Airfare advice has always come with an industry adage: Book at the right moment, for travel on the right day, and you’ll unlock the lowest fares. One of the most pervading beliefs—a tip that has circulated for years in travel circles and among media outlets, including this one—is that Tuesday is the sweet spot. This bit of wisdom is a persistent holdover from an earlier era, when airlines updated fares on a predictable weekly schedule.
However, according to new data from Expedia, that advice no longer holds. In fact, in the company’s 2026 Air Hacks Report, Friday has emerged as the best day to book flights to score the cheapest fares.
“Flight prices change constantly, and this year Expedia found that Friday is the cheapest day to book flights,” Melanie Fish, vice president of global public relations for Expedia Group Brands, told Afar. “Travelers can save up to 3 percent when booking on a Friday instead of on a Sunday, which is the most expensive day.”
Why the old “rules” may no longer apply
The long-held Tuesday booking strategy wasn’t arbitrary—it reflected how airfare pricing models used to operate. Airlines once updated fares on a set weekly cadence, and competitors would match or undercut those prices shortly afterward. That created a brief window, often late Tuesday into Wednesday, when savvy travelers could find deals.
Airfare pricing today, however, is far less predictable. Airlines now rely on robust algorithms that adjust fares in real time based on demand, competition, and booking patterns—meaning there’s no longer a single, reliable “drop” each week.
New patterns in the corporate sector also have played a role.
“The recent shift in the cheapest day to book and fly is closely tied to changing work habits,” Fish said. “Many business travelers now complete their trips earlier in the week or avoid Friday travel altogether, lowering demand at the end of the week.”
That shift in demand is what’s helping push Friday prices down, according to Expedia’s report. It tracked patterns throughout a year of Expedia’s Flight Deals tool, which highlights fares priced at least 20 percent below normal. Fewer business travelers flying on Friday open up cheaper inventory for leisure travelers heading into the weekend.
Additionally, according to Expedia’s data, flying internationally on a Friday instead of a Sunday (the cheapest and most expensive international travel days, respectively) can save travelers up to 8 percent on airfare.
At the same time, some of the old Tuesday logic still applies—in a different way. The report found that Tuesday is now the cheapest day to fly domestically, with fares averaging about 14 percent lower than on Sunday. Tuesdays are also the least busy day of the week to fly; Fridays are the busiest.
Still, experts caution against reading too much into any single “best day” finding. Expedia’s data reflects bookings made on its platform—not the entire airfare ecosystem—and pricing can shift constantly based on a range of factors.
Katy Nastro, a travel expert at Going, a travel deals newsletter and app, noted that in one analysis by booking platform CheapOair, a single domestic flight changed price 135 times over the year it was available, which is about once every 2.4 days.
With that in mind, Nastro described attempting to time booking to a specific day of the week as “trying to catch a wave by checking the tide charts from last year. The wave you’re looking for doesn’t care what day it is.”
How you can actually save money
If anything, the takeaway is that the question of which day to book matters less than it used to—and may never have mattered as much as people hoped.
“Price tracking alerts consistently outperform the ‘best day’ rules,” Fish said. “Flight fares alter daily, and some of the biggest savings come from timing the price, not necessarily waiting for a specific weekday. The smartest strategy is to track routes early, watch for dips, and be ready to book when a deal appears on the radar.”
Mike Arnot, an airline industry commentator, agrees, pointing out that travelers who obsess over the perfect booking day can miss the bigger picture.
“Travelers are best off planning their travel long in advance, where there is lots of [carrier] competition for specific seats,” Arnot said. “For example, if you want to fly from New York to Europe, there are a dozen airlines flying the routes every day, each competing to put bums in seats. If you’re one of the first to book, you’re going to have the most likely options for the lowest fares.”
He added that while ticket prices fluctuate, airlines tend to push fares higher as departure approaches, and they use sophisticated software tools, coupled with human intervention, to ensure they maximize revenue.
All of which can mean that the day of the week you choose to book airfare is, according to Arnot, “only a small factor in your dream vacation.” Savings, he added, may come with drawbacks: “I’m not convinced that contorting yourself in economy with multiple connecting flights to save $50 by flying on a Tuesday is worth the mental or physical anguish.”
