Due to the stiff competition round, airlines are also announcing some attractive offers with announcements carrying special rates and unbelievable discounts from time to time for booking tickets in advance. Here we discuss whether booking for air tickets early can really save you money.

Be smart to find out the reality
Every airline today announces some attractive offers and discounts. Exploring around, you find plenty of them proliferating the internet. Though discount offers are highly alluring, it is not a wise idea to settle with the lowest fare you come across. Know that many low price offers always come with some strings attached. In the first place, one downside regarding discounted tickets is that they cannot be rescheduled or cancelled. If you happen to cancel them for some unexpected reason, you will have to rebook tickets at a higher rate.

The myth resolved
Most air fares do not change considerably between 10 months and 2 months before the date of travel. Only a few airlines offer discounted ti8ckets that can be partially refunded. In fact, even in such cases, only the statutory taxes are refunded and nothing more. If you book them about one month in advance, domestic flights cost 27% cheaper when compared with the last minute booking. The next thing to note is that discounts apply only on the basic fare and not on the other charges and taxes. Therefore you will find the discounts offered on not more than 50% value of the cost of tickets. It is therefore a wise thing to check the restrictions applied on the discounted air fares.

How to strike a balance
Having understood how the discounted systems work, you have to now go by the fact that best deals are possible only by striking a balance. The point to consider is that booking a month in advance can help get the best deals on airfares.

Booking too early is not a wise option
The most crucial aspect to note when it comes to ticket booking is the time of booking. Travellers must know that neither very early booking nor last minute booking can be helpful in landing on best deals. If your schedule is pretty confirmed with no chances of change whatsoever, you can go for early booking to save on the ticket costs. If there is a likelihood of any changes with regard to the travel plans, the best idea is not to book tickets. This is because changes and cancellations will incur a lot of charges. One another downside to booking too early is the possibility of flight rescheduling or cancellations that might not suit your travel needs.

What is the point?
Booking for air tickets too much in advance is not a sensible idea since you will find the charges never vary for bookings done an year in advance or two months before. The best time for booking is hence 21 to 25 days in advance for domestic flights and 45 to 60 days in advance for international flights.