When is the cheapest time to buy plane tickets?

It would seem, what kind of question? The sooner, the better. But this statement is only partially correct, because there are other factors besides the margin of time. Let's figure out when it's cheaper to buy plane tickets.

There are many authoritative studies that convincingly demonstrate how profitable it is to buy tickets as early as possible. Many travelers, because of this, go out of their way to plan their next trip in a year, and then are very disappointed to learn that they would have saved the same amount (and sometimes more) by making a purchase a couple of months before departure. Why is this happening?

When can I buy the cheapest flights

If you buy a ticket a year before departure, then it is beneficial, first of all, to the airline, and not to you. The carrier receives a guaranteed passenger and working capital, and you get a headache, because, you see, it is not easy to predict the date for such a long time.

• Do not miss:

Experienced travelers are advised to start thinking about buying an air ticket no earlier than 4-5 months before the desired date. It is at this time that airlines, based on the percentage of flight occupancy, begin to “throw out” interesting offers on the market.

Most tourists consider the optimal time to buy 90 days before departure, plus or minus 10 days. American journalist and traveler Peter Greenberg claims that the cheapest way to buy plane tickets is 50-60 days in advance. In his opinion, it is at this time that the actualization of statistical data and a temporary decline in prices take place. But the long-term statistics of the company CheapAir even names the exact date - 54 days.

When less than 50 days remain before departure, the chances of buying a ticket at a profit are rapidly fading. Apparently, not everyone knows this, because it is then that the peak of demand begins. According to statistics, most tickets are bought 30-40 days before departure, when they are almost the most expensive.

If you missed the 50-day milestone, then there is one more chance to get a cheap air ticket. True, the chance is rather risky, so it should be resorted to only if the flight is not critical. You need to calmly wait for time, and on the eve of departure, start “live” on the airline’s website, in the hope that someone will remove the reservation and the ticket will be put up for sale at a bargain price. This happens, however, like miracles, very rarely.

What days can you buy the cheapest flights

Yes, don't be surprised. The day, and even the hour, of buying a ticket plays no less a role than the time remaining before departure. The cost of the same air ticket purchased, say, on Thursday evening and Friday morning, may differ by 10-20%.

The most profitable days for shopping are Tuesday and Wednesday, when the airline databases are updated. The aforementioned Peter Greenberg argues that the ideal time is one after midnight, on a Wednesday. Whether this is true or not is unknown, but there is a certain sense that it is more profitable to buy plane tickets at night.

• Read also:

Most people are looking for cheap flights on so-called aggregators, such as Aviasales.ru. These are sites that collect information from different agencies and operators by downloading prices from their pages. If you visit such a site during the day when the load is increased, there is a possibility that he simply will not have time to load all the data in the allotted time. As a result, some of the tasty options may simply not get into the search results. At night, the load is minimal, which eliminates this possibility.

Thus, knowing when it is cheaper to buy plane tickets, you can save from 10 to 40% of their cost and fly more often to the countries you plan to visit.

Additional tools for finding cheap flights: