When to book your flight for the best deals
Does booking flights far in advance mean you'll get the best bargains? Or is last minute booking cheaper? Everyone wants their money to go as far as possible, particularly when it comes to booking a holiday. So, make your money go even further with our top tips on grabbing the best flight deals.
The best day to book?
The cheapest day to book flights on is a Tuesday, where a study has found that prices are 17% cheaper. It was also found that Sundays are 1.32% cheaper. Flight comparison site Skyscanner recently found that booking flights for somewhere in Europe was cheapest around seven weeks before departure, so it's well worth bearing this in mind when you're planning your next trip. This also varies between long-haul and short-haul destinations.
Long-haul flights
Avoid booking long-haul flights in March, as this is when they are at their most expensive. The best month for getting low-cost long-haul flights is December, where savvy flyers can save around 6% on their airfare. Popular long-haul destinations such as Bangkok, Sydney, Los Angeles, and New York are cheapest when booked 18 weeks in advance, where you can save between 5-10%.
An additional tip is to choose a long-haul flight which has a stopover, as these reduce the price quite noticeably. It only adds a few more hours to the journey but could save you hundreds of pounds.
Short-haul flights
Short-haul flights are at their most costly in February; yet, if you book your short-haul flights only a month before in January, you can expect to save up to 11%! Favoured European destinations such as Malaga, Tenerife, Barcelona, and Lanzarote are best-booked 7-8 weeks in advance, where travellers can save between 6-14% on airfares.
Use price comparison sites
Use sites such as TravelSupermarket.com, Skyscanner.net or Fly.com to find the cheapest options and airlines. It sometimes works out cheaper to depart and arrive with different airline carriers, and here you can personally select the best options for you.
Be flexible
When searching for flights online, view the entire month as opposed to just the date you want to depart on. You may find it is a lot cheaper to fly out a day before or after. Evening flights after 6pm also tend to be a lot cheaper. Also, consider setting up a price alert so you can catch good deals before they're gone.
But, there are a few other things to consider when nabbing a cheap flight. These include things such as the airport the flights are departing from, the airline, and whether the low-value fare is suitable for you - you may have to pay extra for baggage and food, and night flights may mean travelling to and from the airport of your destination is a lot more inconvenient.
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*Prices correct at time of writing and subject to change.
