwed just about everyone and doesn't do a thing to help (and even if you can get rebooked, it ends up being the next day or several days later), but airBerlin took care of my reservation quickly and painlessly. Use Nic's suggestion for Kayak as a search engine for your flight over to Ireland and then if you want to fly within Europe, Kayak AND Skyscanner.

Originally Posted by pinknic38

Not so true. I booked a flight in December for my trip from Columbus to Frankfurt that was in JUNE and got the tix for like $600 even. I kept my eye on the ticket prices from then on out and by the time May rolled around, it was around $1200. I think it just depends. No predictability at all.

Booking like right before a trip would make me super nervous! I would go crazy!

That, my dear, is why I said generally. One instance does not a statistic make. For example, US Airways has put summer airfares to Europe on sale in recent weeks. We're approaching being inside that 3-month window, yes, but what has driven the sale is soft booking numbers due to the economy.

[MeTurk]

If you do book with Aerlingus it might be worth looking into getting a one way and checking the Irish site aerlingus.ie for your return ticket. They seem to charge allot less. €129 including taxes 1 way to Chicago.