Jakarta in August, best way best price air?

So I'm talking to a youngster (20 years old) and she tells me that she wants to visit a friend in Jakarta in August, but it's really expensive. I said, "I'll ask the smart people on MOL if they have advice for getting a less expensive ticket." Her face brightened. She has no idea what MOL is, but she has faith in you. So can anyone recommend a time of year when it's cheaper to book tickets, or whether last minute is better than six months in advance?

A quick check of Kayak.com shows a $774 fare on American/JAL via Tokyo in mid August (NYC-Jakarta). That seems like a pretty good deal to me! Can she open a AArelated credit card to pay for it if she doesn't have the cash, use future "savings" to pay it down, and once the trip is completed, she will have lots of miles towards a future trip.

Bon voyage!

Don't go to Jakarta in August.   It's 95F and 98% humidity.   

That said, berkely is on target.  The most your friend could hope for is increasing strength of the USD to reduce the fare a bit.