Which day is best to book your flight?
According to Peter Greenberg, Travel Editor of NBC's "Today Show" and author of "The Travel Detective", the best day to make your best deal is on Wednesday.
Usually, Friday night is the time when airlines raise their fares. Monday is when the airfare wars are just getting started. By late Tuesday night and early Wednesday morning, the airfare wars are at their peak.
As an example, Greenberg says, let's say upstart Airline A decides to begin a fare war. More than likely it happens on a Friday night. Usually, some (but not all) of the major airlines will match that fare on routes where they compete with Airline A. Does that mean you should still book tickets over the weekend? Absolutely not. As previous mentioned, some, but not all, of the major airlines will match that fare.
By late Monday, depending on how that new fare is doing in the marketplace, Airline B might jump into the battle and offer an even lower fare, so look for all the other airlines to rush to match that one - usually by Tuesday - and the war is on! Prices might even go lower on Wednesday. And that's when you strike. Wait any longer than Wednesday and you might be in trouble. The wars usually end by Thursday Morning.
There is even a best time to buy your ticket on Wednesday. It is sometime after 1 am. At about midnight (Tuesday night - Wednesday morning), the airlines usually load their computers with the latest low - cost fares that were announced the previous day but these fares will be canceled if they are not purchased within 24 hours.
Usually, Friday night is the time when airlines raise their fares. Monday is when the airfare wars are just getting started. By late Tuesday night and early Wednesday morning, the airfare wars are at their peak.
As an example, Greenberg says, let's say upstart Airline A decides to begin a fare war. More than likely it happens on a Friday night. Usually, some (but not all) of the major airlines will match that fare on routes where they compete with Airline A. Does that mean you should still book tickets over the weekend? Absolutely not. As previous mentioned, some, but not all, of the major airlines will match that fare.
By late Monday, depending on how that new fare is doing in the marketplace, Airline B might jump into the battle and offer an even lower fare, so look for all the other airlines to rush to match that one - usually by Tuesday - and the war is on! Prices might even go lower on Wednesday. And that's when you strike. Wait any longer than Wednesday and you might be in trouble. The wars usually end by Thursday Morning.
There is even a best time to buy your ticket on Wednesday. It is sometime after 1 am. At about midnight (Tuesday night - Wednesday morning), the airlines usually load their computers with the latest low - cost fares that were announced the previous day but these fares will be canceled if they are not purchased within 24 hours.
posted by Karl Lauer at 8:58 PM
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