When is the best time to book the cheapest flights online

After many years of frequent flying, I’ve been able to pick up a few tricks of the trade along the way.

One of these top tips I would like to share with you is when it’s best to book flights online for the cheapest rates.

Through a whole lot of trial and error over the years, I’ve been able to work out the sweet spot for sealing the deal on flights at great prices.

Opodo have even gone a step further and done some detailed research into this subject.

Have a good look through this helpful infographic – it really lays out the evidence for booking your flight 6 weeks before if you’re well in advance (or 2 weeks before if you’ve got to book something soon), as well as the best days of the week and month in the year to book for different types of flights.

Opodo have found that you can often save up to 48% off your flight price when you book 42 days in advance. Also, last minute flight bookings tend to spike skywards 7 days before the flight date, so try to avoid booking then.

January seems to be the cheapest month to book short haul flights, so try to save some money over from your Christmas fund for a continental trip later in the year.

If you’re looking to book an exotic trip and a long haul flight, book your flight in September to get the best prices on average.

Opodo’s research looked at return flights departing from the UK to all destinations between November 2016 and October 2017, so it’s based on some really strong statistical analysis about flight prices.

Opodo have also launched a really fantastic online tool that you can use to compare flight prices, I would really recommend checking it out before your next holiday booking.

Personally I have found a variety of tips, tricks and factors to help me get good prices on the many flights I have to book over a year. I like avoid Sundays and I tend to book on a Tuesday.

Interestingly enough Opodo’s research seems to support my booking patterns.

Opodo says that Tuesday is best for booking long haul, Sunday is best for domestic flights, and Wednesday should be your choice for booking short haul.

One thing you may have heard before but should always make sure you do is to clear your cache to avoid the booking website giving you a larger price on your subsequent visits.

They can track when you’re coming back to look at flights again and will raise the price on you, so it’s best to use Incognito mode on Google Chrome to browse undetected.

I would also say be flexible with which airport you want to fly into to visit a city. Check out alternative airports and be willing to get a bus into town from the airport to save money on your flight price, it can often be highly worth it.

Another tip that all pro travellers worth their salt will tell you is to sign up to airline mailing lists to be alerted first about deals they are offering.

When you get alerted in your inbox about flash sale flight deals you can head straight to their website and snap up some amazing prices.

It will be so worth having a bit of extra traffic in your inbox when you’re relaxing on a beach holiday for a flight you booked at an incredible discounted price and spending your extra money on food and drink.

Also, you should avoid busy holiday periods such as Easter and Christmas to travel. You’re better off doing something domestic.

Why not go on a hiking trip in one of the UK national parks, and enjoy some of the natural beauty to be found at home.

Busy travel periods usually means incredibly high flight prices, so it’s best to avoid those times if at all possible.

So there you have it! Now you know my tricks of the trade for booking your next cheaper flights.

I hope you found all the above information useful. Feel free to share the great flights deals you’ve been able to book with all this useful information in the comments below. Happy travels!