Google Flights reveals the best time to book cheap holiday flights

Google is offering travelers tips on the best times to book their travel this holiday season to save on airfares using the company’s tools based on the company’s historical data from Google Flights.

The tech giant published a blog post on Monday that outlined how to utilize its tools whether you already know your destination and travel dates or if you have the flexibility to make adjustments to your holiday plans.

The Google post raised the question many travelers face between buying their tickets for holiday travel today or waiting to see if fares will drop in the days or weeks ahead, and how to approach either situation.

“When your dates are already set, booking early is the safest bet to protect your itinerary,” wrote James Byers, Google’s group product manager for Search. “But if your top priority is scoring the lowest possible price, you can use historical booking trends in a couple ways.”

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Google offered tips for finding the lowest airfares and when to book based on which holiday travelers are planning a trip for, as well as the destination. (Daniel SLIM / AFP via Getty Images)

Byers’ post said that those planning their holiday travel can use Google Flights or AI Mode in Search to determine when the best time to save money on booking a flight is based on the destination and travel dates.

That will give the searcher insight into how current prices compare with those in prior years, and whether fares are likely to rise or fall before their departure date.

For travelers who have flexibility, the post shared an updated analysis of the best time to book flights using five years of aggregated data from Google Flights to pinpoint how far in advance common U.S. departure flights hit their lowest average price in common holiday travel scenarios.

In general, domestic flights hit their lowest price 39 days before departure, within a range of 22 to 57 days. Byers noted that the window is slightly wider this year than it was a year ago, but 39 days remains a sweet spot.

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Google’s data shows Thanksgiving airfares are cheapest in October, while Christmas airfares tend to be found in late October and mid-November. (Matthew Hatcher/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

For international flights, the lowest prices are typically reached 89 days before departure, but the report notes that the average price drop during the low range from 50 to 133 days out is insignificant – so travelers heading abroad should try to book flights as soon as they can.

Thanksgiving travelers will typically find the lowest prices 34 days before their departure, within a low price range of 21 to 57 days. That indicates the cheapest options will tend to emerge for travelers in October.

Christmas flights tend to reach their lowest price 56 days before departure within a low price range of 33 to 67 days. Byers noted that the low point is five days earlier than last year, with the best airfare deals falling between late October and mid-November.

“Our best recommendation is to book your holiday flights ASAP. October is when Thanksgiving flights tend to be cheapest, and this year, the sweet spot for low Christmas fares has shifted even earlier,” Byers wrote.

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For those who are planning trips next year, Google’s analysis notes that spring break air fares hit their lowest point 50 days before departure within a range of 29 to 64 days for trips in March or April, which is a week earlier than last year.

Travelers planning summer vacation trips can wait later, as the lowest prices hit 21 days before departure within a low price range of 20 to 47 days for trips in July or August.

Google’s analysis also offered tips for people planning international travel.

Trips to Europe tend to align with general international travel in terms of the lowest prices, which arrive 90 days out, but Byers notes that waiting rarely pays off as the low price range is 49 days or more before departure.

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Travel to Mexico or the Caribbean hit the lowest prices 43 days before departure with a low price range of 24 to 69 days, with the report noting the sweet spot for finding a deal on airfares is much closer to the departure date than it is for European travel.