Last Updated on September 24, 2024 by ETC Team
You’ve had a wonderful summer filled with pool parties, barbecues, camping, and of course—traveling. Now the kids are back in school—if you have any, the days are getting shorter, and you’re looking forward to some much needed down time—not looking for the best times to book holiday flights.
Well don’t relax too much, at least when it comes to planning that upcoming holiday trip. That’s right! It’s never too early to start the planning process on a holiday getaway. But when it comes to booking airfare, Google is sharing some of the latest travel trends and insights on the best time to book your flights. We can all use a little advice for best times to book holiday flights and Google has released what it is calling ‘Our 2024 travel trends—right in time for the holidays’.
We all know Google is a treasure trove of information. Well, if you weren’t aware of its Google Flights platform, it is becoming one of the best flight resources which makes use of Google’s travel trends and insights.
Now that you’re back in travel mode, let’s get into what you should be looking for when it comes time to book your holiday airfare.
Google Gives Advice For Best Times To Book Holiday Flights
Below we’ve pulled the best bits of Google’s advice for best times to book holiday flights. This is basic information but these are the top four tips when you book airfare using Google Flights. By following these tips, you give yourself the best chance to save some hard earned money.
1. Let The Map Inspire You
If you aren’t sure where you want to travel yet, Google Flights has a neat Explore Map feature that will quickly highlight the cheapest flights, based from your departure city, to different destinations around the world. This is great to visualize all the cities available from where you depart. It could also inspire you to travel somewhere you’ve never been.
2. Travel On Cheaper Days
Let’s say you have a general idea of the month you want to travel but haven’t finalized the dates yet. You can use Google Flights calendar grid to help. Once you’ve entered your departure and destination cities, the calendar and price graph will show you the prices for travel on specific dates. That way you can choose flights based on what’s most convenient or what’s cheapest, or both.
3. Be Flexible
This not only helps in life but can really save you money when traveling. By including multiple airports in your region when searching flights, you may find cheaper airfare is available. Larger airports—especially an airline’s major hub, will typically have lower costs for flights. Therefore it’s always worth it to check if driving to a larger airport can save you money on a flight.
4. Get Alerts When Prices Drop
This is all about saving money. When using Google Flights, you can set up price tracking alerts so you are notified if there’s a sudden price drop. You can choose whether to track prices for specific dates or all flights for your trip.
The Best Times To Book Those Holiday Flights
Now, let’s dig into the finer details of how you can save your hard earned money by selecting the best times to book holiday flights according to Google.
Keep in mind that these suggestions are based on data collected from Google. Therefore this advice is based on averages and your mileage may vary. In other words—it’s general and is likely to differ depending on factors such as your location, destination, peak and off-peak travel season.
That doesn’t mean these tips can’t save you money when booking holiday flights:
- Domestic flights- Book 38 days before take-off: that’s when flights are the cheapest, according to the data.
- International flights- Book 101 days before departure: If that’s too far out, you can stick to booking 50 days out— they’ll start to rise sharply after that 50-day marker.
- Thanksgiving flights- Book 45 days before departure: If that’s too specific, try to book Thanksgiving flights between 26-59 days out. Yep, that means early October.
- Christmas flights- Book 58 days before departure: If that’s too specific, try to book Christmas flights between 36-72 days out. Don’t let that scare you but start checking around Halloween.
