A new report reveals the best — and worst — days to book a flight
- Data from the new 2023 Air Travel Hacks Report from ARC and Expedia reveals the best day to book flights.
Crunching the data on millions of airline passengers flying on more than 200,000 daily flights reveals some interesting trends that can save you money the next time you fly.
For starters: Never book your airfare on a Friday. That's when prices are at their highest.
The new 2023 Air Travel Hacks Report from Airlines Reporting Corporation and Expedia released on Wednesday offers hacks, tips, and tricks on booking your next flight.
The eighth annual report leverages ARC's insights from the world's largest air ticketing dataset which includes more than 15 billion passenger flights on 490 airlines.
The report's top 3 recommendations for saving money on your next flight:
- Avoid booking on a Friday. The best day of the week to book your airfare is a Sunday when travelers can save 5% on domestic flights and 15% on international flights on average when compared with booking on Friday, according to the report.
- Don't wait until the last minute. You can save 10% by booking domestic flights a month in advance and international flights six months before traveling, according to the travel data firm.
- Wednesday is the cheapest day to fly. Saturdays, Sundays, and Mondays are the priciest days to start a trip. You can save up to 15% by departing on a Wednesday, according to the report.
Air travel is beginning to normalize after a volatile recovery following the pandemic slowdown, according to ARC. Ticketing data shows a return of business travel following a surge in leisure travel during the first half of 2022. Airline performance has improved as traveler demand and carrier capacity continues to increase.
Planning ahead, remaining flexible, and avoiding flights late in the day are the best ways to avoid delays and cancellations, according to ARC and Expedia.