Cheapest Day of the Week to Fly

As a kid one always wished one knew how to fly..., as an adult one always wished one knew which was the cheapest day of the week to fly! Ain't I right? I mean in today's world, taking a flight is something which everyone opts for over other means of transportation, considering the fact that 'time' is most valuable thing these days! I mean why would you drive for 8 hours all the way to a destination when you can reach there within an hour or two! However, people who wish to fly and save time, also want to know how to fly cheap and get the best deal for their trip. If you are among those who want the best of both worlds, then it is important for you to know about when is the best time of the week to buy cheap tickets. The answer to this question is Tuesday or Wednesday. Yes, that's right! You would be amazed as to how much you would save if you book your flight tickets on a Tuesday or a Wednesday! The logic is simple. We all know that the most expensive days to fly in a week are the weekends and Monday! So, the airlines are usually looking to fill their flights during the mid week, thereby revising the price of the seats, the weaker airlines try to compete with the other airlines, and the airfare market is such that even if one airline reduces its prices, the others follow the suit. All this will be discussed in further details in the following paragraph.

Tips on Buying Cheap Airline Tickets

Though the cheapest days to book tickets are Tuesdays and Wednesdays, there are other factors as well that one needs to take into consideration. These factors include the destination, the degree of flexibility that you can manage when it comes to your traveling dates, and understanding how airlines revise the prices of their seats. On the other hand there are many tools and techniques by which you can actually catch a pretty good deal and proudly tell your seat mate about your catch! Have a look at the tips mentioned below that can help you bag the lowest airfare for your next trip.

Best Day: Tuesday-Wednesday
OK, it is Tuesday or Wednesday that you must book your flights on, but then you need to know how the process of airfare works. What happens is that after thousands of people flying over the weekends and returning on Mondays, the airline sort of revises the fares on Monday evening. This is first started by one airline, and to keep the competition alive, the rest follow. Therefore, all the revision takes place by Tuesday afternoon and the bookings at the lower fare continues till Wednesday.

Best Time: As Early as Possible
According to sources, the airlines finish reviewing and updating the lowest fares by 3 pm on Tuesday afternoons. Therefore, the best time to get hold of the low fare tickets are Tuesday afternoons after 3 pm. On the other hand, you can also wait until early Wednesday mornings as there are chances that some airlines may further lower the prices by then. So even if you missed booking on a Tuesday, you can book on early Wednesday mornings or after Tuesday midnight.

Best Flight: Red Eye or...
The fares also vary depending upon the kind of flight you select. A tip would be to select the flights that are NOT preferable by the rest of the crowd. For example, a red eye flight or an early morning flight would usually get you a lower fare compared to the rest. So if you can manage to 'adjust' your preferences, you are most likely going to get a lower fare.

Enroll for a Fare Watcher
There are many travel websites like Travelocity, Orbitz and Expedia which offer the 'fare watcher' services wherein you can enter the destination pairs and it will notify you via email as soon as the fares go low. However, for this option you need to be really quick and regular in checking your inbox. I have been using Travelocity since quite some time now and they usually send a link to book the lower fare flight in the email itself. However, there are limited seats available on that fare so the ones who book the seats first get lucky!

These rules generally apply towards domestic flights only and not international flights. For international flights it would be advisable to book well in advance, say 30 days to get a lower fare. Even for domestic flights, it is better to book at least 21, 14, or 7 days in advance. Also if possible, it is always better to go for a round trip ticket instead of a one way ticket as round trip is more cheaper than one ways. So just be alert and use the aforementioned tips to bag the best airfare possible. Good luck!