The best time to score those flight deals is, according to tradition, the middle of the week. There is logic behind this as traveling for leisure on Tuesday or Wednesday is difficult for those who work a traditional workweek while companies are also more likely to incorporate the weekend when sending employees' on a work trip.
On Sundays, airports are usually full of travelers who are coming back in time for work to start on Monday.
Related: How the CEO of a Low-Cost Airline Tries to Keep Prices Low
While Sunday is a particularly expensive day to travel, it is a good time to go online browsing for a plane ticket. For the second year in a row, Expedia (EXPE) -)'s annual Air Travel Hacks Report for 2024 identified this day of the week as the best time to book. Those who buy on Sunday instead of Friday (the most expensive day to shop for plane tickets) will save on average 17% on domestic flights and 24% on international ones.
Expedia/TheStreet
Put your credit card down on one day but travel on another, report finds
The cheapest day for traveling shifted from Wednesday in last year's report to Thursday going into 2024. Sunday is still the most expensive day to travel but those who choose to go on Thursday will save, on average, 13% compared to other days.
While the tradition of looking for that "last-minute deal" is hard to break, this year made the importance of booking in advance even more evident. By crunching the numbers from Airline Reporting Corporation's global airline sales database between January and August 2023, Expedia found that the average flight was more than 30% less expensive when booked a month prior to departure.
Compared to last year, the ideal window for booking cheap flights shifted from the 28 to 35 days to 30 to 37 days before departure. The savings are also bigger now as booking a month early would earn one only 11% in savings in 2022.
"Travelers that booked 25 days prior to departure saved 33% on average compared to those who waited until the last minute," Expedia writes in the report. "For international airfare, avoid booking too early as prices are comparatively high 106 days out. However, prices also tend to increase 20 days prior to departure."
'Booking your next flight shouldn't be in the same ballpark as getting a cavity filled'
The wider report looked at the things that stress travelers out about flying. Expedia's numbers show that 39% of the 1,000 people surveyed found air travel to be quite stressful while 43% are particularly stressed about the process of finding a good price.
As airlines are increasingly reworking their networks to minimize the number of flights flying half-empty amid an industry-wide staffing shortage, the days of seeing prices fall at the last minute to sell seats is largely a relic of the past. Booking well in advance is statistically the best way to get a lower price.
To make the process easier, Expedia recommends using price-tracking tools to start seeing the price patterns of one's flights as soon as one starts planning to travel and looking into different bundles that combine the flight with car rentals and hotel stays.
"In terms of stress levels, booking your next flight shouldn't be in the same ballpark as getting a cavity filled," Melanie Fish, who heads PR for Expedia Group Brands, said of the findings.
