We currently offer airfare predictions to over 120 different markets (e.g. Seattle to Los Angeles, Boston to Miami, etc.) You could go to any travel website, run a search, find (what you think is) the lowest fare and book your flight. However, if you run your search on Farecast.com, you can use the Fare Prediction to find out if you should wait a day or two to get a better fare.
How can you get a prediction for your flight search? Here are a few tips:
- Select your cities from 120+ options available in our search form
- Make sure your travel dates are for a trip that is 2 to 8 nights in length
- Choose travel dates that are less than 90 days from today
By following these tips, you’ll receive a Fare Prediction and a Fare History at the top of your search results page.
For example, I live in Seattle, and let’s say I want to visit my friend in Boston. On June 21st, I searched for a flight from Seattle to Boston, leaving July 15 and returning July 18. The lowest fare was $504 on American Airlines.
The prediction for my search (seen above) shows the lowest fare may drop around $46, and this could happen sometime in the next seven days. Also, there’s a 71% confidence level for this prediction. I decide to take a chance, wait to buy and see what happens.
So what happened in the days after my search? Five days later (on June 26), I ran the same search again. Take a closer look at the Fare History chart.
Using my mouse to check day by day, I found that the fare dropped about $30 on June 22. So it was a good idea to wait. By checking back the day after my initial search, I saved $30 on my fare.
This is just one example of using a prediction to determine when to buy. Predictions that fares are rising can also help you learn when not to wait to get your ticket. The predictions are your guide, and it’s your choice on when to buy. Happy travels!
This tool is terrific.
Any chance on launching one for hotels?
John, thanks for your comment and question. Yes, we are looking at hotels and other travel categories. However, we have a lot of innovation still to come for flights.