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Fasten your seatbelts — Expedia just revealed the best new travel hacks for flying.
The 2026 Air Hacks Report has revealed major shifts in traveler savings this year, including which day of the week is cheapest and which month of the year is the most affordable to fly.
Expedia’s Air Hacks Report analyzed millions of Expedia data points and new consumer research in order to determine how changing behaviors have altered when Americans choose to fly.
One of the key findings was that when you actually take flight is matters more than when you book the flight.
Traveling on lower-demand days can lead to bigger savings — and Fridays are the new best day to book and fly.
Expedia revealed that flying on a Friday rather than a Sunday can save flyers up to 8%, and Tuesday is the cheapest day to fly domestically, saving people an average of 14% compared to Sunday flights.
And booking these flights on a Friday will get you the cheapest options.
“Business travelers head home earlier in the week these days, so new opportunities are opening up for leisure travelers to save by choosing smarter travel days, like Friday for the best prices or Tuesday for fewer crowds,” Melanie Fish, head of Expedia Group Brands public relations, said in a statement.
Aside from booking on a Friday, there are other hacks to get more affordable flights — and you’ll want to book closer to your departure than you may think.
Expedia found that the most affordable window to book domestic economy flights is 15-30 days before departure. Ticket prices bought in this window average $130 less than bookings made more than six months in advance.
For international travel, booking 31-45 days in advance can save guests $190 on average — and booking 8-15 days ahead will give the best value, saving an average of $225.
The data also revealed that August is the most affordable month to travel — and August flights are 20% cheaper on average than flights in December, ultimately saving passengers about $120 per ticket. Domestically, January is the cheapest month to fly due to lower demand after the holiday season.
However, July, October and November are the months with the most deals available, according to a year of data from Expedia’s Flight Deals.
“With a year of data from Expedia’s Flight Deals now in – which highlights routes and dates priced at least 20% lower than the norm – July and October are emerging as two of the best months to travel to secure these high-quality fares,” Fish said.
The airport you fly out of can also make or break the price of your ticket.
With average fares about 25% lower than the national average, Fort Lauderdale (FLL), Las Vegas (LAS) and Orlando (MCO) are the most affordable mainstream U.S. departure airports.
Meanwhile, Washington Dulles (IAD), San Francisco (SFO) and New York’s JFK are the most expensive airports to fly out of.
If your main concern is avoiding crowds while traveling, timing your trip just right is the key.
According to the report, Tuesday is the least busy day of the week to fly, while Friday is the busiest. The least busy month in general for air travel is February, and July is the busiest.
More specifically, the least busy dates to travel include February 25, March 4 and November 18, while the busiest dates are May 22, July 3 and August 29.
