Everyone says flying is expensive, unless you have precise data to buy tickets at the exact right moment. That's where travel agency portals like CheapAir come in, which just published a report revealing the best time to purchase a flight, combining data from more than 8,000 markets and 917 million different prices.
Simply visiting the official page of any airline is enough to see that prices vary drastically from one date to another. Just changing the departure or return by 24 hours (or even less!) can lead to significant savings. The first question anyone asks facing such changes is "Why do airlines behave this way?" ... immediately followed by "How can I save more money when traveling?" A common suggestion is to buy tickets in advance, but CheapAir took the trouble to calculate the optimal advance, at least as far as the United States is concerned.
The Magic Average
The magic average for 2017, after analyzing 917 million prices, was 70 days. Reaching that number is not easy, because although it seems unbelievable, the lowest price on a flight can change more than 60 times while it is offered. However, CheapAir emphasizes the word "average", because that ideal purchase window (or "Prime Booking Window") ranges from 21 to 121 days. In other words, a traveler could simply be lucky and get the best price 25 days before their flight. Another recommended space is "peace of mind", which ranges from 122 to 168 days in advance. In general, you have to pay about 20 dollars extra, but if you want to quickly get the ticket problem out of your head, it might be the best option.
The Red Zone
The "red zone" is made up of the last 20 days before the trip, and CheapAir decided to divide it into three: "Push your Luck", "Playing with Fire" and "Hail Mary". The reason is obvious: everyone wants to travel cheap, and if you wait too long, the cheapest options will be completely exhausted. Within the Hail Mary region (six days or less), CheapAir explains that a ticket can demand more than 200 dollars extra compared to the Prime Booking Window, not to mention the horrible seats available. The agency also revealed that Tuesdays and Wednesdays tend to be the cheapest days to fly (not to book), and that the average advance changes according to the season, recommending 62 days when flying in winter, 90 days in spring, 47 days in summer, and 69 days in autumn. CheapAir confirmed that it will launch an update for international flights in a couple of weeks, so below you will find the link.
