Cheapest Day to Buy Airline Tickets: The Direct Answer
Check current fares for your dates
Check current fares from New York to London on Aviasales
Prices change often. Affiliate link — see disclosure above.
Best Day of the Week to Buy Flights (Purchase Day)
Two different questions get tangled together in almost every airfare article: the day you buy your ticket and the day you fly. They have different answers, and confusing them leads to bad advice. This section covers when to purchase.
Friday is the cheapest day to book flights, per Expedia’s 2026 Air Hacks Report. That finding applies broadly across fare types and routes analyzed in the report.
If you have been operating on the old assumption that Tuesday is the cheapest day to purchase, that is not what the 2026 data shows. The Expedia report names Friday specifically. Older advice about Tuesday purchasing likely reflected different airline pricing algorithms or different data sets. The report does not quantify the exact percentage difference between Friday and other purchase days, but it identifies Friday as the day that consistently produced the lowest booking prices across the routes studied.
The practical takeaway: if you have flexibility in when you sit down to search and book, do it on a Friday. This does not mean fares are guaranteed to be lower on any given Friday for any given route. Airline pricing is dynamic and responds to demand, competition, and inventory in real time. But if you are choosing between booking today (a Wednesday) and waiting two days (a Friday), the aggregate data favors waiting.
Friday is the cheapest day to book flights (Expedia, 2026 Air Hacks Report). The day you purchase and the day you fly are separate levers for saving money.
Best Day to Fly for the Lowest Fares (Travel Day)
Now the other half of the equation: which day of the week should your flight actually depart? The answer depends on whether you are flying domestically or internationally.
For US domestic flights, Tuesday is the cheapest day to fly, averaging 14% less than Sunday departures, per Expedia’s 2026 Air Hacks Report. That 14% figure is meaningful. On a $300 one-way fare, 14% represents $42 in savings just by shifting your departure from Sunday to Tuesday.
Overall (including international routes), flying on Friday instead of Sunday can save up to 8%, according to the same Expedia report. The savings percentage is smaller than the domestic Tuesday figure, but it still moves the needle on longer, pricier itineraries.
Notice the distinction: Friday is the best day to buy, while Tuesday (domestic) and Friday (overall) are the best days to fly. These are separate strategies that stack. You can book on a Friday for a Tuesday departure and potentially capture both advantages.
Sunday is the most expensive day to depart in both domestic and overall categories. If your schedule allows any flexibility at all, shifting off Sunday departures is one of the simplest fare-reduction tactics available.
Tuesday domestic departures average 14% less than Sunday departures. For all flights, Friday departures save up to 8% versus Sunday (Expedia, 2026 Air Hacks Report).
Best Booking Window: How Far Ahead to Buy Tickets
How far in advance you book matters more than most travelers realize. And the conventional wisdom of “book as early as possible” is wrong, at least according to the 2026 data.
For domestic economy flights, the sweet spot is 15 to 30 days before departure. Fares in this window average $130 less than bookings made more than six months out, per Expedia’s 2026 Air Hacks Report.
For international flights, book 31 to 45 days ahead. That window saves $190 on average versus booking six months or more in advance, according to the same report.
Why does booking too early cost more? Airlines release seats at various price points over the life of a flight. Early inventory often carries higher fares because airlines know anxious planners will pay a premium for certainty. As the departure date approaches and unsold seats accumulate, prices adjust downward. The 15-to-30-day and 31-to-45-day windows appear to hit the point where airlines have enough data on demand to price competitively, but before last-minute scarcity pricing kicks in.
The tradeoff is real: waiting means you accept some risk that your preferred flight sells out or prices spike for a high-demand date. If you are traveling during a holiday or to a route with limited frequency, the calculus shifts. But for routine travel on competitive routes, the data says patience pays.
Booking domestic flights 15 to 30 days out saves $130 on average versus booking 6+ months ahead. International flights save $190 at 31 to 45 days out (Expedia, 2026 Air Hacks Report).
Cheapest Month to Fly: Domestic vs. International
The month you travel also affects fares, though this is a broader lever than day-of-week timing.
January is the cheapest month to fly domestically, per Expedia’s 2026 Air Hacks Report. Post-holiday demand drops sharply, and airlines respond with lower fares to fill seats. If you can schedule a domestic trip in January, you are working with the cheapest baseline fares of the year.
August is the most affordable month to travel internationally, according to the same report. This may surprise travelers who associate August with peak European summer travel, but the Expedia data reflects global fare patterns, and international destinations collectively see some of the biggest fare drops during this month.
These monthly patterns are useful for flexible planners, but they are secondary to the purchase-day and booking-window strategies above. If you already have fixed travel dates, focus on booking on a Friday within the optimal advance-purchase window. That combination is more actionable than rearranging your calendar around the cheapest month.
Real Fare Examples: What greenspicks Observed Across US Routes
greenspicks pulled Travelpayouts fares on 2026-08-03 across 10 of 13 searched routes and observed one-way prices from $24 to $495. These are individual cached observations from that date, not a controlled comparison. They illustrate the range of fares budget travelers can find when timing and route selection align. Readers looking for cheap red-eye flight deals may find additional savings on some of these routes.
| Route | Airline | One-Way Fare | Departure Date | Stops | Flight Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LAX to LAS | Frontier Airlines | $24 | 2026-10-26 | Nonstop | 84 min |
| ORD to MIA | United Airlines | $89 | 2026-10-07 | Nonstop | 205 min |
| JFK to MCO | JetBlue | $113 | 2026-10-11 | Nonstop | 174 min |
| JFK to LHR | Air France | $287 | 2026-10-08 | Nonstop | 435 min |
| LAX to NRT | ZG | $398 | 2027-01-25 | Nonstop | 705 min |
Data source: Travelpayouts. Retrieved 2026-08-03. These are individual observations across different dates and routes, not an airline-by-airline price ranking. Prices change often — verify before booking.
A few things worth noting from these observations. The $24 Frontier Airlines fare from LAX to LAS is a genuinely short, direct routing at 84 minutes of flight time. Budget carriers on short-haul routes like this can produce fares well under $50 one-way, though additional costs for bags and seat selection are not reflected in the base fare shown here.
The $287 one-way nonstop fare from JFK to LHR on Air France shows that transatlantic fares can dip below $300 one-way on the right dates. The $398 LAX to NRT fare represents a long-haul transpacific route at under $400 one-way.
Each of these fares was a single cached observation. They are not guaranteed to be available now. Always verify current prices before booking.
How to Find the Cheapest Flights: Step-by-Step
- 1
Start your search on a Friday
Friday is the cheapest day to book flights, per Expedia’s 2026 Air Hacks Report. Make Friday your default day to sit down and compare fares. This does not guarantee the lowest price on every route, but it puts aggregate pricing trends in your favor.
- 2
Set your booking window to 15 to 30 days out for domestic, 31 to 45 days for international
These windows produced the lowest average fares in Expedia’s 2026 analysis, saving $130 (domestic) and $190 (international) versus booking more than six months in advance. Count backward from your departure date and set a calendar reminder to start searching.
- 3
Target Tuesday departures for domestic flights
Tuesday domestic departures average 14% less than Sunday departures, per Expedia’s 2026 Air Hacks Report. If your schedule allows even one day of flexibility, shifting from a Sunday to a Tuesday departure is one of the simplest ways to reduce your fare. For more on flexible searching, see our guide to finding cheap flights with flexible date searches.
- 4
Use a fare search tool to compare across dates
Meta-search engines pull fares from multiple airlines and booking sites into one view, letting you compare prices across a range of dates quickly. Look for tools that offer a calendar or flexible-date view so you can spot the cheapest departure day within your window.
Ready to search? Search flights on Aviasales to compare fares across your flexible dates — check current fares for your dates.
- 5
Set a fare alert and wait for a price drop within your window
Most fare search tools and flight price tracker tools let you set alerts for specific routes. Set one as soon as you enter your booking window, and let the tool notify you when prices dip. This removes the guesswork of checking manually every day.
- 6
Book when the fare meets your budget
Set a target price before you start searching. When a fare alert or manual search hits that number, book it. Waiting for a fare to drop further once it is already within your budget introduces risk. Fares can spike without warning, especially inside the 15-day window.
Common Mistakes That Cost You Money When Booking Flights
Booking too far in advance
The instinct to lock in a fare six months out is understandable, but the data does not support it. Domestic economy flights booked 15 to 30 days ahead average $130 less than those booked more than six months out, per Expedia’s 2026 Air Hacks Report. For international flights, the savings are $190 at 31 to 45 days versus six months out. Early booking often means paying a premium for peace of mind. If you are also planning accommodations, see our guide on the cheapest day to book a hotel for similar timing strategies.
Assuming Tuesday is the cheapest day to purchase
This is one of the most persistent myths in airfare advice. Tuesday is the cheapest day to fly domestically, not to buy. The cheapest day to purchase is Friday, per the 2026 Expedia data. Confusing these two facts leads travelers to optimize the wrong variable.
Ignoring nearby airports
Searching only your home airport limits your options. Many metro areas have multiple airports with different carriers and pricing. Expanding your search radius can surface lower fares that a single-airport search misses. For a deeper look at when to book through search engines versus directly, see our comparison of flight search engines vs. booking direct with airlines.
Not setting fare alerts
Manually checking fares every day is inefficient and leads to decision fatigue. A fare alert does the monitoring for you and notifies you when prices move. Set one as soon as you enter your optimal booking window and let it work in the background.
Retrieved 2026-08-03. Fare prices are from Travelpayouts; see methodology.
How We Researched These Prices
Our editorial team reviews flight routes, nearby airport pairs, airline options, fare patterns, booking-source data, transport choices, and destination-specific travel context before publishing each guide. For this article, greenspicks used the Travelpayouts /aviasales/v3/prices_for_dates API, searched 13 routes, and received cached fare data for 10 of them. Data was retrieved on 2026-08-03 in USD. All fares shown are one-way. External timing research (purchase day, travel day, booking window, and cheapest month) comes from Expedia’s 2026 Air Hacks Report.
What this data does not cover: month-by-month price calendars or seasonal trends (our fares are scattered cached observations, not a tracked time series); airline-vs-airline price rankings (fares are individual observations on different dates and routes); baggage, carry-on, checked-bag, seat, parking, taxi, train, subway, or transfer costs; savings amounts or percentages not present in the observed fares or verified research; and booking-window numbers derived from our fare data (the Travelpayouts data contains no information about when tickets were purchased).
FAQ: Cheapest Day to Buy Airline Tickets
What is the cheapest day of the week to buy airline tickets?
Friday is the cheapest day to book flights, according to Expedia’s 2026 Air Hacks Report. This refers to the day you make the purchase, not the day you fly. The report analyzed fare data across routes and identified Friday as the day that consistently produced the lowest booking prices. Combine a Friday purchase with the right advance-booking window for the best results.
Is Tuesday really the cheapest day to book flights?
Not for purchasing. Tuesday is the cheapest day to fly domestically, averaging 14% less than Sunday departures per Expedia’s 2026 Air Hacks Report. But the cheapest day to buy is Friday. Many older articles conflate these two findings, which is likely the source of the persistent “book on Tuesday” advice.
How far in advance should I book a domestic flight?
The most affordable booking window for domestic economy flights is 15 to 30 days before departure, per Expedia’s 2026 Air Hacks Report. Fares in this window average $130 less than bookings made more than six months in advance. Set a calendar reminder to start searching when you hit 30 days before your trip.
How far in advance should I book an international flight?
International travelers can save $190 on average by booking 31 to 45 days before departure instead of six months out, according to Expedia’s 2026 Air Hacks Report. The slightly longer window compared to domestic flights reflects the greater complexity and higher base fares of international routes.
What is the cheapest day to fly domestically?
Tuesday is the cheapest day to fly domestically, averaging 14% less than Sunday departures, per Expedia’s 2026 Air Hacks Report. If you have any flexibility in your departure day, shifting from a weekend to a Tuesday can produce meaningful savings on most domestic routes.
What is the cheapest month to fly within the US?
January is the cheapest month to fly domestically, per Expedia’s 2026 Air Hacks Report. Post-holiday demand drops significantly, and airlines lower fares to fill seats. If your travel dates are flexible, January offers the lowest baseline domestic fares of the year.
Does booking on a specific day guarantee the lowest fare?
No. Friday is the cheapest day to book on average across the routes Expedia analyzed, but airline pricing is dynamic. Fares change based on demand, competition, remaining inventory, and other factors in real time. Booking on a Friday improves your odds of catching a lower fare, but it is not a guarantee for any individual flight.
Should I book flights last minute or in advance?
Neither extreme works well. Booking too early (6+ months) costs more on average, and last-minute fares carry scarcity premiums. The sweet spot is 15 to 30 days for domestic and 31 to 45 days for international, per Expedia’s 2026 Air Hacks Report. greenspicks observed a $24 one-way fare on Frontier Airlines from LAX to LAS on 2026-08-03, showing that low fares do appear within these windows on competitive routes. Verify current prices before booking.
