I'll be flying in December from Myanmar to Thailand on Air Asia, but since I'm not sure right now whether I'll fly from Mandalay or Yangon, I was wondering if it'd be safe to wait until a week or so before my flight to book. (Their Live Chat agent wasn't very helpful) Do their rates go up closer in to flight dates, and are they likely to still have seats?

Thanks very much (I've never flown Air Asia).

It's kinda hit and miss, but the standard tactic with airlines is to price seats higher as the inventory goes down. That really applies to LCC's like AirAsia. The cheapest seats sell first and it's rare to see that price again. Some airlines, especially the bigger ones doing long hauls, will offer some seats for cheaper prices just before departure...trying to offload them. But again, doubt AA does this.

I met a guy a few months ago who was with a tour group. They looked at prices 2 months out and were ready to book, but the tour guide said not to worry. Just book the week before. Guess what? The price was more than double.

Your best bet is to try some different dates and see what the prices are. Take a peek right now at flights for next week. Compare them to when you want to travel. Might give you some good info.

It's kinda hit and miss, but the standard tactic with airlines is to price seats higher as the inventory goes down. That really applies to LCC's like AirAsia. The cheapest seats sell first and it's rare to see that price again. Some airlines, especially the bigger ones doing long hauls, will offer some seats for cheaper prices just before departure...trying to offload them. But again, doubt AA does this.

I met a guy a few months ago who was with a tour group. They looked at prices 2 months out and were ready to book, but the tour guide said not to worry. Just book the week before. Guess what? The price was more than double.

Your best bet is to try some different dates and see what the prices are. Take a peek right now at flights for next week. Compare them to when you want to travel. Might give you some good info.

I just bought a return BKK to Yangon for 2570 baht (carry-on only) for Sept 19th i,e, about 6 weeks notice. Maybe you can use this as a benchmark for comparing prices with less notice.

If you are flying from Yangon you could always consider Golden Myanmar Airways who are also super cheap.

It is always best to purchase when your plans are well defined and the price meets your goal.

As long as you are flexible re: flying MDL/YGN-DMK (each has 2 dailies on FD), and are price insensitive, you should be fine to wait. You may have to wait a few days to fly - maybe plan to fly Tue-Thu, and pay a lot more, but this gives you the most flexibility.

A quick review shows the highest fare bucket as ~ 5,000 THB (one-way) MDL-DMK, YGN-DMK will be less expensive but with more pax.

There are now SO MANY airlines serving Myanmar destinations from Thailand (with NOK being the latest to join the competition, they will start DMK-RGN later this year, plus they plan to serve some secondary destinations in Myanmar such as Mawlamyne) that you will definitely be able to purchase a ticket even when the flight date is nearing, and at an affordable rate.

Now you have Thai Air, Thai Smile, Bangkok Air, AirAsia and NOK serving Myanmar, and the frequencies are steadily increasing. and if that's not enough, Myanmar International Airways does fly to BKK as well......

No need to worry too much, I am flying within the Asean region about 50 times a year and dare I say, know what I am talking about.