5 Proven Methods for Finding Affordable Airline Tickets

To avoid making unfounded claims, we analyzed and compared airfare prices based on user searches on tripmydream.com over the past two years. And we can say that the situation turned out to be far more complicated than many people assume.

First of all, it is worth noting that pricing policies at each airline are automated and go far beyond standard parameters such as the day of the week of departure or the time remaining until the flight. To a much greater extent, the price depends on demand for a particular flight — it will rise if tickets are selling well and fall if there are no sales at all. The competition factor is also crucial — if three or more airlines operate on the same route, prices are generally lower. Still, we identified several interesting patterns.

Rule #1: Is Booking in Advance Worth It?

Time to departure has a pretty specific impact on ticket prices, and each airline's cheapest periods are different. For example, if a carrier needs money for operations here and now, it may announce a sale even for a departure period of up to a year or simply extend the period for which the cheapest tickets are offered. As a rule, buying 2-3 months before departure allows you to find the best prices.

For example, Lufthansa, one of the most popular European airlines, typically uses the following pricing model:

1. Early booking (300-180 days before departure): Lufthansa usually offers attractive prices for this period, especially for popular destinations. However, unlike low-cost carriers, these prices are not always the lowest.
2. Medium period (180-60 days before departure): this is often the period when the best deals can be found. Lufthansa balances between attracting early bookings and expecting demand to increase closer to the departure date.
3. Nearest period (60-14 days before departure): prices start to rise, especially on popular routes and in high season.
4. Last moment (less than 14 days before departure): prices usually peak, unless the airline is holding a sale to fill empty seats.

Thus, there is no single "cheapest ticket" model for Lufthansa. The price depends on many factors, including route, season and type of travel. But in general, booking 2-4 months before departure often allows you to find the best price and choice of dates. and others.

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Low-cost carriers tend to have roughly the same cheapest booking periods:

• For Ryanair, this is 75–150 days before departure (prices are on average about 20% lower than usual).
• For Wizz Air, the situation is similar, but in the 75–100 days before departure prices drop even more significantly—by roughly half compared to the average.
• For Ernest Airlines, the optimal period is 90–180 days in advance (also around a 20% reduction).

Rule No. 2: Does the day of the week matter?

Here again, it is worth noting the differences in pricing between low-cost carriers and full-service airlines. For the former, the round-trip fare is simply the sum of two one-way tickets, whereas with the latter, buying separate one-way tickets typically costs about one and a half times more than a round-trip fare, although in practice this ratio can vary considerably. For this reason, when booking round-trip tickets with full-service airlines, not only the day of departure but also the day of return plays an important role.

All low-cost carriers have the most expensive tickets on Sunday (15-20% more expensive than the average price) and the cheapest tickets on Tuesday and Wednesday (15-20% cheaper). Flying on Friday and Saturday will cost you 5-10% more. Although, for example, at Ernest Airlines, the difference between days of the week varies only within 5%.

For scheduled airlines, the direction of travel and the number of days between flights also matter. For example, a ticket departing and returning the same day will cost about 15% more and returning the next day will cost 5% more, almost regardless of whether you fly on Tuesday or Sunday.

For longer trips, the most expensive option is to fly out on a Saturday and return the following Saturday or Sunday. Slightly cheaper is a two-day trip Friday-Sunday. The cheapest option (average 10% savings) is to fly out Tuesday through Thursday and return 5-6 days later (but not Sunday). Interestingly, 7-day tickets even with a Wednesday or Thursday departure will not save you much.

The above-mentioned flight direction implies a difference in demand when searching for a route from point A to point B and vice versa—from point B to point A. For example, on the Warsaw–Milan route, around 80% of travelers book tickets with the first leg from Warsaw to Milan and a return to Warsaw. Accordingly, the same two-day Friday–Sunday trip on the Warsaw–Milan–Warsaw route will cost, on average, about 5% more than an identical trip on the Milan–Warsaw–Milan route. Similarly, Warsaw–Milan–Warsaw tickets from Sunday to Saturday will also be approximately 5% cheaper than tickets for the same dates on the Milan–Warsaw–Milan route.

Rule No. 3. High and low season

For both full-service and low-cost airlines, this is reflected more in changes to flight schedules during the winter and summer seasons than in price fluctuations. Typically, airlines operate a winter schedule from late October to late March and a summer schedule from late March to late October. The frequency of flights on certain routes may change significantly. This helps balance demand and prices across destinations; however, during the high season, fares can sometimes differ by several times, especially on popular routes.

High season includes summer holidays (June–August), Christmas and New Year (mid-December to early January), and Easter holidays (March or April). During these periods, there is a high chance of securing reasonably priced tickets if they are purchased 3–5 months in advance.

Low season covers the period from mid-January to early March (excluding winter holidays), from mid-April to mid-June, and from September to mid-December (excluding autumn holidays). During these times, airfares are generally more affordable, and it is often possible to find good deals even when booking just 1–2 months before departure.

Rule No. 4. When should you search for tickets?

This is where the surprises begin. Let’s assume you searched for tickets at work during lunch, found something interesting, came home in the evening, searched again, and made a purchase. Unfortunately, we have to disappoint you — statistically, ticket prices tend to rise at this time. And you definitely shouldn’t book tickets at night. Paradoxically, from midnight to 7 a.m., the average airfare is about 1% higher. A 1% difference may seem insignificant, since price fluctuations for the same ticket during the day depend far less on the time of day than, for example, on the day of the week. However, considering the large amount of data we analyzed, it can be concluded that searching for tickets at night is unlikely to save you money, while overpaying is quite possible.

The most cost-effective time to search is from 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. and from 2:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. on weekdays. On weekends, however, prices remain almost unchanged throughout the day.

Rule No. 5. Which device is better for searching and booking?

It’s no secret that many websites have learned to analyze user behavior and personalize the content they display. This applies not only to airline tickets, but the difference is especially noticeable when it comes to fares.

Depending on the device you use for searching, the country you’re in, and how many purchases you’ve previously made on the site, search results may vary. The so-called “risk group” includes iPhone/iPad users, users from high-income countries, and loyal returning visitors. To test this theory, you can always use your browser’s incognito mode or a VPN.

It’s worth noting that not all websites use such tactics. In particular, at tripmydream.com, we do not use user data to modify pricing results — we show you all the cheapest available offers.