The 2 Cheapest Days of the Week to Fly
Be a little flexible with your flight itinerary and you could save some cash; that's because some days are cheaper for flying than others. There are two specific days that are cheapest for air passengers. Those days are likely to yield the best rates for departures and arrivals. But remember: This isn't an exact science.
The universal consensus seems to be that airfares tend to be lowest for flights that depart on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. That's what George Hobica of Airfarewatchdog says, along with CheapAir. Some sources, includingFodor's, add Thursday, and others, including Smarter Travel's Josh Roberts and FareCompare, add Saturday.
Expedia's 2015 Travel Trends White Paper posts the most comprehensive analysis of the "when to fly" question. Expedia concludes that, for long-haul flights, leaving on Thursday and returning on Monday costs around 20 percent less than leaving on Friday and returning on Saturday. The lowest in-and-out combinations tend to include outbound flights on Sunday, Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday with return flights on Sunday, Monday, Wednesday, or Thursday. For short-haul trips, Expedia's lowest-fare groupings are Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday both ways.
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