You can usually book a flight about 11 months (roughly 330–337 days) before departure with most major airlines, though some budget carriers only open their schedules 6–9 months out.

How far out you can book

  • Most big full‑service airlines (like American, Delta, United, Alaska, JetBlue, Hawaiian) open booking around 330–337 days before departure, which is just under one year.
  • Many low‑cost carriers (like Southwest, Allegiant, Frontier, Spirit) often work in shorter chunks, typically around 6–10 months ahead, extending their schedule a few times per year instead of posting a full year at once.
  • In practice, this means you rarely can book more than about a year in advance, and for some routes you may need to wait until the airline publishes its next schedule extension.

Best time to book for price

How far out you can book is different from when you should book to get a good fare.

  • For domestic flights , many data‑driven guides suggest the “sweet spot” is about 1–3 months before departure in normal (non‑holiday) periods.
  • For international flights , typical recommendations are 2–8 months out, booking toward the earlier end for peak seasons and popular routes.
  • Very early bookings (the moment the schedule opens) can be more expensive; prices often improve once there is more demand data, then rise again in the last weeks before departure.

Quick practical tips

  • Check your specific airline’s “schedule open through” date on its website or booking engine; this tells you the exact last date you can currently book.
  • Set fare alerts on tools like Google Flights or specialist deal services so you are notified when prices drop within that 1–3 month (domestic) or 2–8 month (international) window.
  • For peak times (Christmas, New Year, school holidays, big events), aim to book several months earlier than usual because cheap seats sell out faster even if the overall window is the same.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.