The Ultimate Guide to National Cheap Flight Day

Travelers, mark August 23rd on your calendars—it’s National Cheap Flights Day. August 23rd is considered one of the best days of the year to book a flight, as kids go back to school and the summer travel rush ends.

National Cheap Flight Day is a recurring pattern in the travel industry: deals emerge when demand fluctuates seasonally. As summer vacation travel winds down and vacation planning hasn’t yet begun, airlines strategically reduce prices to maintain passenger numbers during this transition period. This short window of time precedes a gradual price increase that culminates in peak prices around Thanksgiving.

“Our data shows that airfares are on a downward trend and we expect this trend to continue in the near future,” said Glenn Cusano, president of Fareportal, the company behind the OTA brands CheapOair and OneTravel.

Is National Cheap Flight Day the best day to book?

According to online travel agency CheapOair, August 23 coincides with a significant downward trend in airfares. The travel agency analyzed bookings over the past two months and found a significant drop in average ticket prices. For domestic flights in the United States, prices have fallen by a third since the beginning of June, while the cost of international flights has been reduced by 10 percent.

However, this drop is more of a general downward trend for fall travel than an indication that August 23 will be the cheapest day to buy tickets. Flights are generally cheaper in the fall than in the summer, but to find the best deal, you’ll have better luck setting up airfare alerts (we recommend using our sister site Airfarewatchdog) and keeping an eye on prices than waiting until some magic date in August to book.

“There is no best day of the year to book a trip, nor is there a ‘golden rule’ for when to book to get the absolute best deal on a flight,” says Hayley Berg, senior economist at Hopper. “In fact, prices for a flight can change multiple times a day and depend greatly on where you’re going, when you’re going, and how far in advance you search.”

Berg notes that the end of summer is a great time of year to snag bargains on early fall travel. According to Hopper’s data, there are plenty of fall deals available no matter what date you book for. Domestic flights currently average around $270 round-trip each weekend in the month after Labor Day.

Want to take advantage of Europe’s smaller crowds while the weather is still nice? Book your trip for the first two weekends in November. According to Hopper, you’ll save around 27 percent on your ticket.