How far in advance should you buy airline tickets for the best price?

How far in advance should you book a flight to get the best deal? The best time to book a flight is one to three months before your departure for domestic airline tickets and two to eight months prior for international flights.



For the best prices in 2026, the "Goldilocks Window" for domestic flights is typically 1 to 3 months before departure. If you are traveling during peak seasons like summer or the winter holidays, you should extend this to 3–5 months. For international travel, the ideal booking window is much earlier, generally 2 to 8 months in advance. For highly popular events like cherry blossom season in Japan or summer in Europe, booking 10 months ahead is often necessary to avoid astronomical price hikes. Data from early 2026 suggests that prices rise sharply within 21 days of departure as airlines target last-minute business travelers. While the myth of "booking on a Tuesday" is debunked, flying midweek (Tuesday or Wednesday) remains significantly cheaper. Using price-tracking tools like Google Flights to set alerts around the 4-month mark for international trips is the most effective way to secure a deal before the final fare climb begins.

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The best time to book an airline flight is the prime booking window, which is 21 to 115 days in advance. Airfares generally average 5% of their lowest prices during this period.

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Timing plays an important part. Specifically, plane tickets usually don't get cheaper closer to the departure date. Instead, flights tend to be the most inexpensive when you book between four months and three weeks before your departure date.

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Best Time To Book Domestic Flights The Expedia study found that the sweet spot is 28 to 35 days before departure while the Google study found prices bottomed out 44 days before departure. However, both studies agree that you don't want to wait until the last minute. Book at least 21 days before departure.

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Tuesdays and Wednesdays are the cheapest days to fly domestically. The cheapest days to depart if you're flying within the U.S. are midweek — generally Tuesday or Wednesday. For economy tickets, Tuesdays are about 24% lower than peak prices on Sundays, which translates to savings of about $85 per ticket.

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Time your booking right
“For domestic flights, if you're talking peak season, it's about three to seven months in advance,” he says. “For international flights — [it's] four to 10 months.”

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Tuesday Around Midnight is the Cheapest Time to Book
In general, flights were slightly cheaper at midnight earlier in the week (Monday through Wednesday). However, this is only applicable to about 1.6% of U.S. markets, meaning that it's not likely you'll find the same savings on your specific route.

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Generally, you should book domestic flights one to four months in advance. For international flights, you should book at least six months in advance. You'll want to give yourself more time for research for the latter than when traveling on domestic itineraries.

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Is there a cheapest month to fly? If you're looking for a bargain month to travel, February is your best bet. Flights in January closely follow February for being most affordable. At the other end of the spectrum, December and July are the first and second most expensive months to travel, on average.

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Airlines will allow you to book flights as far out as 11 months or even close to a year, depending on the carrier. That means you can already book trips for the early part of summer on a lot of U.S. airlines. Some international airlines allow you to book trips as far out as late July 2024.

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How often do airlines update airfare information online? The airlines update fare information 3 times a day. They do not necessarily change airfare prices all three times, but they certainly can, and often do.

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Flying to Europe in 2024 without spending a fortune is in the cards after a long stretch of sky-high prices. Airlines have added new routes between the U.S. and Europe and announced plans to increase flights on some routes next spring and summer.

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Why are flights so expensive in 2023? Flights cost even more in early 2023 than they do now. Factors such as fuel costs, staffing shortages, aging IT infrastructure and hidden fees all contribute to expensive flights in 2023.

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Expedia's report also notes travelers can look forward to a 3 percent decrease in booking airfare in 2024, compared to the higher prices of 2022.

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Summer 2023 airfare trends If you're looking to travel abroad, expect to pay more. In virtually every international market, airfares are higher for this summer than they were for last. Flights to Europe are averaging $1,141 round-trip, 34% more than they cost last year.

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At midnight, fewer people travel and there is low last-minute reservation so to fill them, they release multiple offers. With these discounts, you can set aside some amount.

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“Historically, Tuesdays were the cheapest day to book flights,” says Laura Lindsay, global travel trends expert for trip-booking website Skyscanner. “This was broadly true prepandemic as seasonality and even weekly pricing cycles were more predictable. However, this is no longer a hard and fast rule.”

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