Is one day of the week really better than all the others for booking cheap flights?
You might have heard that Tuesdays are the cheapest day of the week for booking flights and that you’ll find the lowest airfare on this day.
This has been a common piece of travel advice for years, but it was typically considered a myth — the day of the week that you bought your airline ticket didn’t matter, but the day of the week that you actually flew did, and Tuesday flights are among the cheapest.
However, a new study from Upgraded Points suggests that there may indeed be a cheapest day of the week to book flights.
They analyzed more than 44,000 flights for 8 popular U.S. airlines and this is what they found.
The Cheapest Day To Book Flights Is…
According to the data from Upgraded Points, the cheapest day of the week to book a flight is in fact Tuesday — but just by a bit.
The average cost of airfare for all flights analyzed was $225.21 one-way, and Tuesday saw cheaper fares with an average cost of $213.31 one-way.
This is closely followed by Wednesday where the average airfare was $213.44.
So as it turns out, booking your flights on a Tuesday or a Wednesday can indeed save you some money — approximately 5% compared to the average airfare.
What’s The Most Expensive Day?
Upgraded Points also determined the worst days to book a flight.
Saturday is the most expensive day to book a flight, with the average cost of a one-way flight booked on this day coming in at $241.61 which is 7% more expensive than the weekly average.
You should also avoid booking flights on a Friday because the average cost is $238.47.
Just waiting a few days to book a flight can save you a good amount of money compared to booking on a Friday or a Saturday.
But It Varies By Airline
This might all seem pretty straightforward, but where it gets really interesting is that the cheapest day of the week to book a flight varies by airline.
While the data above is based on all 8 U.S. airlines analyzed, the cheapest and most expensive days can change significantly depending on which airline you’re flying.
- Alaska Airlines: Thursday is the cheapest, Friday and Saturday are the most expensive.
- American Airlines: Friday and Sunday are the cheapest, Monday is the most expensive.
- Delta Air Lines: Thursday is the cheapest, Friday and Saturday are the most expensive.
- Frontier Airlines: Tuesday is the cheapest, Friday and Saturday are the most expensive.
- Hawaiian Airlines: Tuesday is the cheapest, Saturday and Sunday are the most expensive.
- JetBlue Airways: Sunday is the cheapest, Friday is the most expensive.
- Spirit Airlines: Monday is the cheapest, Saturday is the most expensive.
- United Airlines: Sunday is the cheapest, Thursday and Friday are the most expensive.
All in all, though, Monday and Tuesday have the cheapest flights, while Friday and Saturday have the most expensive flights.
More Tips To Save Money On Flights
So it turns out that booking your flight on a Tuesday (or Monday) for better deals may not be a travel myth after all!
Now that you know the best (and worst) days of the week to book flights, why not check out these additional tips to save money on flights?
These are the best Google Flight hacks that can help you find the best deal on airfare.
These travel tips from Expedia are also useful for knowing when to book your flights depending on where you’re going in order to save money.
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