Cheapest day to fly
Updated 22 October 2026
The short answer
Departures on Tuesday carried the deepest discounts in the fares Flare found over the last 3 days: 14.1 % below the usual price on average, against 12.7 % for Sunday departures. The gap between the best and the worst departure day is 1.4 points.
The day you book changes almost nothing. Across 20,932 routes followed every day since 5 June 2026, the lowest fare appeared on every weekday (10 % to 16.7 % of routes) and the average price index moves by only 0.5 points between the cheapest and the dearest booking day. There is no Tuesday effect in Flare's data.
What does move prices is how far ahead you book: the deepest drops appear 31 to 60 days before departure (15.6 %), inside two weeks they shrink to 11.3 %. See when to book flights.
Cheapest day to fly: departure day
| Departure day | Average discount vs usual price | Fares observed |
|---|---|---|
| Monday | 13.9 % | 6,465 |
| Tuesday | 14.1 % | 5,879 |
| Wednesday | 13.5 % | 5,897 |
| Thursday | 13.9 % | 5,962 |
| Friday | 12.9 % | 5,748 |
| Saturday | 13 % | 6,074 |
| Sunday | 12.7 % | 5,250 |
Fares found by Flare in its last scans (286 departure markets, 41,275 fares, lots of less than 3 days), grouped by the weekday of departure.
Cheapest day to book: the day the fare was seen
| Booking day | Price index (100 = route median) | Routes whose lowest fare was seen that day | Share of observations |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monday | 103.2 | 15.7 % | 14.1 % |
| Tuesday | 103.5 | 16.2 % | 14.5 % |
| Wednesday | 103.4 | 14.7 % | 14.5 % |
| Thursday | 103.3 | 13.8 % | 14.5 % |
| Friday | 103.3 | 16.7 % | 14.1 % |
| Saturday | 103.7 | 12.9 % | 14.1 % |
| Sunday | 103.5 | 10 % | 14.3 % |
Lowest fare found each day on 20,932 routes, from 5 June 2026 to 22 October 2026, each route followed on at least 60 days. A share of minimums close to the share of observations means the weekday played no role.
Booking day by departure country
| Departure country | Cheapest booking day | Dearest booking day | Spread (index points) | Routes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Italy | Friday | Sunday | 1.2 | 2,108 |
| Spain | Friday | Sunday | 0.7 | 1,735 |
| Germany | Thursday | Saturday | 1.1 | 1,633 |
| United Kingdom | Friday | Wednesday | 0.8 | 1,574 |
| France | Friday | Wednesday | 0.7 | 1,536 |
| United States | Thursday | Sunday | 0.4 | 1,349 |
| Poland | Monday | Saturday | 6.3 | 1,146 |
| Türkiye | Monday | Sunday | 0.7 | 879 |
| United Arab Emirates | Monday | Saturday | 1.6 | 718 |
| Greece | Friday | Sunday | 2.3 | 642 |
| Portugal | Monday | Tuesday | 0.9 | 623 |
| Netherlands | Thursday | Sunday | 1.6 | 585 |
| Canada | Wednesday | Friday | 0.6 | 584 |
| Switzerland | Wednesday | Tuesday | 1.1 | 546 |
| Belgium | Thursday | Sunday | 1.8 | 523 |
| Sweden | Monday | Saturday | 6.5 | 480 |
| Thailand | Wednesday | Saturday | 0.6 | 457 |
| Ireland | Friday | Wednesday | 2.1 | 456 |
| Brazil | Saturday | Thursday | 0.5 | 441 |
| Austria | Monday | Wednesday | 1.2 | 435 |
| Australia | Wednesday | Tuesday | 0.6 | 372 |
| Czechia | Monday | Saturday | 0.9 | 365 |
| Japan | Monday | Wednesday | 0.5 | 302 |
Countries with at least 300 routes followed. A spread under 1 point is noise.
How these numbers are measured
Departure day: Flare keeps, for each departure market, the best fares its scanner found in the last 3 days. Each fare carries a price and the usual price of its route. The discount is 1 minus price over usual price, averaged by the weekday of the departure date.
Booking day: for every route, Flare records the lowest fare it found each day. For routes with at least 60 daily observations, each observation is divided by the route's median price, then averaged by weekday. The index shown is the median of those averages across routes. The share of minimums counts the weekday on which each route's single lowest fare was seen.
Observations, not guarantees. Every number on this page is an observation from the fares Flare scans for its alerts. The usual price is Flare's own reference for each route, measured from its daily scans, and a discount is how far below that reference a fare Flare found was. Nothing here is a quote or a guarantee: check the final price with the provider before paying.
FAQ
What is the cheapest day to fly?
In the fares Flare found over the last 3 days, departures on Tuesday were the furthest below their usual price (14.1 % on average), and Sunday departures the least (12.7 %). The difference is real but small: 1.4 points. Booking in the right window matters more than the weekday.
Is it cheaper to book flights on a Tuesday?
Not in Flare's data. Across 20,932 routes followed every day, the price index on Tuesdays is 103.5, against 103.2 on the cheapest booking day and 103.7 on the dearest one. Fares move when seats sell or a sale starts, not because of the weekday.
What is the cheapest day to buy flights?
No weekday stands out: the lowest fare of a route appeared on every weekday, from 10 % of routes to 16.7 %, close to the share of observations each weekday gets. Buy when the fare is below the usual price for that route, whatever the day.
Do flight prices go down after midnight?
Flare scans each market once a day, so it cannot measure hours. On the day scale, the booking day makes no measurable difference, which leaves little room for a midnight rule. Flare's guide on prices after midnight explains why.
How often are these numbers updated?
With every refresh of the site, several times a day, from the latest lots and from the full price history. Sample sizes are printed next to each table.
Catch the drop instead of guessing the day
Flare watches fares from the airports near you and alerts you when one falls well below its usual price, whatever the weekday.