Is It Cheaper To Book Flights On Tuesday?

This article looks at the theory that it is cheaper to book flights on Tuesdays and whether it holds any truth.

People eager to find the best deal expect to find out when flights are cheapest so that they could plan their travel to happen on that day. The cheapest days to buy airline tickets are Tuesday, according to many sources, as they claimed that the cheapest tickets are offered on this day. However, the above-mentioned travel myth is actually true.

What if it is merely an illusion of booking flights on Tuesdays?

As with such stories, the Tuesday flight booking tip is not entirely false, but the truth is a little more nuanced than what is presented in the legend. This is why there is no ultimate hack to booking the cheapest flight, for airfares can be influenced by many factors. But from the prior studies, it has been established that Tuesdays do include good airline ticket offers as compared to the other days of booking.

Below, let us delve deeper into this where facts prevail over myth when it comes to the question of whether Tuesdays are cheaper when it comes to booking flights.

The first time I came across this Tuesday airline ticket myth was when I was a freshman in college.

It is important to note that the idea of Tuesday being the perfect airfare shopping day has its origin over two decades ago. When at the start of the 1990s flying became a regular consumer activity, at least for the business, commercial, and high-income travel segments, the airlines introduced more promotional fare offers and started testing different fare structures.

During this period of transition, some airline analysts started observing that specific sales of airline tickets were always announced during the early part of the week. The rationale behind it was the understanding that during the travel planning week, airlines need to get customers™ attention to increase their demand. Therefore, Tuesday became a synonym for relatively cheaper flight deals.

Finally, it is for the years observed by consumers that Tuesday has been earning its reputation as the best day to book plane tickets at the cheapest price. Even if some people dismiss it as a mere myth, there is truth in the fact that the tradition is popular for a reason. There are many examples of recent research works that could support the hypothesis that flights might cost less at the start of the week.

How Accurate Is the Myth of Booking on Tuesday?

Several cross-sectional surveys concerning independent travel analysis in the last several years support the theory that Tuesdays are most popular for booking airline tickets. The research results reveal that overall airfare prices are lower on average during the early stages of the specified week.

For instance, the travel arithmetic by the independent numbers themselves revealed that the average ticket fares for travelling on Tuesday were indeed generally cheaper than on other purchasing days for travelling. Likewise, other large-sample research from historical flight booking data analysis by private corporations and consumer associations concluded that Tuesdays were cheaper plane ticket price correlated more frequently.

It may be essential to ask why the travel pattern is not consistently shifting to Tuesday for other days of the week. Such rationalisations include claiming it to be basic and conventional airline yield management strategies. Airline companies use weekly fares and special offers to encourage customers and these promotions are usually released at the beginning of the week when people book flights. Lower entry fares that are usually given on Monday or Tuesday ensure that the consumers are encouraged to plan for travel while at the same time ensuring that the demand has been spread throughout the week.

Other insider travel sources have also indicated on observing that airlines generally review the sale fares of competitors over the weekend and then adjust the sale fares on their own starting from Tuesday. This airline one-upmanship results in having a more filled flight inventory with lower seat prices to begin the week of booking. Therefore, we can still see that there is a link between Tuesdays and affordable fare prices.

Other things that affect the prices of plane tickets Another aspect that determines the prices of tickets 

Although Tuesdays may appear to provide the traveler with higher probabilities of getting airline ticket deals, it is always essential to understand that low fare securing depends not only on the day of the week but other factors as well. Another factor that affects the price is its specificity in terms of the flight path, dates of travel, time of purchasing, time of the year, and the availability and willingness of the airlines to supply seats.

For instance, it may not be helpful to know that it is better to book a flight on Tuesday if you are traveling over the December holidays, when fares to pretty much any destination are jacked up significantly. Albeit this fact, other factors such as the state of the economy, oil prices, travel trends, competitive forces, and revenue needs may dictate whether airlines offer unsold tickets at lower prices on a given Tuesday or not.

Depending on what day it is and the exact details to your travel trip, the level of flexibility will determine the promotions offered. Negotiation options such as using other airports, booking at different days of the week, at different hours of the day, including extra layovers, and extra connecting flights increases your chances of getting a cheaper ticket. Other methods that can be used for cheaper plane tickets include signing up for airfares alerts, comparing various booking sites, timing the long flights more appropriately, and using coupons.

The Tuesday Booking Myth Part 2 : The Bottom Line

Contrary to having perfectly steady prices, fares of flights are not very transparent; however, the stereotype that it is better to book an airline on Tuesday, whose origin comes from 1970s, is still true. Research again and again supports the fact that there are usually cheaper tickets available with the airlines in the early days of the booking period. There are many reasons which make competition remain relevant, and one of them is the tradition of having cheaper airline seats on Tuesdays.

Tuesday airfare provides assurance that does not always mean a 100 percent ticket for the cheapest price for every route and this is where flexibility plays a major role. Yet, where sales preference is inclined towards early booking weeks, Tuesdays continue to be your best bet in airline travel. The best time to begin your fare search efforts is on a Tuesday and to stay alert for updates on all the various booking platforms, as it can make a huge difference for the smart traveler.