When Is the Cheapest Time to Buy Flights? Best Days Revealed

Key takeaways

• While reports suggest January, February, and August are the cheapest months to book flights, deals can appear year-round, varying by destination. For example, the best deals to Africa were found in October last year, while May and July were great for Asia.
• Contrary to the belief that Tuesdays are the best day to find cheaper flights, prices fluctuate constantly. Any day can yield good deals, making it important to stay vigilant throughout the week. (Or, you can sign up for Going and let our Flight Experts stay vigilant for you!)
• For domestic flights, booking 1–3 months in advance is ideal, while international flights are best booked 2–8 months out. Early booking is crucial for peak travel periods or specific dates.
• Last-minute deals are now rarer than in the past, as airlines know they can hike the prices for business and first-class tickets. Prices typically rise significantly after the three-week mark before departure, making early booking more favorable.
• By signing up for Going, you can always be alerted to the cheapest flight prices as soon as they become available. While most of our deals fall within the Goldilocks Window, we also let you know about amazing last-minute deals that can get you traveling in no time. 

There’s no shortage of opinions on the best time to book a flight, and—not surprisingly—the information varies depending on the source. 

At Going, we know a thing or two about finding airfare deals. We swim in those waters 24/7. So, we also have some opinions on the subject.

A report from Skyscanner says that the cheapest month to book a flight from the US is January, followed by February and August. The same report claims that you should book flights at 5am for the most potential savings, avoid booking flights between 8–11pm, and book on Tuesdays for domestic flights and Wednesdays for international flights.

It all seems so convenient, right? It would be so easy if you knew not only the best months and days of the week, but even the best hours of the day to click the “buy” button on airfare. 

Like most things that sound too good to be true, though, this report isn’t as definitive as it sounds.

As Going members know, fantastic airfare deals pop up year-round—and they don’t care much about what day or time it is. We’ve seen some killer deals on days or months that some reports would have you believe there’s no point in even looking.

We don’t think it’s possible to answer the question of “when is the best time to book a flight” in such simple terms. The truth is that it not only varies a bit depending on where you’re from and where you’re going, there are a whole lot of other unknowns and unexpected factors that can influence the price of a flight. 

Let’s dissect the question of “best time to purchase airline tickets” to get to its individual elements: month, day, and time in advance of a trip.

What’s the best month to book a cheap flight?

If the Skyscanner report was the end of the conversation, you’d only get Going emails in January, February, and August. 

The reality of "when is the cheapest time to fly" is that deals pop up in every month for varying reasons and for different destinations.

The month that we send out the most deals varies from year to year. And within each month, there are even some variances by destination.

For reference, here’s a rundown on the best deals we saw in 2023 for each region of the globe. Note that this isn't the cheapest time to travel to each region, rather they’re the months during which we found the most deals to each place (for example, a deal sent in May might be for travel in December).

The best time to book a cheap flight to Africa

The best month for snagging great deals to Africa was October, with an average deal price of about $550 roundtrip. However, we saw amazing deals to Africa consistently throughout the year, like a January mistake fare from NYC to Senegal for $327 roundtrip (for travel Mar–May and Sept–Oct 2023). May and November were also great times to get deals to Africa. 

The best time to book a cheap flight to Asia

The best months for scoring a deal to Asia were May and July, followed by December, but again, there were plenty of deals in other months, too. In September, we found $426 nonstop roundtrip flights from LAX to Tokyo (for travel Nov 2023–March 2024).  

The best time to book a cheap flight to Oceania

The biggest months for deals to Australia and New Zealand were March, February, and May, but there were deals to be had all year round. For example, in October we sent a deal for $440 roundtrip flights from SFO to French Polynesia (for travel Nov–Dec 2023), and in November we sent a deal for $683 roundtrip from Seattle and Portland to Auckland (for travel Nov 2023 and Jan–Mar 2024).

The best time to book a cheap flight to Europe

The months we send the most deals for travel to Europe were in September and October. However, there were deals galore in every single other month as well, like great fares in the $200s/$300s roundtrip to Europe from the US in November (for travel Jan–May 2024) and flights to the Azores and Madeira in the $400s/$500s over the summer (for travel throughout the summer and shoulder season).

>> Read our complete guide to finding cheap flights to Europe
 

The best time to book a cheap flight to Latin America

The months with the most frequent Latin America deals were May and December, followed by April in July. But as usual, we found a great number of deals throughout the year. For example, in September we shared a killer nonstop deal to Guatemala for $111 roundtrip from Houston (for travel Sept–Oct 2023) and in November we found roundtrip flights in the mid-$100s to $200s to several South American cities, including Cartagena and Medelliín, from several cities in the US (for travel Dec 2023–Oct 2024). 

Ultimately, while some months do see slightly more deals, we see deals all the time, and there’s never a bad month to find and book a cheap flight. 

What is the best day of the week to find cheap flights?

Another popular question is around the best day to book flights, and in particular, people wonder, “Are plane tickets cheaper on Tuesday?” 

A lot of sites claim this to be true, and it once was. Airlines used to post updated prices at a certain time of day each week (Tuesday, according to popular belief), but nowadays airline prices are constantly updated and can fluctuate by the second. 

We see deals every day, and we send out fare alerts 24/7, so we don’t think the Tuesday hypothesis holds water. Every day is a great day to find a cheap flight. 

How far in advance should I book a flight? 

Part of the math involved when you book airline tickets is knowing how many days in advance you should be checking on fares. There are plenty of opinions on this topic, too.

The best time to book a domestic flight is 1–3 months out. The best time to book an international flight is 2–8 months out. However, we recommending booking earlier if you need to travel on specific dates or if your trip is during peak travel times like Christmas, New Year's, and Spring Break.

You can book flights up to about a year in advance, but that doesn’t necessarily equal the best deal. If you have less flexibility or are traveling during peak times, start tracking flights early so you know the standard price—and can identify a good deal when you see one. 

Are last-minute flights cheaper?

Whether or not you aspire to be the kind of traveler who decides on a Tuesday to go to Aruba on Friday, you should know that deals on last-minute flights are more rare than you might have been led to believe. 

Airlines used to offer killer deals a few weeks out when they were trying to fill vacant seats with leisure travelers. But the times have changed, and now their bottom line is covered by expensive first and business class tickets, so there’s no need to fill every seat. Plus, they know some of those empty seats will get snapped up by business travelers heading out on a sudden trip—and they pay full price.

Generally speaking, waiting until the 11th hour to book airfare isn’t going to save you money. After about the three week mark, prices rise significantly, no matter the route. ‍

Bottom line: We think there’s no single best time to buy airline tickets. We find cheap flights and send them to our members all the time, so the best time to book your flight is when you find a deal that works for you.

More flight-booking resources: 

• How to Set Airfare Price Alerts and Save Money on Flights
• Best Apps for Booking Flights
• How to Use Google Flights
• How to Set Google Flights Alerts and Snag the Best Price
• Our Top Flight Booking Hacks

Never miss a great flight deal. Sign up for Going and get airfare alerts delivered right to your inbox.