Best time to book flights for August

seamus

Myself and the missus are looking to head off to Spain (flying into Malaga), the last week in August. Only problem is that flights look a mite expensive, close to €300 return. Is the end of August a busy period, i.e. will the flights get more expensive, or would we be better off waiting to see if a special offer rears its head?

Accomodation is free, so our only expense really is flights and food, which makes €300 not *so* bad

whiskeyman

last week in August is the last week before many schools go back.
Probably a last hurrah for many....
Also, do any no frills fly to Malaga? If not, this price may be the only option, given if your flexible (dont have to travel weekend etc..)

seamus

whiskeyman wrote:

last week in August is the last week before many schools go back.
Probably a last hurrah for many....
Also, do any no frills fly to Malaga? If not, this price may be the only option, given if your flexible (dont have to travel weekend etc..)

Aye, Ryanair do, but after much travel with them, we can't take it anymore. I'd be willing to pay the extra €40 that Aer lingus are charging for the same dates.

I guess we'll be paying through the nose then no matter when we book...

Easyjet go from belfast, but from the 20th to the 27th august they are over £300 pp(the outbound is cheapish at £79 but the return is over £200)
FFS thats business class pricing.

Imposter

Aer Lingus bring the prices right down about a month before the date. The only problem with this is that if the flight is sold out beforehand.

An example would be last christmas where I booked in September but someone booked in late november and got it for half of what I paid.

Bluehair

Imposter wrote:

Aer Lingus bring the prices right down about a month before the date. The only problem with this is that if the flight is sold out beforehand.

An example would be last christmas where I booked in September but someone booked in late november and got it for half of what I paid.

Do NOT rely on this. The golden rule is the earler you book the cheaper it is. There's always exceptions to this if an airline decides to run a sale but I wouldn't count on this for the summer season at all.

Imposter

Bluehair wrote:

The golden rule is the earler you book the cheaper it is.

While this may have been the case years ago, it's not true anymore. As I implied though, waiting until nearer flight time in the hopes of a cheap flight, is a risk.

ROVER

just checked http://www.budgetair.ie/ for last week in August it works out at about EUR 200 return including tax !

ROVER

There is very little betwen Aerlingus and Ryanair nowadays when it comes to service. You pay for everything on a Aerlingus flight

seamus

ROVER wrote:

There is very little betwen Aerlingus and Ryanair nowadays when it comes to service. You pay for everything on a Aerlingus flight

The organisation getting on and off the plane is a big factor too though.

Plus I don't like having inane ads in a British accent blasted at me while waiting/taxiing. I'd prefer to pay for the little things that Aer Lingus have. Assigned seats being one.

I'll probably get the lead out soon so. Cheers guys.