Flying to Spain at Christmas

davholla

I am flying to Madrid or Alicante 26th Dec returning 3rd January.
A) What would be a good price?
Is it better to buy now or later?

Voyager2002

A good price:one that you are willing to pay.

As for booking time: if you book now then you will be able to take your pick from a range of travel times; departure/arrival airports; not to mention different airlines. You will be able to choose what is exactly right for you from a range of options, with varying price tags.

If you wait until the last minute you will have to make do with the left-overs, and may not like the flight times that are still available. And the prices may be higher or lower than those offered earlier in the year, but by then your only options will be to pay what is asked, or not travel at all.

davholla

Voyager2002 wrote: »

A good price:one that you are willing to pay.

Sorry when I said a good price I meant what is the cheapest price that I might be able to find based on what people who had flown in the past found.

richardw

Peak days so buy now.

Moto2

davholla wrote: »

I am flying to Madrid or Alicante 26th Dec returning 3rd January.

Just a quick check that you're not planning on going to Madrid in the hope of a better climate at that time of year?

davholla

richardw wrote: »

Peak days so buy now.

Are you sure? Have you personal experience of this? For travelling in the summer it varies sometimes 4 months sometimes 6 months in advance.

davholla

Moto2 wrote: »

Just a quick check that you're not planning on going to Madrid in the hope of a better climate at that time of year?

No but thanks for checking

Voyager2002

davholla wrote: »

Are you sure? Have you personal experience of this? For travelling in the summer it varies sometimes 4 months sometimes 6 months in advance.

Travel at Christmas is different...

Obviously flights go on sale at a price that the airlines believe people are willing to pay. Usually the price will then fall to fill a few more seats, then rise to make the most from the people who find that they simply have to travel, then fall to get rid of seats that would otherwise be empty.

For the peak period that you are considering, the airlines know that all their seats will be sold. So there is very limited scope for prices to come down, and lots of reasons for price increases.

If you want a lower price, travel at a different time.

Oh: and the markets for Madrid and for Alicante are completely different... and any reason why you are not also considering Malaga?

davholla

Voyager2002 wrote: »

Travel at Christmas is different...

Obviously flights go on sale at a price that the airlines believe people are willing to pay. Usually the price will then fall to fill a few more seats, then rise to make the most from the people who find that they simply have to travel, then fall to get rid of seats that would otherwise be empty.

For the peak period that you are considering, the airlines know that all their seats will be sold. So there is very limited scope for prices to come down, and lots of reasons for price increases.

If you want a lower price, travel at a different time.

Oh: and the markets for Madrid and for Alicante are completely different... and any reason why you are not also considering Malaga?

I know that we could get a lower price at a different time. My question is when is the best time to book for Christmas.
I know for example if you go to South America in August booking at the best time can be £300 pounds cheaper than at the worst time
(the flights I booked for £530 in December for August are now £830).
So I wondered what would be best. BTW the flights I booked in December would have cost me £200 more if I had booked in October.

We are looking at both Madrid and Alicante because we have friends in family near both, not in Malaga.

budgetflyer

For both these destinations, if you were traveling any other time of year, then I would usually say 6 to 8 weeks is the optimum time to book if you have a bit of flexibility on dates.
With Christmas,who knows? If you see a price you can afford, take it and accept that was what you were happy with at the time.

PeacefulWaters

Snap up the £120 fares on offer now.