Cheapest Day to Book an International Flight

We see the same pattern with international flights as with domestic flights – the cheapest day of the week to book an international flight is Saturday while the most expensive day to book is Monday.

The optimal booking time also varies based on seasonality and destinations. The following table summarizes the cheapest and most expensive days for booking and flying in various seasons and to various destinations.

Similar to the case of domestic airfares, the average international airfare barely changes by the day of booking. The cheapest day to book a flight, Saturday, is cheaper than the most expensive day to book, Monday, by less than $17.

So yes, timing your booking to book your flight on a Saturday may save you some money, but on average you will save less than $17 on an international flight, giving you a less than 2% discount.

Just like with domestic flights, when it comes to international flights, you are much better off focusing on other ways to save, such as how far in advance to book, what days to fly, and what months to fly.

See the sections below for more detail on these more impactful ways to save on your flights.

How Far in Advance to Book an International Flight

Similar to domestic airfares, international airfares are released by airlines about 1 year in advance of the scheduled flight date.

International airfares follow the same pattern as domestic fares – they start relatively high 1 year before the flight date, slowly decrease over the next several months until they reach their lowest points several months or weeks in advance of the departure date.

Then they went up, at first slowly but then faster and faster, until they reach their highest point on the day of the flight.

So, with international flights, just like with domestic flights, there is a window of opportunity before the flight date within which you will most likely get the cheapest prices.

Moreover, this window varies depending on the destination of your flight. For example, flights to Europe generally have a different window of opportunity than flights to Asia or the Middle East.

• Canada – the cheapest time to book is between 310 days and 45 days (10.5 months and 1.5 months) before the flight date
• Mexico – the cheapest time to book is between 300 days and 21 days (10 months and 3 weeks) before the flight date
• Caribbean – the cheapest time to book is between 240 days and 21 days (8 months and 3 weeks) before the flight date
• Central America – the cheapest time to book is between 200 days and 21 days (7 months and 3 weeks) before the flight date
• South America – the cheapest time to book is between 320 days and 21 days (11 months and 3 weeks) before the flight date
• Europe – the cheapest time to book is between 300 days and 60 days (10 months and 2 months) before the flight date
• Africa – the cheapest time to book is between 310 days and 110 days (10 months and 4 months) before the flight date
• South Pacific – the cheapest time to book is between 320 days and 21 days (11 months and 3 weeks) before the flight date
• Asia – the cheapest time to book is between 290 days and 70 days (10 months and 2 months) before the flight date
• Middle East – the cheapest time to book is between 310 days and 80 days (10.5 months and 3 months) before the flight date

Due to the popularity of holiday flights, booking cheap flights for holidays requires different strategies. Specifically, different holiday flights have different optimal booking windows:

• Spring Breaks – the cheapest time to book is 6 weeks before departure
• Memorial Day – the cheapest time to book is 7 to 8 weeks before departure
• 4^th of July – the cheapest time to book is 6 weeks before departure
• August or Summer Vacation – the cheapest time to book is 4 to 5 weeks before departure
• Labor Day – the cheapest time to book is 7 weeks before departure
• Thanksgiving – the cheapest time to book is 2 weeks before departure
• Christmas – the cheapest time to book is 4 weeks before departure