Flying home for Christmas? Or just getting away from it all? Now could be the best time to book
Flight search company crunches LAST year's numbers to find THIS year's best deals
We use a lot of different flight search engines to check travel deals - and , for example, are rarely off our web browser.
But is fairly new to us, even though it has been around in one form or another since 2005.
It works in pretty much the same way as the others, and their app has a neat trick of alerting you to price changes as they change. It’s Apple only for now but they promise an Android version is on the way.
Meanwhile they’ve crunched last year’s booking data to come up with a slightly scientific method for bagging a festive bargain. If you are flying around Christmas time, pay attention to these tips.
1. Christmas Eve – steal or save?
Flying the same night as Santa doesn’t guaranteed a big saving. Last year, the chance of bagging a great deal for a Christmas Eve or Christmas Day flight was 50:50 with buying an overpriced ticket. Booking in advance didn’t help much last year either: 65% of good flight deals for Christmas Day or Christmas Eve flights were booked in December.
But this year COULD be different: Christmas Eve falls on a Saturday and New Year’s Eve the following Saturday. It’s a booking cycle that charter operators in particular struggle to sell. It is well worth checking flights on that seven-night rotation – or out on Christmas Day and back New Year’s Day. London-Geneva on a Christmas Eve/ New Years' rotation for example is £91.42 at the moment for example - a great deal for skiers.
2. The worst day to book
Last year, the worst day to book – not necessarily to fly - was a Saturday. Of all Saturday bookings made in November and December for Christmas travel, 92% were over the average price. Thursdays, Wednesdays and Mondays were a good time to book Even booking on a Sunday was preferable to Saturday, though still not ideal: 69% booked on this day were above average compared with a weekday.
3. Best time to book (keep your eyes peeled...)
Last year the highest ratio of reasonably priced Christmas flight bookings were made during the week beginning November 2 – the equivalent of this week. 60% of bookings in this window were below the average price in 2015. In contrast, the beginning November 16 looked worst: 87% of bookings were higher than average prices.
You can feel festive cheer in Salzburg, especially if you save more than £150 on your flight
4. Most popular Christmas travel periods
Last year, the most popular Christmas travel period was from Christmas Eve until December 28, closely followed by December 21 until the December 28. By far the most popular return date (56%) was the December 28 Bank Holiday - falls on December 27 this year. With flight prices driven by demand, it would be wise to think a little more creatively about when to leave and when to return for the best flight deals. London-Salzburg for example, is £238 at time of press for December 20-27. Flying on Dec 12-19 and it is £70 - and still in plenty of time to sample the festive atmosphere of its Christmas markets.
In the same period, New York is £1,011 – fly on US Thanksgiving day – November 24 –and it is £797. The best bit? You will be there in time to hit the Black Friday sales!
5. Avoid these two dead spots
Last year the most expensive times to book Christmas travel were the second Saturday in November (the 14th) and on December 1. Perhaps as the calendar trips over to December, it kicks of a great raft of Christmas searches. Any time in the two weeks before Christmas Eve is unlikely to yield a bargain either. Tripsta CEO Philipp Brinkmann said “Getting the best flight deal is never an exact science as prices are generally always changing, driven by specific consumer demand at any one time. A good rule of thumb is to assume any flights which are more convenient, whether they fall on a Bank Holiday, are direct or don’t involve getting up while it’s still dark, will be more expensive.”
It’s not rocket science but it could still save you money.
