What Is the Cheapest Time to Book a Flight? (2024)

FAQs

What Is the Cheapest Time to Book a Flight? ›

Early Bird Discounts: In general, booking your flight well in advance (around 1 to 3 months before your desired departure date) can often lead to better deals. Airlines tend to release a limited number of seats at lower prices, and as the departure date approaches and seats fill up, prices tend to rise.

The myth has been going around for years, but the truth is that flight prices don't go down on Tuesdays. To be fair, they did at one point in time, and savvy travelers could score a great deal late on a Tuesday night.

As previously mentioned, booking airfare on Sunday is cheaper than other days of the week, especially Fridays. Be willing to fly mid-week. Since Thursdays tend to be the cheapest day to fly, see if you can tweak your travel plans so you depart and fly home during the week instead of on weekend days.

Timing plays an important part. Specifically, plane tickets usually don't get cheaper closer to the departure date or if you book too early—more than five months in advance. Instead, flights tend to be the least expensive when you book between 5.5 and 1.5 months (164 and 46 days) in advance of your departure date.

The best days to fly for the cheapest domestic and international fares are midweek. Aim to book domestic flights one to two months ahead of time. For international flights, plan on booking three to five months ahead of the trip.

Are flights cheaper if bought at midnight? The ticket prices of the airline fluctuate every day and most of the time, resulting in an increase in the prices. Passengers should book a red-eye ticket because flight prices go down at night and they will find a cheaper ticket in comparison to day-time flights.

Some experts suggest purchasing your tickets on a Tuesday afternoon, while others insist that this technique might not produce the results you're after. Buying airfare at the stroke of midnight can yield a small amount of savings, say others, but it may not always be worth it to stay up late just to book a flight.

In general, waiting until closer to the departure date to buy a plane ticket is not the best strategy for finding the cheapest fares. Here's why: Prices typically rise as the departure date approaches. Airlines use dynamic pricing, which means they adjust fares based on factors like demand and remaining seats.

The process is largely controlled by computer software and is increasingly being bolstered by AI, so price changes can happen at any second. That's why there's no specific time of day — or even a specific day of the week, for that matter — that's best for booking cheap flights.

Another study done by Google found that flight prices on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays were 1.9% cheaper on average than flights on Saturdays and Sundays. However, Google's conclusion in releasing its study results: “There isn't much value in purchasing your tickets on a certain day of the week.”

What day is most expensive to book flights? ›

Booking on Friday will cost you more, and booking on Sunday can save you up to 15% on your airline tickets. But there are tons of ways to save even more on airline tickets instead of just waiting until Sunday to book your flights.

Our analysis shows that flight prices go through a weekly cycle. Typically, the lowest prices are made available earlier in the week, and the highest prices are offered later in the week. This is why the answer to the question, “When do flight prices go down?” is sometimes… a Tuesday!

Over time, fares on a particular flight will get higher as more and more seats gets booked and more fare levels close. But there are short term blips all the time. So, if you look at it hour to hour or day to day, there will be moments when fares temporarily dip before heading back up once new bookings come in.

The cheapest month to book airfare will vary depending on the destination and travel dates. However, in general, the months of January, February, and September tend to have lower airfare prices. January and February are typically slower travel months since they immediately follow the busy holiday season.

In our experience, while fantastic deals can pop up at any time, the best time to book a flight (what we call the Goldilocks Window) is 1–3 months ahead for domestic travel and 2–8 months ahead for international travel—unless your trip is around a popular holiday or peak travel time, or you have very specific travel ...

"Look to book between three to seven months ahead for domestic travel and four to 10 months ahead for international travel." Hudson advises that at the very latest, your holiday travel should be booked by mid-October. "But the biggest holiday travel savings actually come from choosing the right dates," she says.

This year the “best day” to buy an airline ticket is 42 days before your travel date, on average. In 2024 travelers can wait about a month more to get a cheap flight compared to years prior.

Fares can vary day-to-day, based on demand. Fares are usually lower on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Saturdays and highest on Fridays and Sundays. Flights later in the evening are also usually lower demand.

The truth is that the mid-day flights on Tuesday and Wednesday are less popular, and therefore both less crowded and less expensive! We always recommend a mid-week flight for just these reasons.