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· 07 Nov 2022

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Cheapest Days To Book Flights

The cheapest days to book flights will vary depending on where you are going, but you will be able to find cheaper prices anytime during the week, with the exceptions being Fridays, and on the weekends. The cheapest day to book domestic flights is Tuesdays early in the week, but if you are able to be flexible with which days of the week you are traveling, try for Wednesdays after noon. Tuesday is the least expensive day to book international flights, with a Wednesday afternoon as your optimal departure time.



Flights departing Monday, Tuesday, or Wednesday are historically the least expensive days of the week to fly, particularly when traveling internationally. For example, in the month of October, the best days to fly to Cancun are Tuesdays and Wednesdays, while the cheapest days of the week are Sundays, as this is a slow travel season. The least expensive days to fly domestically are Tuesdays and Wednesdays, whereas flights at weekends will cost slightly more than trips during the week.



Over the last five years, flights booked on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, or Thursdays were just about 1.9% cheaper than flights booked on weekends. Flights are only about 1.9 % cheaper when bought in midweek -- Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday -- compared with flights purchased on the weekend. If you shop for flights from Tuesday through Thursday, rather than on a weekend, prices were just 1.9 percent cheaper, on average, in the last five years, Google said.



The lowest prices on flights around Thanksgiving were booked between 36-74 days ahead, Google said. Google says that if you are booking domestic flights, prices are typically lowest 21 to 60 days before your travel. For U.S. domestic flights, the research found prices are typically lowest between three weeks and two months before the flight, and average prices hit a low of 44 days before departure.



For domestic flights in the United States, according to the study by Google Flights, prices were lowest three to eight weeks before departure, and prices bottomed out at 44 days out. For Thanksgiving travel within the United States, the best deals for tickets are found 36 to 74 days out from a trip date, and prices bottoming out, on average, 52 days, or just shy of two months, away, according to Google Flights data. Domestic Christmas travel is generally lower, around 22 days, or roughly three weeks, out, but lower prices often come in as far as 88 days -- or nearly three months -- ahead. The exception is during Thanksgiving week, when you will want to book your travel ahead of time.



Instead, you will want to book at least 45 days - up to 2 months ahead of time - for a domestic flight. Generally speaking, you will want to try and book a domestic flight itinerary one to four months prior to the travel date. If you are looking to book flights during Christmas/New Years holidays, the cheapest options may be Tuesdays and Wednesdays in autumn season in the UK (November-December), but the best days of the week would depend on your destinations peak booking period, which may last as long as six months.



Remember, there is no single best day to find the best flight ticket prices, since it differs depending on your destination, the location from which you are flying, and your travel needs. Travelers often find the lowest ticket prices on flights departing Thursdays or Fridays. If you do not have a particular week planned to travel, you can choose any day to receive notifications about whether prices are dropping for flights leaving within the next three to six months.



For international flights, the cheapest day to begin your travel is on a Thursday, saving travelers over five percent. For domestic as well as international flights, starting your travels in the later part of the week (Wednesday-Saturday) is usually cheaper compared with the earlier part (Sunday-Tuesday). Early and midweek are typically cheaper during the off-peak days, and as a general rule, the busier the weekend, the more expensive a flight will cost.



Yes, leaving earlier in the week (rather than on Monday, which was once considered the cheapest day to fly) would result in savings over 15%, according to ARC and Expedia. You can get a savings of as much as 12 percent off your airfare by booking your flights for Monday, rather than a weekend, according to Byers analysis. The best day of the week to book airfare is Sunday, according to the report, where travelers could save an average of 5 percent on domestic flights and 15 percent on international flights compared with a Friday booking.



Mondays, Fridays, and Sundays are typically the priciest days to fly. Because airline prices fluctuate depending on demand, tickets are most likely to be expensive on more popular days, such as Fridays and Sundays, according to Scotts Cheap Flights, a flight-deals site.



While there might be cheaper prices for flights on Tuesday, it is not like Tuesday is any more likely to get a better deal compared with other days. It is time to ditch the myth that Tuesdays -- or any day -- are key to finding cheaper flights. In the past, you might have heard that the secret best day to buy plane tickets is Tuesday - but this is not any more the way to score an amazing deal. We explained how Tuesday was a great day to shop for airline tickets in the past: Because many airlines released their weekly sales early on Tuesday, which then led competing airlines to match prices -- and that is why Tuesday is the best day to find lots of deals.



Whether you are buying your ticket for a time that the destination you are traveling to is not in season, or if you are opting to fly in mid-week rather than on a weekend, buying your ticket during an off-peak time is the surest way to get rewarded with a great deal. While flying on Tuesdays through Thursdays is usually cheaper, airlines will not cut fares for those buying tickets during these days of the week.



To reiterate, the Airlines Reporting Corporation says that the lowest overall average ticket prices for domestic flights are found 57 days before departure. The lowest average ticket price for international flights was found to be 171 days before departure.