Tuesday air travel cheapest for Kiwis, study shows

AUCKLAND: A global study has found New Zealanders can save the most on flights if they book to fly on a Tuesday.

And booking at least three weeks before departure can get the biggest bargain.

The 2019 Travel Pricing Outlook by air travel intelligence firm Airlines Reporting Corporation (ARC) and booking giant Expedia says New Zealand is different from other countries, where cheaper flights are found at the weekend.

By booking on the right day, travellers can save between 20% and 36% for seats throughout planes.

Thursdays and Fridays were expensive days for booking a flight but good days on which to depart.

‘‘Travellers can save around 10% on air fares simply by choosing flights that take off on a Thursday or Friday,’’ the report said.

Costconscious travellers should avoid starting their trips on a Sunday which have the highest average ticket price.

The study says waiting to book at the last minute could be an expensive gamble.

‘‘Booking three weeks ahead of a trip is the sweet spot for fare savings.’’

Extending weekday trips to include a Saturday night could also save cut air fares by about 25%.

‘‘For some popular corporate travel destinations, where weekday travel is in high demand, the data show return air fare costs can be almost halved if travellers add a Saturday stay to a weekday trip,’’ it said.

The study has also studied hotel prices, drawing from 895,000 properties that are booked through Expedia.

Fridays are when the best hotel deals are available. The most expensive day to book a hotel is generally on a Sunday.

The study says travellers should not assume that direct flights are more expensive than those with stops.

‘‘Direct flights may actually cost less than flights with stops for a wide range of reasons, including newly added routes, and low travel to predominantly business travel destinations over a weekend.’’

The study looked at ARC roundtrip data between October 1, 2017, and September 30, 2018, as well at bookings at properties offered by Expedia.

Last year ARC settled

$US94 billion ($NZ137 billion) worth of ticket transactions between airlines and travel agencies, representing nearly 300 million flights. —