The Airline Ticketing Corporation, the company that handles ticket purchases between airlines and travel agents, has just completed the largest survey of international airline ticket trends ever undertaken. They looked at literally millions of actual transactions over the last four years.
The conclusion: The very best time to purchase an airline ticket is six weeks prior to your scheduled departure. People who purchased during this time period saved an average of 6% over the average cost of the tickets paid by other travelers on the same flight. The worst time to purchase a ticket? One week prior to departure. And for those who like to live dangerously, a purchase at the airport on the day of departure will cost you an average of 40% more than the same seat cost the person sitting next to you.
