Workers hate Mondays, The Cure are in love on Fridays, but travellers couldn't leave without Tuesday. This day gained the spotlight of adventurers and holidaymakers as it is by far the best time to score a deal on international and European airfare.
Image courtesy of Rachel Fennel, Frontier's Fiji Adventurer
Love mid-week
Tuesday is the best day to buy a plane ticket for cheaper. That is because airlines usually announce deals on Monday evening; so on Tuesday flight companies take part to a race to lower price. In the middle of this "High noon"- style duel, travellers can grab the best offer available. Some flights search engine are even more accurate and suggest to buy the ticket by 3 pm. Gamblers, instead, tend to wait till Wednesday afternoon to snag tickets left over on the battle field.
Buy on the right Tuesday
However not every Tuesday is a good deal day. According to US-based search engine Cheapair, holidaymakers should book between 225 days and 104 before flying when prices fall to within 6 pound of their lowest point. Airlines suggest waiting at least 6 weeks (42 days), while the Economist bet it all on 8 weeks (56 days). However the Black Friday of airline companies for domestic flights is 54 days before take off. Leaving from UK, the best time to step in the arena of airfare war is at least 5 weeks ahead of departure. All agree in avoiding last minute booking as on the week of the departure prices can rise up to 40%. Statistic warns also well organised passengers. The golden rule is: shop early, but don't buy too early as airlines usually offer cheaper seats 4 months before departing or 5 months for international flights.
Image courtesy of Dafne Cholet
When you should go
Not surprisingly, Friday is the most expensive day to flight out while Sunday should be avoided to return home. The huge demand for week-end flights pushes up the price. Booking an outbound flight mid-week can save holidaymakers a consistent bunch of money. The time can play a role: no one wants to fly at 4 a.m. so a red-eyed trip to the airport before dawn helps to cut on airport fees. Also the choice of the holiday's season weighs on your budget. Christmas and Easter will be more expensive than other dates. In the summer, June and July are the most sought after periods, so you could save some dollar by postponing your holidays just a little.
Low cost company
Low cost companies have their own magic formula. According to a research of Royal Economic Society, Wednesday and Thursday are the best day to snag a deal on the ticket's price. Prices trend reveals a U-shaped profile over the time: fares start moderately high and tend to decrease over time up to about 10 days before the take-off, at which point there are fares hikes of 50-75%. Airline prices tend to overcharge late comers as they mostly are businessmen, who can hardly post-pone their departures. At the same time they aim to prevent customers from chasing last-minute discounted flight.
Image courtesy of Abdallahh
A few more tips
If you have already started to cross the days on your calendar waiting for your big Tuesday buying session, there are few more things to be considered. Make sure to bear in mind that algorithms and magic formula are only guide lines. It is advisable to check through several comparison search engines for airfares such as Skyscanner. Consider all the close airports as a single company can practice different fees depending on the layover. It is also important to calculate carefully the price for the airport transfer. Check carefully online all available offers: prices can change up to 3 times a day so you could always consider setting yourself price alerts. You can always take your quote to a flight company to see if they can beat it! So do your search, compare prices, dream about your holiday and wait for Tuesday.
By Cristina Nanni
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