Should I book my summer airline tickets now?

Herb Weisbaum • Profile • E-mail

The summer is getting closer and people are looking to snap up airline seats. But should they book now or wait for a better deal?

We’re starting to make plans for our summer vacation. Should we book our airfare now or wait a bit longer for the next big sale?
-- Shelle W., Philadelphia, PA

You’d better get moving! Airline ticket prices are up and, with rising fuel prices, set to go higher. Last week, the major airlines boosted leisure fares by about $10 roundtrip. According to Tom Parsons, CEO of BestFares.com, this is the fifth time leisure fares have gone up this year.

Despite the higher prices, people are buying tickets and the planes are filling up. In March, the average plane for most of the big carriers took off with 8 out of 10 seats filled.

Terry Trippler, travel analyst for cheapseats.com, says planes are going to be packed this summer, “with the average plane being 90 percent filled.” That means the chances of the typical summer blow-out sale are slim.

Trippler tells me that in 38 years in the business he has never seen summer air travel selling as quickly as this year. “People are realizing that fares are probably not going to come down, so when they find a good fare, a fare that they feel is a fair price, they’re taking it and that’s my recommendation,” Trippler says.

Ed Perkins, a contributing editor for SmarterTravel.com, agrees. “If you can buy right now at a good price, do it,” he says. Remember, capacity is down – there are fewer flights and fewer seats to sell – so this year the airlines don’t really need their annual summer clearance sales. What the airlines will probably do is run some spot sales in the few markets where they need to sell seats. These sales will be short and “the price cuts won’t be very deep,” Perkins predicts.

So how do you find the best deal? Do your homework. Search the Web to find out what the “going price” is for the flights you plan to take. Trippler says once you find what you consider to be a fair price, take it. “If you think you’re going to find the absolute lowest price, you’re going to drive yourself nuts,” he says. “Find a fair price, buy it and relax.”

One more reason to book early: it increases your chances of getting a good seat. Wait until the last minute this year and it’s very likely you’ll find yourself sitting in the dreaded center seat.

Remember, if you decide to book with the airline rather than use a travel agent or discount travel site, use the airline’s Web site. You’ll not only get the cheapest price, but you’ll probably get some bonus miles for not booking with a human reservation agent.

When trying to read, e-mail or print an article from some Web sites, I’m told I must register first. Is this a safe and non-intrusive procedure?
-- Name withheld

I don’t see a problem as long as the information requested isn’t too personal. Most sites ask for your name, gender, age, e-mail address, and home zip code. Many also ask for your favorite hobbies and interests.  There may be a box – already checked – that says something like “Yes, I want to be notified about exclusive discounts and special offers.”  I always look for that and uncheck it.

I have no problem with giving them most of this information. After all, I’m getting their content for free, and they want to let their advertisers know about the people who visit the site. By giving them my zip code, I may also get customized information or advertisements. Also, none of this information can harm me in any way. I’m registered with dozens of news sites and have never had a single problem.

I draw the line at income and specific birthday – that’s just a bit too personal. I don’t need to tell them how much I make to subscribe to their newspaper or magazine, so I’m not about to share that personal information with them to use their Web site. Regarding age: I don’t mind telling them the year I was born, but they don’t need to know my specific birthday. Remember, birth dates are sometimes used to verify your identity when accessing sensitive information.

Consider this: A good friend of mine who’s a Web master says when the site won’t let you skip the income or birthday question, he just lies.

By the way, I always use a “disposable” e-mail account for these mandatory registrations. It’s a secondary e-mail account that I created just for online transactions. That way I’m not giving my primary e-mail address out to everyone. If the disposable address winds up being shared with various companies or added to spam lists, I can cancel it and create another one.

Here are two tricks I’ve learned: If you can read the article but can’t print it, just cut and paste the copy into a word document and print it.  If there’s an article you want, but can’t get without registering, do a search for that title. It might show up on a site that allows access without registration.

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