The best time and day to fly revealed – and it could even be a cheaper option
TRAVEL experts have revealed the best time and day to fly – and it turns out it could even work out cheaper.
Some flights are better than others – but it’s difficult to know which ones you should avoid and which you should definitely choose.
However, one option that has been recommended is booking flights that land earlier in the day, and during the week.
This will improve your chances of getting assistance should anything go wrong during your flight.
In a list of travel tips compiled by the BuzzFeed Community, one person explained why they always try and land before evenings and dodge weekend flights.
They said: “Schedule your arrival at new destinations during weekdays and daytime hours.
“You never know when you might need help, and a lot of places like visitors centres and banks aren’t open late or on the weekend.
“I arrived in Geneva on a Sunday, and nothing was open. The only place I could get dinner was at the train station, and I was very lucky to get that.”
Luckily, it turns out that flying on weekdays could actually be cheaper, according to a report put out by travel company Expedia showing when it’s best to book and fly.
Consumer expert Harry Wallop waded through the data and told Sun Online Travel why a Friday is the best day to fly.
He said: “If you want to save money, if you’re travelling internationally, you want to travel on a Friday, which can save you around about 15 per cent.
“That’s on average travelling on a Friday versus traveling on a Saturday, which not surprisingly, is the peak day.
“For example, I’ve seen a flight, flying from Stansted to Istanbul, and that is £53 if you fly on Friday.
“The same airline, the same time of day, flying on Saturday to the same city is £72, so that’s a £19 saving, just by shifting the day of the week you travel.”
Flying earlier in the day can also prevent your flight from being delayed or cancelled.
Gordon Smith, who has built extensive knowledge around commercial aviation as editor of Airliner World, revealed why you should always fly earlier in the day in you want to avoid any unexpected flight drama.
He told the Daily Mail: “While late-evening departures can be convenient, they’re also risky.
“Budget firms typically assign just 30 minutes between landing and take-off all day long, so it doesn’t take much for schedules to go awry.
“Problems can be compounded, with later services more likely to experience knock-on delays.”
Data suggests that flights that depart after 3pm have the highest chance of being cancelled.
In fact, there’s a 50 per cent higher chance, on average that they will have problems, than those that depart earlier in the day.
Figures supplied by FlightRadar24 which analysed flight cancellations last summer, suggest the best time to fly is late morning between 11am and 12pm.
Only an average of 0.75 per cent of flights scheduled during that window were delayed or cancelled – making it the best time to fly.
Meanwhile, March is the most reliable month to travel, with the shortest average delays.
And this is the best day to fly on for cheaper flights.