You’ve probably heard that you’ll find the cheapest airfare on a Tuesday. But according to a new study from travel startup Hopper, that’s a myth. So when can you find the best fares?
Hopper monitored ticket prices from the month of January to find that the answer to that for both domestic and international travel is Thursday. Saturday, on the other hand, turns up the most expensive fares for domestic flights and Sunday is the priciest for international trips. The price difference, however, wasn’t too terrible — you’re looking at about $US10 in savings between the best and worst days for domestic and about $US25 for international. But hey, savings are savings.
Hopper also took a look at 11,000 destinations to find which is the cheapest day to actually fly. Sunday is the most expensive day to depart and Friday is the spendiest day to return. That makes sense considering they are the busiest days of the week for air traffic. If you want to save money, you’re better off departing on a Wednesday and returning on a Tuesday if you’re flying domestic or a Monday if you’re coming back from abroad. When it comes to returns, you have a bit more money at stake, too. Hopper says the difference in price is between $US45 and $US60. It might not seem like much, but it’s so dadgum expensive to fly these days, and it’s only getting more expensive. So a little bit of savings goes a long, long way. [Hopper via Bloomberg]
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