After a number of studies on travel and tourism, for the best time to book a flight, a new study gives a scientific solution to this major query.
CheapAir , an airfare search engine has come up with a study on the best waiting windows to book flight tickets. They analysed data which was collected from over 4 million airplane voyages last year. Researchers tracked the ticket prices from 320 days prior to the flight date up until the day before and they calculated the exact day each fare hit the lowest rate.
It was found that for domestic trips, tickets must be booked around 54 days prior to the departure date. CheapAir says to look for the ‘prime booking window’, within 104 and 29 days before the departure date for the best deals.
For International destinations the booking rates vary by destination, but you can get the most reasonable deals if the tickets are book 100 days prior to the day of travel.
This new research has completely debunked the idea that the best prices can be found if you wait till the last minute.
Most of the time, waiting until the last minute can result in paying twice as much the fair than booking the tickets 104 days before the expected travel date.
But this theory isn’t fool proof, if you wish to travel to a popular destination during the holiday season, the further out the better, a good 5 to 6 months in advance, will give you some of the cheapest and most reasonable deals.
CheapAir recommends 151 days before the flight date for destinations in Europe, 101 days prior for The Caribbean islands and 89 days prior for Mexico.
Skyscanner another online airfare search engine, based in the UK has conducted a study and said that booking your flight tickets five weeks prior can give you some of the best airfare deals. But the company advises passengers to ditch the study and always research prices and set up price alerts to keep an eye out for the best rates.
If you have a fool proof solution do let us know.
