Travel Tips Here's When to Book Your Flights for the Best Deals By Talia Avakian Talia Avakian Website Talia Avakian is a lifestyle reporter with nearly a decade of experience writing digital and print content for noted national and international travel publications. She began her career in travel reporting at BBC Travel, where she covered news and features of global destinations, later working as a travel reporter at Business Insider and as a digital news reporter for Travel + Leisure. During her time at Travel + Leisure, she has covered airlines, hotels, new product launches for travelers, natural phenomena travelers can witness, new experience launches, and more. Her work has also appeared in The Independent, Time, Food & Wine, Fortune, Essence, and Departures, among others. Talia is currently a freelance lifestyle reporter in Los Angeles, where she covers content ranging from outdoor getaways, hotels, and transportation to food and experiential offerings at destinations across the globe. She has gone behind the scenes with airlines to learn about flight attendant training, scaled remote mountainsides at far-flung hotels, gone inside the inner workers of Air Force jets, shared the history of Frank Sinatra's favorite New York restaurant hideaway, documented what life is like inside the world's largest residential airpark, and more. She loves discovering unknown perks travelers can access and adventures they can take part in no matter where they go, sharing inside looks at offerings from around the world to help every traveler get the best out of each journey. * 9+ years of experience working as a travel reporter * Stories published and syndicated across over 50 national and international publications * Appeared as a travel expert on Cheddar to discuss emerging travel trends * Received a master's degree in multimedia reporting from the Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute at New York University Travel + Leisure Editorial Guidelines Published on April 6, 2017 Share Tweet Pin Email Photo: jpgfactory/Getty Images CheapAir just released its annual airfare study, analyzing 921 million airfares from 2.9 million different trips to find how far in advance travelers should purchase flights for the best deals. The study found that 54 days out is the best time to find deals on domestic flights in the continental U.S., while the best time to book flights to Hawaii is 79 days ahead; the Caribbean, 76; and Mexico and Central America, 61. Meanwhile, European flights should be booked 99 days in advance, South American flights 81 days in advance, Asian flights 90 days in advance, flights to the Middle East and Africa 119 days in advance, and flights to the South Pacific 89 days in advance. Travelers will also find the best deals during the prime booking window of 21 to 105 days before a trip, when fares fall within five percent of their lowest price, according to the study. CheapAir also found that the time of the year affects flight prices, which is why they broke down the best time to buy flights each season. For summer flights, the best price was 76 days in advance, while the prime booking window falls anywhere from 21 to 140 days before the trip. For fall flights, the best time to buy is 47 days out with a prime booking window anywhere from 21 to 91 days in advance. Winter flights had the best deals 54 days in advance and a prime booking window that fell 21 to 86 days before the trip. For spring flights, it’s best to book 75 days in advance, or during the prime booking window of 21 to 105 days in advance. Finally, while CheapAir found that the day of the week you buy an airline ticket doesn’t really matter, the day you fly does. Their results show that Tuesday and Wednesday are the cheapest days to fly, with an average savings of $73 per ticket, while Sunday is the most expensive day to fly. While the information can be helpful as a general guideline when planning your next trip, it’s important to remember that airfares fluctuate greatly, which is why it’s also good to know about the travel hacks that will save you money on flights and the best tools that are out there to help you get deals. Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! Other Submit