Expedia® released its 2023 Air Travel Hacks Report, providing the latest essential tips to save travelers time and money on flights. Created in partnership with the Airlines Reporting Corporation (ARC) and leveraging insights from its massive air ticket database, the annual report has become an authority for eight years running on air travel trends, revealing data-backed hacks for travelers, including:
- Best day of the week to book airfare and catch the lowest prices
- The sweet spot for booking airfare
- How to minimize the risk of being impacted by delays and cancellations
- Cheapest day of the week to depart
View the full 2023 Air Travel Hacks report on the Expedia blog, including more ways to avoid flight delays, maximize loyalty and rewards programs and save on every trip.
Top tips from the 2023 Air Travel Hacks report include:
- Book airfare on a Sunday to save on average 15%.1 Travelers who book on Sundays instead of Fridays tend to save, on average, around 15% on domestic flights and 10% on international flights.
- Book at least 2 months before domestic flights to save 40% 2. Travelers that booked during this period saved nearly 40% on average compared to those who waited until a month prior to departure.
- Book at least 3 months before international flights to save 10% 2. Travelers that booked during this period saved nearly 10% on average compared to those who waited until two months or less prior to departure.
- Depart before 3 p.m. to reduce chance of cancellations.3 Based on year-to-date flight status data, flights that depart between 3:00 a.m and 3:00 p.m. are the least likely to be cancelled. Flights departing after 3 p.m. have a 15% higher chance of cancellation on average than those that depart earlier in the day.
- Depart on a Friday to save up to 20% on domestic flights.4 For domestic travel, avoid departing Saturday – Monday, which are the priciest days to start a trip. Departing on a Friday versus the beginning of the week saved travelers 20%. Thursday is a great alternative where travelers saved 10% on average overall. For international travel, Thursday is cheapest, with Sunday and Monday are most expensive respectively. Departing on a Wednesday versus the beginning of the week saved travelers 5%.
“This report does more than save people money,” said Jon Gieselman, president of Expedia Brands. “It’s about the time savings and peace of mind that comes with knowing you have industry leading data-based tips at your fingertips to inform booking decisions.”
“While it has been a volatile recovery, our data indicates travel is beginning to normalize with travelers taking advantage of flying again,” said Chuck Thackston, managing director of data science and research at ARC. “Airlines have improved their performance while both capacity and traveler demand continue to increase. We’re also starting to see business travelers return to the skies following the surge of leisure travel in the first half of 2022.”