What's The Best Day To Buy Your Airline Flights?
Forget everything you know about which day and how far out to purchase your airplane tickets.
Airlines Reporting (ARC) said today that in researching air ticket purchases between January 2013 and July 2014, they found best prices on Sunday for both domestic and international flights and that as compared to a 2011 study, the best domestic prices are being found even farther in advance.
The latest study shows that best prices can be found 57 days ahead of departure, just over eight weeks. That's two more weeks than the 2011 study, which found best prices six weeks ahead of flying.
And that common belief that Tuesday is the best day to buy your plane tickets? Not so much. Really, not even close.
ARC examined close to 130 million tickets worth $94 billion purchased in the U.S. during their 19-month study and found Sundays were clearly the best day to buy -- 13 percent better domestically ($432 average ticket price Sundays, $497 Tuesdays) and 31 percent better internationally ($958 Sundays, $1,396 Tuesdays).
“This latest study by ARC is significant because it reveals that not only have the lowest airfares shifted from six to eight weeks out for domestic travel, but the savings are markedly greater on a percentage basis,” said Chuck Thackston, managing director of enterprise information management at ARC. “It was also interesting to see that the data showed the least expensive tickets were purchased on a Sunday as opposed to Tuesday, which is a common belief.
According to the study, the best time to purchase international tickets is 24 weeks ahead of departure. Fares were a whopping 27 percent below the average fare at this optimal point ($1,004 at 171 days out vs. $1,368 average fare).
Domestic savings were a bit less at the optimal point of purchase, with the best fare 19 percent lower 57 days out ($401) vs. the average fare ($496).
The good news for domestic travelers is that, according to the study, if you buy at just the right time, flyers saved three times as much in the newest study as opposed to 2011 ticket prices. The best prices found six weeks ahead of departure in 2011 were just 5.8 percent below the overall average fare.
Now, back to the best day to buy. Saturday is actually still better than Tuesday -- 11 percent better domestically ($439 Saturdays, $497 Tuesdays) and 28 percent better internationally ($1,000 Saturdays, $1,396 Tuesdays).
Still, travelers have been conditioned to Tuesday, it seems. There were close to three times as many tickets purchased Tuesdays vs. Sundays for domestic flights (18.1 million Tuesdays, 6.1 million Sundays).
A couple other key findings of the study:
- You might find isolated last-second cheap airfares, but the ARC study showed that overall, prices spiked from $401 57 days out to an average of roughly $650 purchased the day of a domestic flight, a 62 percent jump. International flights jumped from a $1,004 average 171 days in advance to roughly $1,850 purchased on the day of an international flight, a staggering 84 percent jump.
- Despite all the research, U.S. travelers never learn. Domestic flights in the study were purchased 32 days ahead of the flight on average for domestic flights, with 24 percent of tickets purchased in the final seven days before flying. International flyers were a bit more savvy, with an average advance purchase time of 59 days and just 12 percent of tickets bought in final seven days before the flight.
