How can I check when I can (statistically) fly to given locations most cheaply? [duplicate]
There are many sites where I can search for a particular flight with various date ranges and compare the prices.
But, say, I want to go from Warsaw to New York, or London, or anywhere else (the location is just an example). But I have 100% flexibility when I'll go. How can I check in which part of the year the flight prices on the given route tend to be the most attractive?
I'm aware the prices are very volatile, but if there's a general trend that the flights to London are cheapest in May, and to New York in October, it would greatly help me to start planning.
Best Answer
You can use Google Flights to perform such a search.
By clicking on the date icon (departure or return date) and then on the histogram icon, you can see how the prices vary during the year:
Pictures about "How can I check when I can (statistically) fly to given locations most cheaply? [duplicate]"
How do I find the cheapest flights every time?
How to Find the Cheapest Flights Every TimeDo flight prices go up the more you search?
Surprisingly, there is very little evidence that online travel sites are raising prices the more that you search for a specific trip. In fact, they tend to show lower prices to logged-in users.Do flights typically get cheaper closer to the date?
Specifically, plane tickets usually don't get cheaper closer to the departure date. Instead, flights tend to be the most inexpensive when you book between four months and three weeks before your departure date. According to the CheapAir.com 2019 Annual Airfare Study, you can expect rates to go up after that period.What is the best airfare tracker?
The 5 Best Flight-Price Trackers- KAYAK.
- Skyscanner.
- Hopper.
- Airfarewatchdog.
- Yapta.
Revolut Basics and 10 things you need to know!
More answers regarding how can I check when I can (statistically) fly to given locations most cheaply? [duplicate]
Answer 2
You approach might not completely make sense. How do you define those historical prices? The cheapest fare ever sold on the plane? The average price paid by people who took it? The cheapest fare available shortly before departure?
Since fares universally go up as a plane gets fuller and the departure date nears, average price is going to be higher for fully booked flights but that's trivial and not so relevant to your purpose. Maybe there was an ultra-cheap fare on that flight too and it simply sold earlier (it's also possible there wasn't but a simple average won't tell you that).
What about flexibility? If you are on a flight with many business travellers that don't pay for their tickets themselves and prefer flexible fares with lots of miles, the average price paid by all passengers on the plane will be higher but it does not mean that the cheapest available fare at any given time was more expensive.
Same thing for short-haul flights to large hubs. Sometimes, a person flying directly to a hub will pay more than someone else on the same flight who then connects to another flight. With some crazy routings and other tricks (cf. fuel dumping), you can even save money by going somewhere else and flying through your departure point to some other far away destination. What's the meaning of the average fare on this feeder flight?
Instead of looking at statistical trends or past data, you might be best served by checking what fares are available right not and booking the cheapest one you can find. See How can I do a "broad" search for flights? for tools to do that.
Answer 3
You could use Google Trends Google Trends and select the travel section. After pick your destination and enter
flights to Spain
, you will be able to see when that queries is getting more and more popular and when it decrease. You could cross compare those trends with the price you found with Google Flights. Hope that information can help you.
Sources: Stack Exchange - This article follows the attribution requirements of Stack Exchange and is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
Images: Anna Shvets, Tima Miroshnichenko, Arun Thomas, Brett Jordan