Report reveals cheapest days to book and travel and how to avoid flight delays  

Today, Expedia^® releases its 2023 Air Travel Hacks Report, providing the latest essential tips to save travellers time and money on flights. Created in partnership with the Airlines Reporting Corporation (ARC) and leveraging insights from its massive air ticket database, the annual report has become an authority for eight years running on air travel trends, revealing data-backed hacks and recommendations for travellers, including: 

• Best day of the week to book airfares and catch the lowest prices 

• The sweet spot for booking airfares 

• How to minimise the risk of being impacted by delays and cancellations 

• Cheapest day of the week to depart  

“This report does more than save people money,” said Jon Gieselman, president of Expedia Brands. “It’s about the time savings and peace of mind that comes with knowing you have industry leading data-based tips at your fingertips to inform booking decisions.” 

“While it has been a volatile recovery, our data indicates travel is beginning to normalise with travellers taking advantage of flying again,” said Chuck Thackston, managing director of data science and research at ARC. “Airlines have improved their performance while both capacity and traveller demand continue to increase. We’re also starting to see business travellers return to the skies following the surge of leisure travel in the first half of 2022.” 

Top tips from the Expedia 2023 Air Travel Hacks report include: 

• Book airfares on a Sunday to save close to 20%.¹ Travellers who booked on Sundays instead of Fridays tended to save, on average close to 20% on domestic and 15% on international flights.  

• Book at least one month before domestic flights and two months before international flights.² Travellers that booked during this period saved on average 40% for domestic flights and 15% for international flights compared to those who waited until the last minute (0 – 30 days out for domestic, 0 – 40 days for international).  
   

• Travel later in the day to help reduce chance of cancellations.³ Based on year-to-date flight status data, flights that depart in the morning between 3–9 a.m. have a 20% higher chance of cancellation, on average, than those that depart after 9 a.m. 

• Start your trip at the end of the week to save.⁴ Domestic travellers who started a trip on a Saturday, versus on a Sunday saved up to 20% on average. For international flights, travellers who departed on a Thursday instead of a Monday saved close to 10% on average. 

View the full 2023 Air Travel Hacks on the Expedia blog, including more ways to help avoid flight delays, maximise loyalty and rewards programs and save on every trip. 

About Expedia 

Expedia^® is one of the world’s leading full-service travel brands, with a mission of helping travellers get the most out of every trip they take by providing everything they need all in one place, ensuring they are getting the most out of every trip they take, and above all else, feel supported every step of the way.    

Our commitment to insights matched with our unprecedented scale allows us to understand our travellers better than anyone else, delivering exactly what they need, when they need it. Our personalised experiences backed by incredible technology, enables us to deliver the widest selection of product offerings across accommodations, transportation, activities and experiences, that help you get the most out of your journey.    

  

Use our mobile app or visit expedia.co.nz to plan your journey with us.   

© 2022 Expedia, Inc., an Expedia Group company.  All rights reserved.  Expedia and the Airplane logo are trademarks of Expedia, Inc. in the U.S. and/or other countries. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. CST# 2029030-50. 

About Airlines Reporting Corporation (ARC)  
ARC accelerates the growth of global air travel by delivering forward-looking travel data, flexible distribution services and other innovative industry solutions. We are a leading travel intelligence company that possesses the world’s largest, most comprehensive global airline ticket dataset, including more than 15 billion passenger flights representing 490 airlines and 230 countries and territories. Our solutions and expertise strengthen economies and enrich lives by connecting stakeholders across the travel ecosystem. For more information, visit arccorp.com. 

Data sources 

¹Best day of the week to book recommendation is based on average round-trip ticket prices for domestic and international flights originating in New Zealand for January through August 2022, sourced from ARC’s global airline sales database. 

²Ideal booking window recommendation is based on average round-trip ticket prices for flights domestic and international flights originating in New Zealand for January through August for 2022, sourced from ARC’s global airline sales database. 

³How to avoid flight cancellations based on January through August 2022 flight status data for domestic and international flights originating in New Zealand sourced from OAG’s global flight data platform. 

⁴Best day of the week to depart recommendation is based on average round-trip ticket prices for domestic and international flights originating in New Zealand for January through August for 2022, sourced from ARC’s global airline sales database. 

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