There are a lot of ways to get monetary savings on flights.
But booking airfare on a certain day of the week is not considered one of them, in line with data from Google Flights.
Booking mid-week — and particularly Tuesdays around midnight — is usually cited as the perfect time to buy flights. But up to now five years, U.S. airfares purchased on Tuesdays, Wednesday or Thursdays have been only one.9% cheaper on average than airfares purchased through the weekend, in line with Google Flights.
“In case your trip is just a few weeks away, don’t wait for Tuesday to roll around — book your flight now in case the worth goes up,” wrote James Byers, Google Flights’ group product manager, on a blog post published yesterday.
Strategies that work
While the day of the week travelers book may not matter much, the day they fly does, in line with Google Flights’ research, which examined five years of historical flight data from Aug. 1, 2017 to Aug. 1, 2022.
“On average, flights that depart on Monday, Tuesday, or Wednesday have been 12% cheaper than weekend departures,” wrote Byers. “If you happen to exclude international destinations, the potential savings jump even higher to twenty%.”
Travelers seeking to get monetary savings should avoid flying on Sundays, in line with Google Flights.
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One other common strategy — booking early — also works, in line with the information. For U.S. domestic flights, airfares have been lowest between three and eight weeks before a departure date, with prices “bottoming out” 44 days out, in line with the research.
Non-stop flights cost on average about 20% greater than connecting flights, in line with Google Flights, but flights with stops also increase the danger of interruptions.
An Instagram poll by the travel insurance company World Nomads indicated greater than 1 in 3 respondents spent as much as $250 on flights, meals or hotels due to flight delays or cancellations this summer, while 12% reported spending between $500 to $1,000.
More ways to save lots of
Travelers with flexible flying days can use Google Flights’ “date grid” function to quickly ascertain the most cost effective dates to depart and arrive in a given week.
Those that wish to travel for a particular duration — say, two weeks — but are flexible on when, can use the “price graph” function to see the most cost effective times to fly too.
Price tracking also eliminates the necessity to look many times to price-check a desired route. Search the route once, hit the button to “track prices” and Google Flights will send notifications of airfare changes via email.
‘Best times’ to book
Based on its historical data, Google Flights also suggests the “best times” to book flights for peak-period travel and popular routes.
Travelers hoping to get monetary savings on airfare to Europe are advised to plan the earliest, while summer vacationers can consider planning weeks, reasonably than months, upfront.
