Wondering when are the cheapest days to fly? We’re all looking to save a buck on travel, so our dollars take us more places for the same spend, right? And knowing on which days you will pay less airfare can help!

Booking on a cheaper day to fly can stretch your dollars — and miles on some airlines — as far as possible. Knowing the cheapest days to fly and the best times of year to fly can also help you get more for your buck.

This is a sponsored post from Mighty Travels; however, the writing and opinions are my own and I only share with you tools and resources that I have used and recommend. Enjoy a 30-day free trial of Mighty Travels Premium, which alerts you via email or text to super low airfares around the world for 110,000 selected city pairs. The company also has a service that alerts you to low hotel rates called Mighty Rates.

 

What Are the Cheapest Days to Fly?

cheapest days to fly

While it’s not always 100% true, in most cases Tuesdays and Wednesdays win out as the cheapest days to fly, while Fridays and Sundays tend to be the worst.

In fact, you’ll notice Southwest often excludes Friday and Sunday from its Southwest sales.

But it makes sense, doesn’t it?

Most travelers are in transit to and from their destination over the weekend, departing Friday after work and returning Monday before work.

Or even if they’re traveling for a week, they’re still likely to fly out Friday and back Sunday.

Business travelers tend to fly on Mondays, which also makes it a not-so-great day to fly.

Luggage carousel

Tuesdays and Wednesdays tend to have the lowest demand, meaning airlines are willing to drop their prices to entice more customers to fly on those days.

Torsten Jacobi, the founder of Mighty Travels, a service that for less than $10/month alerts you to great airfare deals via email and/or text (read my full review of Mighty Travels), says this holds true not just in the U.S. but for other regions like the Caribbean and Europe, as well.

 

What Are the Worst Times of Year to Travel?

cheapest days to fly

Hands down, the winter holidays (Christmas and New Year’s) and the summer months, especially July, are the worst times of year to travel. 

Plus, Jacobi says, “It’s not just expensive; it is also much more crowded.” So true!

I always find this to be the case on Southwest flights.

Forget finding a good deal in July or around Christmas and New Year’s unless perhaps you’re willing to fly on the actual holiday itself.

Jacobi notes, however, that there can be some airline “mistake fares” (read more about mistake fares) over these time periods, so he advises Mighty Travels Premium subscribers keep their eyes on their email and phone for alert texts during these times of year.

 

What Are Some Good Times of the Year to Travel?

Tips for Train Travel in Europe
Credit: Rail Europe; Traveling to Europe in the fall can save you a lot!

Jacobi says if you’re looking to head to Europe or Southeast Asia from the U.S., look for deals October through November and February through April.

“Many airlines are forced to schedule the same number of daily flights for every day for a whole year [whether or not demand is high],” he says. “It is often hard to fill these planes in fall and late winter/early spring. Good deals can be had during these periods, often just a fraction of summer travel ticket prices.”

If the Middle East, Australia or other southern hemisphere destinations are on your bucket list, Jacobi recommends a summer trip when these areas get much more affordable.

“In addition, you can easily find 5-star chain hotels in the Middle East under $75 in summer,” he says.

 

What Are the Best Days to BOOK Flights?

When to apply for the Southwest Companion Pass?

In my experience, the best days to book flights to snag a good deal are Tuesdays and Wednesdays.

Flying on these days is one of the key ways my family stretches our dollars and points as far as they will possibly go!

Jacobi agrees, explaining that many domestic sales target just these days.

For example, ever notice how Southwest sales come out on Tuesdays and usually on run through Thursday?

This is likely because they need to boost ticket sales during these days.

You also might notice that if they extend a sale beyond Thursday, it’s likely over a holiday weekend when sales also tend to decrease.

 

What Is the TOP Way to Save When Buying Airfare?

“The best tip is to always keep an eye out for mistake fares,” says Jacobi, of which Mighty Travels alerts Premium members as soon as they’re available.

“Mistake fares are not that common and last only a few hours or sometimes minutes,” he says. “If you manage to book a mistake fare, you can often fly in business class for the price of economy!”

In addition to mistake fares, Mighty Travels alerts Premium members to other low airfares as soon as they are available with information on the available dates, airline, destination and comparing the fare to its regular price.

I highly recommend subscribing to a service like Mighty Travels, which offers a 30-day free trial of its Premium service.

For a low cost of just $7.99/month paid monthly or ~$5.00/month if paid annually, you can easily save hundreds and thousands off the cost of airfare.

Why wouldn’t you want to do that? 🙂

These airfare deals are often well worth paying for instead of using your hard-earned miles and points!

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