Travellers can save big on flight costs by booking on a Sunday
KUALA LUMPUR: The 2019 Travel Pricing Outlook report, drawing on sophisticated analysis of the Airlines Reporting Corporation (ARC) global air and Expedia Group’s lodging-trend data, has revealed timing matters when it comes to unlocking travel savings.
The report reveals how travellers can gain real value for money by being strategic about not only when they book a flight, but when they start their journey. It also reveals trends savvy Malaysian travellers can use to pay less for seats in the “pointy end” of a plane.
Time-based travel saving tips for Malaysian travellers include booking three weeks in advance for your best savings, booking Economy and Premium or Business seats on a Sunday for savings up to 20 per cent, saving more than 10 per cent on Economy seats when you start your journey on a Thursday and saving up to five per cent on Premium or Business seats when you start your journey on a Friday.
Other tips include adding a Saturday night to your mid-week trip starting from Wednesday, to save more than 10 per cent on airfares, sometimes more for popular business destinations.
ARC’s managing director of Data Science Chuck Thackston said that for around three-quarters of trips, quantifiable savings can be accessed by travellers who extend their weekday trip to include a Saturday night stay.
“The savings opportunities quantified by extending mid-week travel over a weekend is a new and valuable finding for travellers,” Thackston said.
The industry has talked about bleisure (business and leisure) for a while now, but we have been able to actually quantify real savings for travellers around this concept.
“It’s something that people who love travel should really start to incorporate into their travel plans.”
Meanwhile, Expedia Group’s vice president for Transport Partner Services Asia Pacific James Marshall explained that Expedia is constantly looking for ways to improve the experience of booking travel.
“Finding patterns in data is at the core of what we do. Our algorithms use data science to analyse approximately 19 quadrillion potential flight itineraries and filter them to display the most relevant options for each journey,” Marshall said.
“When it comes to saving on flights, booking early and taking advantage of the other unique ways to save on Expedia, will help people go places for less.”