Photo By: frischmilch

I hate e-mail newsletters. I never sign up for them because I find they’re contain too much marketing and not enough deals. But when I told my friend Claudine that I was planning to take a trip to Vancouver, she suggested I sign up for Air Canada and West Jet’s newsletters. This way, you won’t miss a seat sale, she said.

Claudine is a smart frugal lady so I listened to her advice. She was right. For the past couple of months, I’ve been able to track the rise and fall of airline tickets. If I had purchased my ticket two months ago, my round-trip would have cost me $800. As time passed, both airlines began offering seat sales for trips in June, then July, then August and now September. Now Air Canada has the dates I want for just over $700.

Lesson learned: This year, domestic flights are becoming cheaper, not more expensive, as travel dates near.

My mother, who happens to work in the travel industry says $700 is still too high. She’s also a frugal mother who doesn’t think I should be spending a penny on a vacation until I’m debt free, so I take her professional advice with a grain of salt.

So dear travler friends, unspenders and strangers in the blogosphere, tell me: Do you think flights will continute to go down for early September travel? Should I book now or wait a little longer?