You can probably guess the worst times of the year to fly. The best times to fly are the days with less demand for seats, so that means the worst times of the year to fly are the times with the most demand.
These generally include the days around holidays or festivals (in Australia or at your destination), sporting events, and any time kids are out of school. Sometimes, holidays and kids being off from school line up. Those are typically the worst times to fly.
Of course, you may not always have a choice. Maybe you have kids in school, perhaps you work at a school, maybe you only get holidays off from work.
If that’s the case, there are a few things you can try to make paying for your flights less painful. For example, try flying to less popular destinations. You can also try varying your flight dates by a day or two. By taking an extra day off or giving up a day of your trip, you might be able to save significantly.
Read: How to be a better passenger – from a flight attendant
Best time of the year to fly
Consider your destination when flying internationally. This seems obvious, but many times, the distance to the destination, combined with national events at your destination (such as the World Cup, Oktoberfest, Hanami Festival in Japan and many others) play a role in the cost of travel.
Higher demand to visit a destination will typically increase the price of flights. If there’s a scheduled event you want to attend, check out flights to neighbouring cities and considering commuting by rail or road to your desired destination. This tip can decrease your travel expenses and probably create a more interesting trip.
Worst day and time to fly
No matter where you’re headed, the cheapest day to fly will be on a Tuesday. This was one of the least expensive days to travel for every destination in a study done by CheapAir. Wednesday was the other cheapest day to fly for all destinations except for the South Pacific, where Tuesday was the only consistently inexpensive travel day.
If you can, avoid flying on a Sunday, which was deemed the most expensive day to fly for all regions except for the Middle East – where Saturday is the priciest.
Not only are Tuesdays the cheapest day of the week to fly but, according to a new study by AirHelp, it’s also the day with the least amount of flight cancellations.
Read: Planning tips to avoid flight delays
Avoid flying on Fridays, when the number of cancelled flights is at its highest. Additionally, AirHelp says, you’ll want to refrain from travelling between 4pm – 9:59pm, which is the time period that flights are most likely to be cancelled (regardless of which day of the week it is).
Days of the week with the most flight cancellations
- Friday
- Thursday
- Wednesday
- Saturday
- Sunday
- Monday
- Tuesday
Read: Worst airports for flight delays and cancellations
What is the cheapest day of the week to book flights?
You may have heard the myth that Tuesdays are the best day to book flights to get the cheapest deal. According to CheapAir, there is no magical cheapest day of the week to book flights. Their data showed that the average low fare only varied by about $1 over the course of a week.
When do you tend to book flights? Can you typically travel when it’s cheaper? Let us know in the comments section below.