It's often much cheaper to travel from May to early June and September through mid-October. The weather is still relatively warm during the shoulder season, and you'll beat the crazy summer crowds. This is when we find the best international flight deals!
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Best dates to fly: Vacations fares start to rise in May. May 16: Fly on this date or earlier to get late spring airfares, which are cheaper than summer. June 22: Fly on this date or earlier to avoid peak summer fares, although travel in early June will cost about 20% than late spring fares.
It's often much cheaper to travel from May to early June and September through mid-October. The weather is still relatively warm during the shoulder season, and you'll beat the crazy summer crowds. This is when we find the best international flight deals!
Book a summer trip. Expedia data shows that August is the cheapest warm-weather month to fly, with average ticket prices nearly 10% lower compared with July. Tickets are also cheaper in August than during the December rush. For the lowest fares on domestic flights, travel in January or February.
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.
Expedia and Hopper do note that prices will likely reach their maximum in June and decrease throughout July and August, so look for late-summer travel to find the best deals on airfare.
The late fall and winter months—from mid to late October through mid-to-late March—are often the cheapest time to fly to Europe (though fares can spike in December).
It's often cheaper to fly to Europe mid-week, on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, in particular.
May to July is the best time for perfect weatherWhile ideal weather windows vary across the country, this is the period when most places have shaken off their winter chill and embraced the vibrant bloom of spring and early summer.
According to the latest data from online booking site Hopper, airfares are mostly up this summer, owing to high demand and limited airline capacity. In addition, in first quarter earnings calls, both United Airlines and Delta Air Lines reported strong summer bookings, especially on long-haul international routes.
1. Increased Fuel Costs. Jet fuel represents a substantial expense for airlines. Although fuel prices have declined by 24.3% since this time last year, they have risen 8.4% between June 21 and July 21 of this year and 2% between July 14 and July 21 of this year.
Demand is higher than it has been since the pandemic began. Even as airline capacity broadly remains slightly below 2019 levels, a supply-and-demand mismatch is driving prices sky-high. In fact, the U.S. Travel Association, an industry trade group, says domestic leisure demand has surpassed pre-pandemic levels.
With a lot of American families traveling in June, you can still find some better priced days if you can fly mid-week. Jun 7 June is not quite as expensive as July, historically. You can get the best deals by flying mid-week and avoiding more typically expensive travel days like Sundays.
As expected, August is the most popular and most expensive time to travel outside of term time. But according to Which? and Skyscanner, the cheapest weeks to go abroad over the summer holidays are the last 2 weeks.
Generally, Tuesday, Wednesday and Saturday are the cheapest days to fly, while Fridays and Sundays are pricier, according to travel deal site FareCompare. Leisure travelers tend to fly on the weekends, either starting their vacations on Friday or taking a long weekend Friday to Sunday.