Report includes money- and stress-saving hacks for future holidays 

New research finds air travel is a leading cause of stress for 49% of Brits, who find it more daunting than filing taxes or making small talk 

Expedia’s 2024 Air Travel Hacks Report was released today, providing the latest essential tips to save travellers time and money on flights and make air travel less stressful, from when to book, how to avoid cancellations and the best day to depart on your trip.  

The report comes at a time when travellers are beginning to plan their holiday getaways and feeling overwhelmed in the process. According to a survey* of 2,000 UK flyers, Expedia found that nearly half of respondents (49%) find air travel more daunting than doing their taxes, making small talk and a flooded email inbox.  

While almost half of respondents find air travel overall quite stressful, experiencing a flight delay or cancellation is the biggest stress of air travel for 65% of survey respondents, followed by long lines at security (47%) and getting stuck in traffic on the way to the airport (47%). 74% of Brits are also afraid of leaving their passport at home when they travel by air, with their credit card / money (49%) and mobile phone (34%) also making the list. 

“No way should people rather do their taxes than go on a trip, so thank goodness a lot of the things causing travel-related stress are getting better,” said Melanie Fish, head of Expedia Group Brands public relations. “Fewer flights are being cancelled and technology is helping with tools in the Expedia app like Price Tracking that make the whole booking and flying journey smoother.”   

“Airlines are adding capacity and increasing service to meet the sustained air travel demand we’ve seen throughout 2023,” said Chuck Thackston, managing director of data science and research at ARC. “Air travel has proven resilient over the past few years, with travellers increasingly taking to the skies for both business and leisure. Fortunately for those travellers, the cost of airfare has been below 2022 levels for most of the year.” 

2024 Air Travel Hacks Report 

WHEN TO BOOK 

• Book airfare on a Sunday to save up to 23%.¹ Travellers who book on Sundays instead of Fridays tend to save, on average, around 21% on domestic flights and 24% on international flights. 

• Book domestic flights at least five months before to save 35%.² Travellers that booked 162-180 days prior to departure saved 34% on average compared to those who waited until the last minute. Meanwhile, for international airfare the ideal booking period is 8-23 days prior to departure, worst booking period is 36-63 days prior to departure, amount you can save is 8%. 

WHEN TO TRAVEL 

• Depart on a Friday to save up to 26%.³ Avoid departing on Sundays, which are the priciest days, on average, to start a trip. 

• Depart before 3 p.m. to reduce the chance of cancellations.⁴ 19% of UK air travellers try to avoid morning flights because getting up early on the day of travel gives them additional stress. However, year-to-date flight status data reveals flights that depart after 3 p.m. have a 4% higher chance, on average, of being cancelled than those that depart earlier in the day. 

MONEY-SAVING TOOLS 

• Price Tracking: Take the guess work out of deciding when to book with the Price Tracking feature on the Expedia app, which notifies travellers when flight prices change and uses exclusive data to pinpoint the best time to book. 
• Bundling: With flights, car rentals, hotels and activities, Expedia offers a wide selection of customisable holiday packages in one place, allowing travellers to save hundreds of pounds on average when booking multiple items on Expedia. Whether booking items together in the same transaction or in steps, travellers also have their itinerary all in one place making it easier to keep track of their journey. 
   

2024 AIR TRAVEL TRENDS 

• While both the number of scheduled short-haul and long-haul flights is nearly at 2019 level, average ticket prices have decreased by up to 3% compared to 2022.⁵ 
• New York City, Dubai, and Bangkok range among the most popular international destinations for UK flyers. ⁶ 
• The fastest growing destination, according to Expedia flight demand data, is Beijing in China.⁷ 

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About the data: Expedia’s annual Air Travel Hacks Report is backed by an analysis of billions of data points and the most extensive air ticketing database in the world through collaboration with Airlines Reporting Corporation (ARC) and OAG, the world’s largest provider of flight information. Expedia has produced the Air Travel Hacks Report annually for more than a decade, making it the ultimate authority on air travel insights and data-driven travel tips. 

Data sources: 
¹Best day of the week to book recommendation is based on average round-trip ticket prices for flights originating in the UK for January through August 2023, sourced from ARC’s global airline sales database. Percentages noted are averages. 
² Ideal booking window recommendation is based on average round-trip ticket prices for flights originating in the UK for January through August for 2023, sourced from ARC’s global airline sales database. Percentages noted are averages. 
³ Best day of the week to depart recommendation is based on average round-trip ticket prices for flights originating in the UK for January through August for 2023, sourced from ARC’s global airline sales database. Percentages noted are averages. 
⁴ How to avoid flight cancellations information is based on January through July 2023 flight status data for flights originating in the UK sourced from OAG’s global flight data platform. Percentages noted are averages. 
⁵ Capacity information is based on number of scheduled flights offered by airlines for January 2019 through December 2023, sourced from ARC’s global airline sales database. Price development information is based on average round-trip ticket prices for January through August for 2023 and average round-trip ticket prices for January through August for 2023, sourced from ARC’s global airline sales database. 
⁶ Most popular destinations information is based on Expedia’s 2023 flight demand to-date. 
⁷ The fastest growing destination information is based on Expedia’s 2023 flight demand to-date and flight demand in the same period last year. 

* The survey about air travel stress was conducted online among 2,000 UK air travellers from August 23-29, 2023, by OnePoll on behalf of Expedia.