1

Use skyscanner.com and momondo.com.
Not sure if it's the same from your side of the pool.
Keep checking from Oct/Dec.
Bookings half a year in advance, or more, don't make sense. too early.

2

Yeah I didn't think now would be best and was planning on around Jan.

3

There are now more airlines serving Nepal than a few years ago. Prices are getting more competitive. However, since you already have a date that you have to be in Nepal, that does remove some of the flexibility. Don't leave it too long to make your choice. I fly to Nepal twice every year and don't find a great deal of difference in prices booking say 4 months in advance than leaving the process to a later date in hopes of finding a "last minute" bargain. The same airlines that tend to have the best prices from North America, such as Korean Air and Cathay Pacific - still seem to be the best at any time - at least for the route I fly from the West Coast.

4

I live in Seattle and I tend to purchase my air tickets about 4 to 6 months before my trip. Last year, I got my tickets around 6 months in advance. For kicks, I re-checked the prices every couple of days up to departure date. Last year, they just kept getting more expensive the closer you got to departure date.

This year, prices were different. The cheapest prices were still around 6 months in advance. However, I only purchased my tickets about 2 months in advance (or an October arrival) this year, and I was able to snag a pretty good price on Korean Air (although, it was ~ $100 more than if I purchased one ~ 6 months ago.) I tend to look at kayak.com and bing.com They (and their partners) seem to cover the selection of flights pretty well. From Atlanta, you are almost opposite Kathmandu, from a longitudinal perspective, so you could fly either direction, depending on the best air fare.

Flight costs can change dramatically from day to day and week to week. I've seen them fluctuate as much as $800. It's pretty crazy. Generally, I've found prices less expensive if you purchase mid week, later in the evening (eastern time), but not always. You just need to keep checking prices. For reference, my round trip flight from Seattle to Kathmandu, arriving in Oct., departing mid November cost $1500 on Korean Air. I've also flown Cathay Pacific, Eva, China, Singapore, and Delta. All these were great airlines, except for maybe Delta. Some friends from Portland, Oregon recently purchased some tickets via Dubai. All I can say is just keep checking prices and you'll get a feel for a good price from Atlanta. When a good price comes along, snag it! You are unlikely to get the very lowest price, but you can probably get within a $100 or $200 of it.

5

I was researching prices from Atlanta recently until I had to cancel my plans for a November arrival. I set up a Kayak.com search that emails me every week.

From Atlanta, there seems to be several options using Delta or a partner:

1) Fly to Seoul on either Delta or Korean, and then to KTM on Korean.

2) Fly Delta to Mumbai or Delhi, and then an Indian carrier (e.g., Jet) to KTM

3) Fly Delta to Dubai, and then Qatar or Flydubai to KTM

Prices ATL-KTM at the moment are running $1800.