Increase in flight bookings expected as first pay day of 2017 arrives

Skyscanner advises travellers to look before you book as millions miss out on best deals every year₁ 

• Increase in flight bookings and searches expected as the first pay cheque of 2017 hits
• More than half reported to have knowingly missed out on good flight deals last year, booking too early or too late
• The Best Time to Book to destinations changes depending on the departure city. For example, flying from Newcastle to Barcelona needs more planning (23 weeks), whereas flying Manchester to Barcelona is 9 weeks.
• A family of four booking at the best time to go to Orlando could save around £215
• NEW interactive tool from Skyscanner allows travellers to view the best time to book from key UK cities to destinations and shows the cheapest month to travel (www.skyscanner.net/bttb/best-time-to-book-uk)
• Best Time to Book is the most popular topic and question Skyscanner is asked

Global travel search engine Skyscanner  estimates that over 1million travellers will be logging on to book flights over the coming week₂ as the first pay day of the year hits bank accounts across the country.  But before splurging on their 2017 getaway, Skyscanner is encouraging travellers to look before they book as they could miss out on a better deal.

Knowing the best time to book a flight can be tricky, over half (55%) of those surveyed said that they missed out on a great flight deal, 25% said because they booked too early and 37% citing booking too late₃.  This year the travel tech experts at Skyscanner have been busy analysing millions of flight prices from the UK to bring travellers their most detailed best time to book data yet, drilling down to a City to City level.

Skyscanner's NEW Interactive Best Time to Book Tool₄ allows travellers to search from the top 10 most popular UK cities to popular destinations across the globe (https://www.skyscanner.net/bttb/best-time-to-book-uk).  The NEW interactive tool also allows travellers to see at a glance the cheapest month to travel and how much they can save if they book at the best time.

Where to consider booking this week

This week is the best time to book flights from London to Madrid for July (ahead of the school holidays – 23 weeks in advance), this simple hack could save travellers a whopping 23% off the average flight price. Travellers looking for great flight deals to Barcelona for the same period should be careful as there are big differences between the departure cities, for example, if flying from Newcastle travellers should get booking soon (23 weeks in advance) but anyone flying from Liverpool should consider waiting until mid-March (9 weeks before). Next Week is the best time to book a flight to Lisbon, Portugal from London for the Easter break (10 weeks before).

Hold onto your pay cheque

If Orlando is on the cards for the Easter break, those travelling from Glasgow are best waiting three weeks before departure to book their seats in order to save 9% on the average flight price, whereas those travelling from Manchester and London would need to take a more last minute approach booking just one week before travelling to make a saving of up to 12%, which would be an approx. £215 saving for a family of four.

Those considering a family trip to New York this summer, should put that pay day cheque to one side until May or June (23 weeks before), this hack could see a family of four flying from Newcastle saving approximately £227.60 on average flight prices5.

Skyscanner's travel editor Cat McGloin comments “Whilst we know that more than half of people we asked said they were aware that they had missed out on a great flight deal by booking too early or too late, there is likely to be many more out there who aren't aware that they could have got a better flight deal if they had booked at the right time. One of the most frequently asked questions we hear is “When's the best time to book flights?” To help answer that question as accurately as possible, we wanted to give travellers access to the most comprehensive information that we have available, which is why we are pleased to be able to provide travellers with a unique interactive tool that highlights the best time to book to destinations from the top 10 UK cities”

In addition to considering the best time to book, Skyscanner has more smart travel tips to help you get the best flight deals this year:

• Monitor prices - The best way of getting a good fare is to keep track of the prices by setting up a price alert so that you are notified when prices rise or fall on a specific route.
• Consider travelling on a week day rather than the weekend – If possible, be flexible and fly on less popular days of the week. It pays to do your research by using Skyscanner's Month View search tool.
• Mix and Match: Fares don't have to be booked as returns, instead you can save money by flying out with one airline and back with another.
• Nearby Airports – Just click on 'add nearby airports' when creating your search and see if a short drive, bus or train journey could save you pounds
• Search Everywhere – For those with a limited budget but an unlimited imagination, Skyscanner recommends using its Search Everywhere tool, which will find the cheapest destinations to travel to for a specific date period.

For more travel tips visit https://www.skyscanner.net/news/20-money-saving-travel-tips-and-secrets

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For more information, please contact Emma Wiseman on 07747 343233 or emma.wiseman@skyscanner.net

₁ Based on the total number of exits from Skyscanner between 1 January 2016 and 31 December 2016 and OnePoll survey of 1,000 UK travellers in January 2017, which saw 55% missed out on a good flight deal.

₂ Based on Skyscanner exits between 25th January 2016 and 31st January 2016.  This was the third busiest week period for flight exits across 2016. 

₃ One Poll survey of 1,000 UK travellers

₄BTTB is based on two years' worth of historic booking data from 2014 to 2016. Whilst we can't predict the factors that may impact flight prices in 2017, we have looked at a wealth of data to enable us to identify clear patterns that we would expect to be replicated in future years. These results should be considered as a guide for travellers and whilst we have identified the average flight prices and best time to book, there will never be one date where it can guarantee that flight prices will be at their cheapest.

5 Skyscanner's average flight prices to destinations based on exits from the UK between 01 January 2016 to 31st January 2016.

About Skyscanner:

• Skyscanner is a leading global travel search company, providing free search of flights, hotels and car hire around the world
• Founded in 2003, Skyscanner helps over 50 million people each month to find their travel options
• Skyscanner is available in 30 languages
• Skyscanner's highly-rated free mobile apps have been downloaded over 50 million times
• Skyscanner employs over 800 staff and has ten offices across the world: Barcelona, Beijing, Budapest, Edinburgh, Glasgow, London, Miami, Shenzhen, Singapore and Sofia
• Skyscanner is part of the Ctrip group

For more information, please visit www.skyscanner.net