Sometime back perhaps on this board I thought that I read about the best day of the week etc. to buy airline tickets online. Was I dreaming or has this been discussed as I couldn't find the thread when I did a search?

I've read many places that the ideal time is 12:01 a.m. ET Wednesday. But I don't think you need to stay up late to get a good deal. Anytime Wednesday will suffice.

I've found the only time not to buy tickets is on the weekend. That's when higher fares are tested.

Good point about weekends. I have noticed that weekend fares often drop a lot afterwards.

OTOH, if you find a really good fare on line it's often better to take it then and there. It can be very hard or impossible to get an outstanding fare to come up again, in my experience anyway.

Peter Greenberg, the Today Show travel editor, claims it's 1 a.m. Wednesday.

Personally, I'll buy any day the fare is low.

[This message has been edited by letiole (edited 11-25-2001).]

[QUOTE]Originally posted by letiole:
[B]Peter Greenberg, the Today Show travel editor, claims it's 1 a.m. Wednesday.


I think most of the computer power is in the midwest, and change over at midnite.

1:01 a.m CT=12:01 ET. I don't know the effect of daylite savings.

Greenberg's rationale is that between midnight and 1 a.m. the low fares that people reserved the previous day but did not buy become available. Because you usually have until midnight local time to buy, I would guess this would work for midnight for every time zone.

This would not explain why Greenberg would particularly favor Wednesday morning.

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Middle_Seat

While the "higher fares on the weekend" thing used to be true, lately there have been some incredible fares that show up ONLY on the weekend.

In general, I guess it still holds that sale fares may be pulled on a weekend (or end at midnight on Friday), but if you're looking for a bargain, be sure to check during the weekend. Those cheap fares usually won't be there on Monday.

I bought 3 tickets on a Sunday afternoon in June. They were the following:

1. LAX-MIA on CO $97.50
2. SNA-DFW on NW $86.00
3. SNA-DTW on UA $101 ($51 after cert).

Got $600 in bumps on the LAX-MIA ticket. Got double miles on UA. Money well spent.

AA uses central time. WN uses pacific.

OK, here's his thinking on that one:

He says airlines tend to start fare wars late on Fridays, by Saturday some competitors match. By late Monday - depending on how the new fare is doing - another competitor will likely offer an even lower fare. Matching usually takes place Tuesday, with possibility of lower fares on Wednesday. It's all usually over with by Thursday morning, he writes in his book.

Likewise, he says, fare increases usually happen late Fridays and, if no one matches, come down again early the following week.

The two big GDS systems are in Atlanta (Worldspan) and Dallas (Sabre). It depends on which airline you're looking at as to which system has the cheap fares. I've seen fares on Sabre that have already expired on Worldspan. I would think (correct me if I'm wrong) that fare periods are based on GMT (Greenwich Mean Time) which is what the rez systems run on. Expiration of "held" fares is based on local time of the agency. Which explains why Expedia expires res at 3am EST.
I concur on the Wednesday thing. Best thing to do though is check EVERY morning. Knowing the usual fare to your destination helps. And read the fare rules associated with a fare. They will give you some hint as to the logic behind how long a fare will be offered and how desperate the airline is to fill seats.

My recommendation is buy Wednesday/Thursday, avoid Saturday-Monday.

Since Southwest hasn't been mentioned, I will. I've seen their internet and anniversary specials as early as 11:00 PM Pacific time on Monday evenings and stay until 11:59 PM Thursday evenings.

Bowl857

Great thread, happy to bump it back up to the top.

Thanks everyone for your insight!