New Data Shows the Best Day to Book a Flight—And It’s Not What You’ve Been Told

If you were to ask someone “What’s the best day to book a flight for maximum savings?,” chances are the response you’ll get is “Tuesday.” That may have been true once, but these days, it’s no longer the case—as Travel + Leisure reports, new data from Expedia reveals that Friday might actually be the best day to book your plane tickets. 

Explaining the Tuesday Booking Myth

Last year, Julian Kheel, founder and CEO of Points Path, toldSouthern Living, “The idea that Tuesdays are the best day to book flights is a leftover myth from the early days of airline pricing.” 

Airlines would load all their flights into a database every week at a certain time, and flyers who snatched up tickets quickly got the best deal—“but that’s not how ticketing systems work anymore,” Kheel says. These days, ticket prices are more dynamic, so “there’s no single day to book when prices are magically lower,” according to Kheel, and “waiting for a specific day could easily mean missing out.”  

Why Friday Might Be the Best Day to Book

But data that Expedia shared with Travel + Leisure showed that booking domestic flights on Fridays got flyers the best prices “because the end of the week sees less business and corporate travel,” according to the booking site.

(One big caveat, though: Peak travel times, like holiday seasons, will likely render this Friday booking advice moot.)

Friday might be the best time to book, but it seems Tuesday is still in the mix—as the best day to actually fly for maximum savings. Travelers flying on Tuesdays spent 14 percent less on average and as much as 8 percent less when they flew on Fridays as compared to flying on a Sunday.

“Business travelers head home earlier in the week these days,” Melanie Fish, the head of Expedia Group Brands public relations, told Travel + Leisure, “so new opportunities are opening up for leisure travelers to save by choosing smarter travel days, like Friday for the best prices or Tuesday for fewer crowds.” 

Expedia identified February 25, March 4, and November 18 as the least busy travel days that could net flyers big savings. On the flip side, they’ll want to avoid flying on May 22, July 3, and August 29, the busiest travel days according to Expedia’s data.

Other Things to Consider When Booking a Flight

According to CNBC, you can also save money by booking a flight that takes off earlier in the morning; those flights tend to be less popular because people prefer to take later flights. Early-morning flights also have a higher on-time arrival rate than afternoon or evening flights because the plane has been at the airport overnight.

As for when to book: Scott Keyes, founder of the flight deal subscription service Going, told the outlet that he advises booking at least a couple of months before your trip, depending on where and when you’re traveling. 

“If it’s an off-peak season—not middle of summer, Christmas or New Year’s—then booking about one to three months in advance is typically when cheap flights have the highest likelihood of popping up,” he told CNBC. “When you’re talking about international travel, two to eight months in advance.” If you’re planning to travel in peak season, you should look for flights three to seven months out if you’re flying domestic and four to 10 months out if you’re traveling internationally. 

And if you’re flying last minute, try to book at least 21 days out; after that, Keyes says, airlines raise the price of flights dramatically.