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It’s called Business Class for reason – This better-than-economy class allows companies to ship their employees around the world in a little more comfort without paying for First. However, not everyone flying Business is on business. And those of us who like to travel Business for leisure can book with some flexibility. So with fuel prices and ticket prices rising, knowing the best day to book a flight and the best days to fly, is advantageous. And luckily, we’ve got data on that.

Play opposite the market trends

While Business fares are pretty stable, there are days and routes that can cost hundreds or thousands of dollars less. But to work out when these might be, you need to think like a day trader and an anthropologist. In essence, if you want to land a deal on a wide seat you need to buy when the flight is less desirable to other travellers. So how do you do this?

Go against the flow of traffic

In the US, employees are often commuting on Business. This means they’re heading out on Sunday night or Monday morning, and returning Friday evening. This leaves you all the other days to travel. The long-weekend getaway crowd exasperates this Friday, Sunday and Monday peak too. So if you really want to save, and have the vacation days in the bank, considering a mid-week break could be less expensive.

Think culturally

Likewise, there are times of year which are incredibly expensive. We all know the American holidays can get a little crazy but what about the Japanese Golden Week or the Chinese Golden Week? At these times, people return home much like they do in the US for Thanksgiving but they come from all over the world. Literally, everyone is flying home. This can affect all parts of the Australia – Europe route and anything going Asia – Asia. But these dates change every year, so check out when they land before you start booking.

Find the big savings in the exceptions to the rule

But wait, if you know all the Americans are heading home for Thanksgiving and Christmas, surely you can work that. We looked at prices around the US holidays for the best day to book a flight and got some surprising results. For example, travelling from the Los Angeles to Sydney the week just before Thanksgiving showed a reduction of around $300 per ticket. No one wants to risk being stuck away on business over Thanksgiving.

Forget the old wives tales

However, there are some rules, which simply don’t hold up. For many years people have assumed that travelling on distinct holidays will save you thousands. If you intend to fly Business from London to Singapore on Christmas Day, you’re not going to fly for peanuts. You will see a reduction but nothing exceptional. The most you’ll get off the ticket price is a couple of hundred dollars.

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Set your alerts

But really, these days, there’s an app for that. Google Flights or Kayak Flight can both track flight price changes. And if you decide in advance when to buy and then commit when you see that number, you’re golden. But still, part of the fun is being able to predict the low price occurrences. It’s a bit nerdy, but a lot of fun.