With the January Sales now on, it comes as no surprise that this month is the busiest for flight bookings with thousands expected to book their 2019 trips. To help travellers get the best value flights, the travel experts at Skyscanner have been busy crunching their data to uncover new flight tips to save travellers money. The 2019 Flight Insights identified Friday as the cheapest day to fly out the UK and Sunday is the best day to jump online and grab a bargain.
There are also a host of destinations which have seen average flight prices drop by up to 28%. For travellers looking to travel to long haul destinations such as sunny California could save 11% off of average flight prices, whereas those looking for sunnier climes closer to home could again save 11% on average flight prices to Malta.
Fly out on a Friday
Over the last four years, Skyscanner flight data has shown that the cheapest day of the week to fly out of the UK is a Friday, with Sunday being the most expensive. Based on average flight prices, travellers could save an impressive 21% by switching from a Sunday departure day to a Friday departure day. Travellers may also find it’s significantly cheaper to travel a day before or a day after their original departure dates. It also pays to use Skyscanner’s Month View search tool to find the cheapest flights for their destination
Book flights on a Sunday
The world’s travel search engine’s data shows that Sundays tend to be the best day to jump online to book a cheap flight, whereas Wednesdays tend to be the most expensive day to book a flight. Travellers could save 4% on average flight prices if booking a flight from the UK on a Sunday versus a Wednesday.
Avoid the Rush
Whilst Saturday 21st December was the busiest day for outbound flights from the UK in 2018, typically Friday is the busiest day for travel, whereas Sunday is the quietest.
Best Value Destinations
New York and Amsterdam lead the way for most popular destinations in 2018, but for those looking for the best value flights, the world’s travel search engine has number crunched the top destinations to uncover those with the biggest drop in average flight prices over the last year.
Those looking for great value long haul flights should consider the USA, which is dominating the Long-Haul Routes with the biggest price drops.
Looking closer to home, Europe has some great value destinations, with Germany dominating the top ten European Value Destinations.
Consider a nearby airport
Brits should also consider flying out of a different airport nearby to save money, for example a family of four flying to Tenerife could save over £500 if they switched from London Luton to London Stansted. Travellers just need to click on ‘add nearby airports’ when creating a search and see if a short drive, bus or train journey could save them pounds.
Mix & match airlines
Fares don’t have to be booked as returns, instead you can save money by flying out with one airline and returning with another.
Search Everywhere
For those with a limited budget but unsure of where to go, Skyscanner’s great Search Everywhere tool, will find the cheapest destinations to travel to for a specific date period. For example, travellers could fly from London to Sardinia in May from as little as £44 return.
Monitor prices
And lastly, the best way of getting a good fare is to keep track of the prices by setting up a price alert so that you are notified when prices rise or fall on a specific route.
