For years, conventional wisdom has dictated that if you’re looking to book a flight, you’d likely get a better rate if you did so on a Tuesday rather than on the busy weekends. But is that tip still valid in 2024?
The cost of taking to the skies has become pricier across the board – airplane ticket prices are up 29% on average over three years ago. So is there a scheduling hack that can trim some of that cost?
According to a new report by USA Today, any savings garnered from mid-week flight booking are “marginal” when examining data from Hopper and Google Flights. Tickets purchased on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday were just 1.9% cheaper than weekend purchases.
But that doesn’t mean you can’t still find other ways to save money. You just may have to monitor more than just the calendar.
“While everyone wants a golden rule for the best day of the week to book a flight – the reality is that the best day, and time, to book a flight depends on a number of factors,” said Hayley Berg, Hopper’s lead economist, in an email to USA TODAY.
“We tested this out and looked at the best day of the week to book for a number of popular trips and Tuesday was the cheapest day just 1% of the time,” she said. “The best price might be available on Tuesday – but it might be available on another day of the week.”
However, when talking with Expedia, USA Today found that the day of the week can have an effect on pricing – just not the way people previously thought.
By booking flights on Sundays, “travelers saved an average of 13% compared to those who book on Fridays (the most expensive day),” Expedia travel expert Christie Hudson told USA TODAY in an email.
Expedia also suggested booking flights 28 days or more in advance for domestic travel. Doing so can take about 24% off the price of tickets.