Booked your flights for a vacation only to realise that the airfares are cheaper after you have paid? We all have experienced this and it is so bloody frustrating. You could use all the various online travel agencies to search for the best fares or even check the airline websites directly just to be sure you don’t miss out on some of the limited-time promotional fares but sometimes you still don’t get the best fares.
So, the big question is when is the best time to book your flights so that you don’t get over charged? We checked around and got some tips.
KAYAK.sg, a travel search engine, shares with travellers its top travel hacks. It reveals the best time to book your flights flying out from Singapore is up to three months in advance. The amount you save varies from 9% to 43% when compared to flight bookings made one month prior to departure.
For popular destinations in Asia including Thailand, Indonesia and China, the most affordable flights are for bookings made one-and-a-half months prior to departure. For Australia and New Zealand, it is best to book two months ahead and you may just save up to 18% in airfares compared to booking only a month in advance. If you are headed to Europe, then book two-and-a-half months in advance. In general, it ranges from 1.5 to 3 months in advance.
For your long-haul trips, you should book at least two-and-a-half months in advance to ensure the most attractive prices.
An Etihad Airways spokesperson shared with us:
“We recommend travellers book as far in advance as possible to have the best chance of getting a seat on their preferred travel date, at the best available price. This is particularly important when travel is over a holiday period such as Chinese New Year, National Day and Christmas/New Year when demand for seats is typically at its peak.
In between these peaks, Etihad Airways’ offers a wide range of airfares to suit the diverse needs of business and leisure travellers. These typically come with terms and conditions about the required time for booking and payment.
From time to time, we also offer special promotional airfares such as our “Discover the best” deals that enable travellers to plan well in advance and buy at competitive rates. The booking window for some deals can be narrow and we recommend travellers act as quickly as possible when they find an attractive offer.”
Pamela Knaggs, Marketing Manager, Singapore and Malaysia, Skyscanner shared
“We know that the best time to book flights varies a great deal from airline to airline and destination to destination, so it is not surprising that travellers find this confusing. Based on the analysis of the last three years’ worth of data consisting more than 250 million prices booked, the optimal time to start purchasing tickets would be between 18 to 20 weeks from your departure date.
Indonesia, for example, should be booked 18 weeks in advance, while those looking a little further afield with flights to Taiwan should consider booking 20 weeks in advance for the cheapest fares. That said, as prices can be quite volatile, travellers need to understand that they may be taking a gamble by leaving booking too close to their departure date. To help find the best time to book, travelers can also sign up for price alerts to receive email notifications so as to monitor for the best optimum price.”
At the end of the day, there really isn’t a good guide on when to book your flights except that you have a better bet if you book in advance compared to last minute travel. We would advise you to keep an eye out on offers from different airlines. Check out airfare comparison sites such as Kayak or Skyscanner and they give you various options and can be sorted from the cheapest fares onwards.
