The Ultimate Guide to Booking Release Dates: When Do Airlines Release Their Flight Schedules?

Planning your travel can be exciting and, at times, a bit daunting, especially when trying to catch the best flight deals for your friends and family. Knowing exactly when airlines release their flight schedules is critical for any savvy planner. This comprehensive guide digs into the release schedules for US domestic airlines and gives you our best tips on how to use automated flight schedule notifications to your advantage.

Understanding Airline Schedule Release Patterns

Airlines typically set their flight schedules well in advance, but the specific timing can vary significantly from one carrier to another. Here’s a general breakdown of when major airlines tend to release their flight schedules:

Major U.S. Airlines:

• American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, and United Airlines: These carriers generally open their booking windows around 330-331 days before departure. This nearly 11-month advance window allows for early vacation planning, especially for high-demand travel periods like holidays and summer vacations.

• Southwest Airlines: Known for its customer-friendly policies, Southwest usually sets its schedule between 6 to 9 months in advance. They often announce the exact date of schedule releases via their website, but it is always subject to change.

Tips for Setting Up Flight Schedule Notifications

Make sure you’re always ahead of the game when your preferred airline releases its new flight schedule, consider setting up our flight schedule notifications.

Here’s how to do it:

1. Choose Your Airline: Start by selecting the airlines or specific routes that you travel most frequently. Our FREE service monitors the top US domestic airlines

2. Share Your (Earliest) Travel Dates: Let us know when you plan to travel so that we can alert you as soon as your flight is available for purchase

3. Early Access to Deals: With our alerts, you can take advantage of early booking discounts and promotional fares like “Wanna Get Away” on Southwest

This allows you to take the mental load of vacation planning and gives you peace of mind that you’ll always have the most availability for booking your vacation flights.

General Flight Schedule Release Dates

• Alaska Airlines: 330 days

• Allegiant Air: 6-9 months ahead of time

• American Airlines: 331 days beforehand.

• Delta Airlines: Book flights 331 days in return

• Frontier Airlines: 258 days before on average

• Hawaiian Airlines - 330 days

• JetBlue: 331 days in advance.

• Southwest Airlines: The booking window varies, usually 6-9 months.

• Spirit Airlines: Usually 10-11 months beforehand.

• United Airlines: 330 days, with the exceptions of MileagePlus award bookings, which extend to either 334 or 337 days.

So if you’re like us—a busy parent who wants to take advantage of the best “Wanna Get Away” fares, but doesn’t want to check back into the airline websites daily— consider signing up for our notifications. We’ll let you know exactly when the flight schedules are posted so that you can plan the rest of your vacation and not worry about the flights being sold out or unavailable.

A Few Special Cases

Alaska And American Airlines Have Special Rules: You can book tickets on Air France (a partner of Alaska) one year in advance by phone, but 331 days in advance through the website and app. American Airlines limits online bookings to 331 days in advance but not for earlier dates even with its miles or on partner airlines

Key Takeaways:

• Advance Planning: Most major airlines release their flight schedules approximately 330-355 days in advance. Knowing this can help you plan your travel much earlier, especially for popular travel times.

• Monitor Release Dates: Different airlines have different schedule release patterns. Keeping track of these can help you snag the best deals the moment they become available.

• Use Notifications to Your Advantage: Setting up automated notifications for flight releases can ensure you never miss out on early bird prices or special promotions.

• Flexibility Pays Off: If your travel dates are flexible, monitoring a range of airlines and routes can help you compare and secure the best deals.