Best Flight Price is Available 59 Days Prior to Departure – Usually
Best Flight Price is Available 59 Days Prior to Departure – Usually
Published : 17-Sep-2013 05:09
Interesting research in to flight pricing online by travel search site momondo.co.uk has found that, on average, the cheapest flight prices could be found when booking 59 days in advance of departure (although note the points in the penultimate paragraph below!)
The research was carried out using the site's new Flight Insight tool which analyses millions of prices on flight routes departing from the UK, to determine when it's cheapest to fly. momondo.co.uk testing flight searches made so far in 2013 on the site's 13 most popular flight routes out of London.
Statistically, for these popular routes, momondo found travellers can save anywhere between 18% – 51% on airline fares, or on average 38% 59 days before departure. This percentage saving is compared to the most expensive day to book, which, 85% of the time, unsurprisingly, is on the actual day of departure!
"Finding the cheapest price around two months in advance, was a uniform trend, despite the individuality of each route, distance and flight time, including both domestic and international routes. All of the cheapest flight prices for these routes could be found, by booking between 54 and 66 days in advance of the date of departure," said Julie Pedersen, company spokesperson, adding "…So travellers need not book 6 or 12 months in advance, to find the best airfares."
Momondo.co.uk found the biggest saving was 51% with a fare costing £167 compared to £340 booking the same flight on the day of departure.
Along with date of booking, the cost of an airfare is strongly influenced by factors including the actual date of departure, time of day, season, airlines serving the route, and airports of departure and arrival. These factors are highly individual for each route, and should be taken into consideration by travellers wishing to save money on their flight.
The new tool "Flight Insight", was introduced by momondo to provide users with a greater insight into how airlines set their prices, showing which factors to watch out for, when searching for the cheapest fares. The tool appears at the top of the search results on momondo, after a user specifies a set flight search. It is currently available on over 1,800 routes world-wide, and being added to further routes daily.
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