I recently wrote an article about how I found a seriously cheap international flight through a really cool service called FlightFox. Since then I’ve been contacted by many of my readers asking me, “when is the best time to buy plane tickets”. This is something I feel I’m qualified to talk about seeing as I have done a lot of travelling and experimented a lot when it came to booking flights.
So what is the key? In my opinion, It’s all about timing. Timing is everything when you want to save money on plane tickets.
When is the Best Time to Buy Plane Tickets?
There are a few areas you want to look at here. Lets break it down.
Avoid Major Public Holidays
Airlines always raise their prices around public holidays as they know this is the only time many of us have the opportunity to get away. If you can help it, try to plan your travels away from any main public holidays as you will certainly become a victim of extortion. The build up to any holiday period are almost never the best time to buy plane tickets.
Best Time of the Week
Although sometimes unavoidable, there is absolutely no doubt that you will save money by flying on a weekday rather than a weekend. You might find a dramatic decrease in price if you book for a Thursday instead of a Friday. It is a common belief that Tuesday and Wednesday are the cheapest days to book a plane ticket.
Best Time of the Day
You may have heard a myth that midnight is a golden opportunity when it comes to booking a plane ticket. I have tested this theory on several occasions and I can tell you without a shadow of a doubt that this will always be a myth. Don’t believe everything you’re told.
Booking Last Minute
You will always hear people tell you that booking early is a sure fire way to get cheaper tickets. The truth of the matter is you can get some real discounted tickets if you wait until a couple weeks or even just days before. It can be a little risky but honestly, the only time I would not recommend doing this is when you absolutely must leave on a particular date or there are a large number of you travelling. The last flight I booked last minute only had 2 seats left.
The Unfortunate Truth
Although these are all proven strategies in terms of the best time to buy plane tickets, you might not be successful on every occasion Why? Because airlines are for the most part, unpredictable. Using the strategies suggested will definitely aid you but you do have to accept from time to time that the price isn’t going to drop.
Loyal Followers
There is one last thing I should mention has worked for me before. Subscribing to your favorite airline or airlines mailing list. Often they will send out promotional emails to their loyal subscribers, which you may never of heard about otherwise.
And Finally…
I really hope that cleared up a few things for everyone that asked me “when is the best time to buy plane tickets”. I would quickly like to point out that I’m not an expert, these are my own personal experiences and suggestions.
Don’t forget to check out the rest of the blog if you’re serious about saving money. Also you can check out FlightFox as mentioned here.
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