Best day to book flights for cheap deals revealed – and the month to travel to avoid delays and cancellations

Booking your flight on one specific day will get you the best cheap deals. (Getty Images)
Booking your flight on one specific day will get you the best cheap deals. (Getty Images)

It is the age-old question: Is there really a specific day to book flights to get the best cheap deals? Well, if a new report is anything to go by, then yes there is.

Findings featured in Expedia’s 2024 Air Travel Hacks Report revealed that Sunday is the best day to book your flight if you want a cheap deal, while Friday is the best day to take your flight.

Read more: How to get a row of seats to yourself on a plane, according to experts (Yahoo Life UK, 5-min read)

The sweet spot for flight bookings is 112-132 days in advance, Expedia found, adding that booking your flight six months in advance would be just as expensive as leaving it to the last minute.

Sunday is the most expensive day to travel, and flights booked for a Friday can save you up to 26% in cost.

Expedia analysed billions of data points from the Airline Reporting Corporation’s (ARC) global airline sales database to come up with its findings.

woman at airport
Cancelled flights are one of the biggest grievances for travellers. (Getty Images)

The report also found that flying on a Friday between the hours of 9am and 3pm was the time you were least likely to experience cancellations, while January was named as the best month to travel without delays and cancellations.

Read more: ‘We are unprepared for winter’: Why Covid travel chaos could be coming back (Telegraph, 7-min read)

A separate survey from the company quizzed 2,000 travellers on their top holiday stressors and found that 74% of people are afraid of forgetting their passport before a flight, while 49% are worried they will leave their money and credit cards at home.

A third of flyers (33%) are willing to pay extra to choose their own seat, while 30% would pay more to have more leg room.

Read more: Why your bargain airfare might end up spoiling your holiday (Telegraph, 7-min read)

The 20 most stressful moments for travellers

  1. Flight delays or cancellations

  2. Long lines/ crowds

  3. Getting stuck in traffic on the way to the airport

  4. The size of the queue at security

  5. Lost luggage

  6. Security check

  7. Border and passport checks/ customs clearance

  8. Tight connecting flights

  9. Sitting in a confined spot for an extended period

  10. Baggage collection

  11. Misplacing your passport

  12. Missing boarding

  13. Illness

  14. Overweight luggage

  15. Forgetting to pack something

  16. Not being able to sit together with your travel partners

  17. Sitting next to a stranger on the plane

  18. Full overhead baggage storage

  19. Boarding or exiting the plane

  20. Having the incorrect boarding pass

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