{"id":27050,"date":"2026-04-26T08:25:59","date_gmt":"2026-04-26T08:25:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/didebta.com\/?p=27050"},"modified":"2026-04-26T08:25:59","modified_gmt":"2026-04-26T08:25:59","slug":"budget-travel-what-are-the-cheapest-days-to-fly","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/didebta.com\/?p=27050","title":{"rendered":"Budget Travel: What Are the Cheapest Days to Fly?"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Traveling on a budget? Timing is\u00a0everything<\/em>\u2014especially when you\u2019re booking a plane ticket. These days, flying in general has gotten crazy expensive. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, airline ticket costs rose 18.6% in April 2022 after rising 10.7% in March 2022.1<\/sup>\n <\/p>\n

If you thrive on a challenge, finding cheap airfare will be your new favorite pastime. It all starts with knowing the cheapest days to fly. We\u2019ve got the scoop on that (and the best time to buy plane tickets) right here.\n <\/p>\n

What Are the Cheapest Days to Fly?<\/h2>\n

Great question. It turns out, the day of the week you choose to fly makes a huge difference in the cost of your tickets. No matter where you\u2019re jetting off to, the cheapest days to fly are Tuesdays or Wednesdays (with Wednesdays leading the charge by a dollar).\n <\/p>\n

In fact, a recent airfare study found you\u2019ll save an average of $57 flying on a Tuesday or Wednesday compared to flying on a Sunday (the most expensive travel day).2<\/sup>\u00a0That might not seem like huge savings, but if you\u2019re buying for a family of four, that\u2019s an extra $228 in your pocket just for picking a different day of the week!\n <\/p>\n

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Get expert money advice to reach your money goals faster!<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

Take a look at the cost differences for these round-trip flights found on Google Flights for mid-September 2022:\n <\/p>\n

Nashville to Los Angeles:<\/h3>\n

Flying Wednesday to Wednesday: $178\n <\/p>\n

Flying Sunday to Sunday: $228\n <\/p>\n

Miami to Boston:<\/h3>\n

Flying Wednesday to Wednesday: $64\n <\/p>\n

Flying Sunday to Sunday: $134\n <\/p>\n

Denver to Rome:<\/h3>\n

Flying Wednesday to Wednesday: $1,193\n <\/p>\n

Flying Sunday to Sunday: $1,315\n <\/p>\n

If you can\u2019t fly midweek, you may be able to find a deal on Saturday flights. Just avoid traveling on a Friday or Sunday\u2014those are typically the most popular days to fly, making them the worst flight options when it comes to your wallet (and your sanity).\n <\/p>\n

Pro tip: Choose more inconvenient flight times\u2014like early morning, late night or even overnight flights. Tickets are typically cheaper for less desirable flight times, and flights are usually less crowded! What you sacrifice in timing, you make up for with less stress and money back in your wallet.\n <\/p>\n

What Are the Cheapest Months to Fly?<\/h2>\n

Fall and winter months tend to be the cheapest times to fly because those aren\u2019t popular vacation months\u2014except<\/em>\u00a0around Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year\u2019s, of course.\u00a0The most recent data shows February is the cheapest month for airfare, followed by January and April.3<\/sup>\n <\/p>\n

A good rule of thumb is to avoid traveling during the summer or around spring break (March) to get the best flight deals possible. Airlines tend to jack up the prices just in time for school vacations.\u00a0How convenient.<\/em>\n <\/p>\n

Most seasoned travelers know you\u2019re more likely to get a bargain if you vacation in the off-season. But don\u2019t miss this: The off-season looks different depending on your destination. For example, Florida is a popular spot for Northerners wanting to escape the cold winter, so it\u2019s actually more expensive to fly there in the winter and cheaper to fly there in May. And if you\u2019re planning a trip to Munich, you probably won\u2019t find cheap flights there in September or October because that\u2019s when the city hosts its world-famous Oktoberfest.\n <\/p>\n

Doing a little research to discover your destination\u2019s <\/em>off-season can help you find the best deals for flights (along with hotels and activities). And if you\u2019re just looking for a getaway but don\u2019t have your heart set on a destination, check out the\u00a0cheapest places to travel in 2022.\n <\/p>\n

When Is the Best Time to Buy Plane Tickets?<\/h2>\n

There are a ton of budget travel bloggers who claim Tuesday is not only a cheap day to fly but also the cheapest day of the week to\u00a0book<\/em>\u00a0a flight. There\u2019s this age-old legend that the best flight deals drop on Tuesday afternoons because that\u2019s when airlines put up their sale seats.\n <\/p>\n

The legend of the Tuesday flight sale may have been true at some point, but recent flight data says otherwise. According to a study done by CheapAir, the day of the week you book doesn\u2019t matter. It found the average low fare only varies by about $1, no matter which day of the week you book.4<\/sup>\n <\/p>\n

So, there may not be a specific day of the week that\u2019s best for booking <\/em>a flight, but there\u00a0is<\/em>\u00a0a best time to buy in relation to your departure. That same CheapAir study found that travelers who booked their ticket 127 to 21 days before departure scored the cheapest flights.5<\/sup>\n <\/p>\n

But like all travel hacks, the best time to buy also depends on the season. Here\u2019s when travelers got the best price on their seat based on 2021 flight data:6<\/sup>\n <\/p>\n