Expedia and the Airlines Reporting Corporation have released new research that dispels popular travel fallacies and provides practical advice on how to save money on flights.
Here are some tips for making better travel plans in 2025, from when to book to when to choose your dates.
Travelers, be aware that your assumptions about finding inexpensive flights may be incorrect. Unexpected facts about flight patterns and ways to save a lot of money in 2025 are revealed in a new analysis from Expedia and the Airlines Reporting Corporation (ARC).
Among the most unexpected? As families finish their vacations and children return to school, August—and summer in general—is the most affordable month to travel. Conversely, February and March are the most expensive months to fly.
Sunday is the most popular day to book. Compared to Mondays or Fridays, flights booked on Sundays are typically 6% less expensive for domestic travel and 17% less expensive for foreign travel.
However, departure days are just as important as the time of booking. You can get cheaper tickets by flying locally on Saturdays or abroad on Thursdays.
The paper also questions the notion that reservations should always be made in advance.
Although it’s a good idea to plan ahead, domestic flights are most affordable one to three months prior to departure, while foreign flights sometimes have their lowest costs just 18 to 29 days in advance.
Other advice is to book flights in the morning to prevent cancellations and to think about premium cabins, which are now less expensive than they were in the past.
Experts advise utilizing resources like Expedia’s Price Alerts and Flight Deals to find the greatest offers. “Let technology do the hard work so you can focus on exploring,” says Melanie Fish of Expedia.
This is where smarter travel in 2025 begins.
