Everyone keeps telling me to book on Tuesdays at 3pm or whatever. Because they say they make it cheaper when less people are looking, etc etc. I got fed up with the conflicting advice, so I tracked prices for 6 months straight. The results? Well, let's just say there's no such thing as a best time or day. All airlines are different. But that doesnt mean you cant have tips and tricks.
What I actually found
After tracking over 2,000 flights across different routes, we discovered that the 'best day to book' varies wildly depending on:
- The airline: Some airlines update prices on Mondays, others on Fridays
- The route: Popular business routes behave differently to leisure routes
- The season: Summer bookings follow different patterns to winter
- How far in advance: Last minute deals have their own rhythm. Some routes are cheaper 2 weeks in advance, some 6 months. Then theres the sales. Get the gist?
The real secret
The biggest factor wasn't the day of the week. It was how flexible you are, with dates. Shift your travel by just 2-3 days could save you hundreds of pounds (euros or dollars for our international weasels). That's how Flight Weasel works; brute force scanning.
What this means for you
Stop obsessing over booking at certain times or airlines. Instead:
- Be flexible with dates. Its not a big deal, unless you have a very good reason to be specific.
- Set up price alerts, let technology do the tracking for you. Flight Weasel has the tools available to help, with Date Ranges (Date Windows).
- Book when you see a good price, don't wait for a "better" day that might never come. You can find out through Flight Weasel average prices, so you know if you have a good deal.
The data doesn't lie.