What day and month are the best for booking flight bargains?

Expedia has revealed the most affordable month and day for flying – and offered some tips for booking timings and dodging the crowds in its 2026 Air Hacks Report.

The travel technology company releases the report annually, drawing on millions of data points and consumer research to highlight changing travel behaviours.

In the report, February was labelled the cheapest month to fly. By travelling within the month, Kiwis could save up to 64%, or around $630 compared with flying in December.

Expedia said the most affordable day to travel was a Friday. Up to 13% could be saved compared with flying on a Sunday.

Expedia New Zealand director Haley Purdon said timing can play a “big part” in airfare savings.

“With business travellers heading home earlier in the week, leisure travellers can unlock better value by choosing smarter travel days, like Friday, with the added bonus of starting their holiday a little earlier to stretch the weekend.”

If crowds are a concern, Expedia said Sunday is the quietest travel day, while Friday is the busiest.

For the time of year, Expedia’s report said February was the least busy travel month, while September was the busiest.

Specific busy days included Good Friday and Boxing Day, while the quietest dates were found between the end of February and the middle of March.

Day to day, the timing of a flight could also reduce crowds. More than 57% of domestic departures and 47% of international departures are in the morning, the company said.

Expedia said the most affordable time to book flights is four to six weeks before departure, if the booking is for economy seats. Domestic flyers could save an average of $115 by booking within this timeframe, while international travellers could save $275 on average.

However, Expedia also said early planners could still save about $105 by booking three months out.

The cheapest day to fly was a Monday, where travellers could save up to 12% compared to booking on a Saturday.

If a flight was booked in October, about 8% could be saved compared to booking in March.

Expedia noted some Kiwi specific travel habits in the report.

About 46% of people would wear extra layers to dodge extra baggage fees. Gen Z was the most likely to layer clothing, with 57% rugging up to save.

Millennials followed closely at 56%, while only 12% of boomers wore extra clothing to avoid baggage fees.

Carry-on remained king with Kiwis, with 37% flying without checked bags.

One in three Kiwis also asked a stranger or flight attendant to swap seats, and 45% of people did so to be closer to family or friends.

Seat kicking was the number one flying pet peeve for Kiwis – upsetting 40% of travellers.

This was above people reclining their seats too far (31%), crying babies (27%), and people invading seat space (25%).

As for oddities seen by Kiwis, about 18% said they had witnessed people bring smelly food onto a plane, while 13% observed nail-cutting and couples going to the toilet together.

The most travelled to international destinations by Kiwis included Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Manila, Nadi, Tokyo, London, Bali, Bangkok, and Singapore.

However, the most trending locations with increased activity in the last year offered a much different picture.

Nha Trang in Vietnam was up 285% – the number one trending location for Kiwis.

Hiroshima in Japan (185%), Phu Quoc, Vietnam (120%), Ontario, Canada (105%), Hyogo, Japan (90%), Warsaw, Poland (65%), Sunshine Coast, Australia (60%), Washington, US (60%), Mauritius (50%), and Singapore (30%) also trended up over the last year.