You Want Me to Fly When? Best and Worst Times to Fly (2024)

FAQs

What time is the best time to fly? ›

For many airports, the most busy time of operation is during the workday (between 8 am and 5 pm). Crowds often begin tapering off around 6 pm with some of the least busy times being in the late evening. If it's at all possible to leave in the evening, we recommend taking a flight at around 9:30 pm or later.

Weekdays as opposed to weekends may have more business travelers in relation to leisure travelers. Heavy commuter days, such as Mondays and Fridays will increase the price of a ticket, and subsequently the amount of congestion both on land and in the air.

Earlier in the day is the safest time of day to fly. More accidents occur later in the day when the pilots are tired, especially when the weather is bad and there have been delays. How does weather influence air safety? Weather is a factor in a majority of accidents.

Tuesday and Friday flights can help you avoid the rush earlier in the week. Sundays and Mondays are the most expensive days to depart for domestic trips. If you can't fly on the cheapest days, flying on Tuesdays or Fridays might also be a good option.

From the seventh month of pregnancy onwards the physical burden of carrying the baby increases. The longer the pregnancy continues the higher the chance that labour will occur. For this reason most major airlines will not allow pregnant women to travel after 34 weeks¹ (this includes the return flight!).

So that leaves the final descent and landing. They take up about 4% of the average flight, lasting twice as long as takeoff and initial climb. But a whopping 49% of fatal accidents occur in this short window, making the final descent and landing the deadliest part of an average flight.

While it all comes down to your preferences, daytime flying has the upper hand when it comes to visibility. Because of the sunlight, any possible obstructions, such as rocks or mountains, are far easier to spot, making the likelihood of accidents much less and daytime flying the safer option by far.

Aim for the center aisle seats on long-haul wide-body flights: if you love an aisle, it's almost always better to pick one in the middle section, because those middle seats next to you will be the last to fill up — and there'll be fewer passengers climbing over you than if you were sitting on the side by a window.

What time are flights most empty? ›

Most people don't like the time wake-up times required to hit the earliest flights out of the airport, so a “first flight of the day” oftentimes offers less packed airplanes as well as easy breezy airport concourses. As a bonus, the early morning flights almost always have the best on-time records.

Most weeks of the year, Friday is the busiest day for air travel, and Tuesday is the least busy day.

During the winter, blizzards and cold fronts cause more friction in the air, leading to turbulence. The summer is another peak time for turbulence, with summer storms creating unstable conditions. Avoid flying in the summer and winter to reduce the likelihood of turbulence.

Tuesdays may not be favorable for booking, but if you're hoping to score major savings, booking your departure on a Tuesday or Wednesday is a surefire way to do so. Mid-week flights offer the best deal prices in comparison to flights departing the rest of the week.

You can save money on your airfare, depending on when you buy your ticket. On average, the best deals on domestic flights are available 70 days before takeoff. The worst time to buy your ticket is zero to six days before takeoff. However, booking too far in advance could also cost you more.

While it all comes down to your preferences, daytime flying has the upper hand when it comes to visibility. Because of the sunlight, any possible obstructions, such as rocks or mountains, are far easier to spot, making the likelihood of accidents much less and daytime flying the safer option by far.

“Roughly, you've got a 30% less chance of getting a long delay or cancellation if you go out in the morning,” said Kathleen Bangs, a former commercial airline pilot and current spokesperson for the flight-tracking site FlightAware.

Flying at unpopular hours, such as the red-eye or early in the morning, instead of the late morning through afternoon, increases your chance of getting the best deal. Recent statistics showed that flights leaving before 09:00 are cheaper than any other time of the day.

And travel experts tend to agree. “Early morning flights are the best time to fly as they are the least likely to get delayed,” Harrison Woods, CEO of YourParkingSpace, told HuffPost. “The weather is usually calmer and the rest of the air traffic is quiet.”