Everyone wants to find
cheap flights, but travel experts know that finding deals takes more than plugging in your dates and clicking "buy." There are extensive booking strategies, but some — even ones you may be using — are completely outdated. "The 'rules' of travel evolve as travel itself evolves," said Liana Corwin, Hopper's resident consumer travel expert. "Not only are there more options for consumers, such as low-cost carriers in an increasing number of markets and new fare classes like basic economy, but there is also much more transparency around flight pricing that previously didn't exist before."
United, American, and Delta all offer basic economy fares, which are a cut lower than the standard economy class and often don't allow you to bring a carry-on, choose your seat, or change your ticket. These fares may look like the cheapest flight option, but you'll have to either play by their rules or anticipate paying extra for things that are included in the economy fare. If you've got bags or need to sit with a family member (or hate the middle seat), you may save money by booking the standard economy fare upfront.
Buying tickets over the weekend may work with your schedule, but could hurt your wallet. By shopping for flights at predictable times – or when everyone else is buying – you'll hurt your chances of finding a good deal. Hopper reports that "There are significantly fewer deals available on the weekend for both domestic and international trips." Instead of hoping to find a deal on a Sunday or Tuesday, set alerts for the trips you want to take using the tools mentioned above.
The redye is often thought to be the cheapest fare of the day, but according to Skyscanner flying at 5 a.m. is the true sweet spot. Hopper's data confirms this finding, noting that spring travellers are seeing marginal savings by flying between 4 and 8 a.m. Corwin says, "Most people want to fly after 8 a.m. and return home from a trip in the afternoon – that means you're more likely to save if you book an early morning return flight too." Early morning flights are also less likely to be delayed as most planes have landed for the night and the airspace is relatively quiet. Airports are also less crowded in the early mornings with Google traffic data showing that New York's JFK airport is busiest between noon and 10 p.m.
According to the 2019 Travel Pricing Outlook, flights departing on Thursdays or Fridays tend to offer the lowest rates (with up to 10 per cent in savings), while flights departing on Sundays were found to be the most expensive. While this is important to keep in mind, the cheapest days to travel vary by flight and destination. Using a booking engine like Skyscanner, Kayak, or Hopper allows you to compare rates over several days or an entire month to see when the cheapest travel days are. Using this method, you might also be able to take advantage of airline errors or sale fares, resulting in crazy-cheap tickets at the airline or booking engine's expense.
