EXPEDIA 2025 AIR HACKS REPORT: FLIGHT PRICES DOWN, AUGUST IS THE CHEAPEST MONTH AND SUNDAY IS THE BEST DAY TO BOOK

In addition to unpacking secrets to save, Expedia also announced a brand-new Flight Deals tool on its app: a customizable deals feed that lets travelers browse current flight deals from their home airport. Find deals to anywhere, or filter by destination and travel date, and create custom alerts. Travelers also don't have to wonder whether it's actually a good deal – Flight Deals only surfaces fares that are at least 20% lower than the typical predicted price.*

• Myth #1: "Summer is the most expensive time to travel."
  Busted: August is the cheapest month to travel, February and March are the most expensive.
  • Traveling domestically in August vs. February can save travelers 12%. Flying internationally in August vs. March can save up to 7%.¹
• Myth #2: "There's no best day of the week to book flights."
  Busted: Booking on a Sunday can keep more in your wallet.
  • For the third year in a row, the data shows Sunday is the cheapest day to book flights. Domestic travelers can save 6% while international travelers can save 17% compared to booking on a Monday or Friday.²
• Myth #3 : "The day of the week I travel doesn't affect the cost."
  Busted: Saturday and Thursday are the cheapest days to depart.
  • It's not just when you book, it's when you fly. Regardless of fare class and destination, flying on Thursday instead of Sunday can save travelers 17%.
  • Domestic travelers should depart on Saturday instead of Sunday to save 17%. On the international front, Thursday is the cheapest day to fly-travelers can save 15% compared to flying on a Sunday.³
• Myth #4: "The further ahead you book, the cheaper it will be."
  Busted: The sweet spot is closer to departure than you think.
  • Book domestic flights 1 to 3 months in advance to save 25% compared to last-minute bookers.
  • Book international flights just 18 to 29 days before departure and save up to 17% versus booking three months out or more.⁴
  • Waiting too long to book can be a high-risk, high-reward strategy. On one hand, you could snag an awesome deal. On the other, you could end up with longer layovers, sold-out flights or a higher ticket price. Luckily, there's no need to wait to book or worry about overpaying. Price Drop Protection on the Expedia app provides an automatic refund for the difference if a flight price drops on Expedia after booking – and it's free for Gold and Platinum One Key members.**
• Myth #5: "Airfare goes up every year."
  Busted: Average ticket prices are down.
  • Domestic economy tickets are down 1% from last year, and international economy tickets are 4% cheaper. In 2024, the average ticket price for domestic flights was $462 ($464 in 2023) and $849 for international flights ($882 in 2023).⁵
• Myth #6: "Premium tickets are always too expensive to consider."
  Busted: The difference between premium and economy has come down.
  • Thinking of upgrading? It's more affordable than ever. The price gap between premium and economy tickets is down 10% compared to 2019.⁶
• Myth #7: "Every flight I take is full."
  Busted: Evade crowds by traveling during quiet periods.
  • Tuesday is the quietest day of the week to travel, and February is the quietest month. July, on the other hand, sees 65% more flights than February.⁷
• Myth #8: "There's nothing I can do about delays and cancellations."
• Busted: Morning flights are much less likely to be cancelled.
  • Cancellations doubled in 2024, impacting 3.4% of flights. Here's how avoid them:
    • Flights that depart after 9 p.m. have a 57% higher chance of being cancelled compared to those that leave earlier in the day. Flights departing between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. face the lowest rate of cancellations.⁸
    • August and September see the lowest rate of cancellations (1.2%). August also sees the shortest average delays, making it one of the smoothest months for travel.⁹

"It's smart to keep the 2025 Air Hacks in mind when booking flights, but the best hack is to let technology find the best value. Set up Price Alerts, rely on Price Drop Protection to swoop in and reimburse you if prices drop, and use Expedia's new Flight Deals tool to see where you can fly for at least 20% lower than typical," said Melanie Fish, head of Expedia Group Brands public relations.

"Airfares are down, the end of summer is the cheapest time to fly, and booking too far out can actually cost you money – these realities fly in the face of advice floating around the internet," said Fish. "It makes sense to trust the billions of data points from across the world and every airline that go into the Expedia Air Hacks report."

"ARC's data provided valuable insights into debunking travel myths for Expedia's 2025 Air Hacks Report that will go a long way to helping travelers prepare for their 2025 vacations," said Chuck Thackston, managing director of data science and research at ARC. "In 2025, affordable premium and economy fares can help U.S. passengers as they continue to prioritize international travel with their discretionary spending to explore new destinations around the world."

Plan a trip today and put these hacks to work by visiting

NOTES TO EDITORS

For more insights, contact Expedia PR at [email protected] .

ABOUT THE REPORT

Expedia's annual Air Travel Hacks Report is backed by an analysis of billions of data points and the most extensive air ticketing database in the world through collaboration with Airlines Reporting Corporation (ARC) and OAG, the world's largest provider of flight information. Expedia has produced the Air Travel Hacks Report annually for nine years, making it the ultimate authority on air travel insights and data-driven travel tips.

ABOUT EXPEDIA

Expedia ^® is one of the world's leading full-service travel brands, with a mission of helping travelers get the most out of every trip they take by providing everything they need all in one place, ensuring they are getting the most out of every trip they take, and above all else, feel supported every step of the way.

Our commitment to insights matched with our unprecedented scale allows us to understand our travelers better than anyone else, delivering exactly what they need, when they need it. Our personalized experiences, backed by incredible technology, enable us to deliver the widest selection of product offerings across accommodations, transportation, activities and experiences that help you get the most out of your journey.

Use our mobile app or visit to plan your journey with us.

© 2025 Expedia, Inc., an Expedia Group company. All rights reserved. Expedia and the Airplane logo are trademarks of Expedia, Inc. in the U.S. and/or other countries. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. CST# 2029030-50.

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About Airlines Reporting Corporation (ARC)
ARC's data platform is the intelligence behind air travel, connecting the industry ecosystem and powering commercial decisions for airlines and our partners. We manage the world's most comprehensive airline ticketing dataset, comprised of over 12 billion annual passenger flights operated by more than 480 airlines in over 235 countries. ARC's trusted reporting and settlement services process more than $95 billion in U.S.-based agency air sales annually. ARC leads industry collaboration between airlines, agencies, corporate buyers and other partners to enable a thriving air travel retailing ecosystem. For more information, visit arccorp .

About OAG
OAG is a leading data platform for the global travel industry offering an industry-first single source for supply, demand, and pricing data.
We empower the global travel industry with high-quality, relevant datasets covering the whole journey from planning to customer experience.
Headquartered in the UK, with operations in the USA, Denmark, France, Germany, Singapore, Japan, China, and Lithuania. For more information visit

*Flight Deals – Expedia predicts flight deals based on historical data collected from searches made on or by Expedia. See site for details. Find Flight Deals in the Expedia app on the "Discover" or "Search" tabs.
**Price Drop Protection - Available for a fee on select flights. Refund will be the difference if the price of your flight on Expedia drops. Where Price Drop Protection is free, Expedia Gold and Platinum tier members will be refunded in OneKeyCash. Terms apply. See site for details.
*** Price Tracking lets you know/alerts you when it's best/the right time to book. You never have to wonder if you booked at the right time, because you did. Price predictions are not a guarantee. Available to members on select routes.

^[1] The cheapest month to travel is based on average round-trip ticket prices for January through December for 2024, sourced from ARC's global airline sales database.
^[2] Best day of the week to book recommendation is based on average round-trip ticket prices for January through October 2024, sourced from ARC's global airline sales database .
^[3] Best day of the week to depart recommendation is based on average round-trip ticket prices for January through October for 2024, sourced from ARC's global airline sales database.
^[4] Ideal booking window recommendation is based on average round-trip ticket prices for January through November for 2024, sourced from ARC's global airline sales database.
^[5] Price development information is based on average round-trip ticket prices for January through October for 2024 & average round-trip ticket prices for January through October for 2023, sourced from ARC's global airline sales database.
^[6] First and business travel premium % over economy is based on average round-trip ticket prices for January through October 2024, compared to the same period in 2019, sourced from ARC's global airline sales database.
^[7] The quietest day and month to travel is based on Expedia flight demand through January to December 2024.
^[8] Most reliable time of day to travel recommendation is based on January through August 2024 flight-status data sourced from OAG's global flight data platform.
^[9] Most reliable month to travel recommendation is based on January through August 2024 flight status data sourced from OAG's global flight data platform.

SOURCE Expedia

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