6 Flight Booking Myths You Need To Forget In 2025

Flight Booking Myth #1 – Book On A Tuesday

Let’s debunk the persistent myth that airlines drop prices on Tuesdays. Back in the day, airlines used to drop their prices on Tuesdays to encourage purchasing.

That practice fell off a long time ago, yet the legend lives on.

In reality, the day of the week that you book has minimal impact on the ticket cost. The day you fly however, changes your price significantly, with weekend flights consistently costing more than weekday flights.

Tuesdays and Wednesdays tend to be the cheapest days to fly overall, and your best bet for snagging a less expensive ticket.

Check out this chart from cheapair.com with the results of their airfare study. As you can see, flying on Tuesdays and Wednesdays is significantly cheaper on average than flying on other days.

Let’s finally say goodbye to the outdated notion of Tuesday price drops and shift our focus to the crucial aspect—selecting the right departure day. That’s the real game-changer.

Flight Booking Myths: #2 – Book Incognito

Next up is one of the most widely spread myths of all. Myth #2 – the mysterious idea that booking incognito is the secret for snagging the lowest prices.

Heard it before? You’re not alone.

This myth suggests that airlines somehow play peek-a-boo with their lowest prices, only revealing them when you’re incognito or in a private browser window. But here’s the truth —that’s simply not the case.

Feel free to test this out yourself. Search for the same flights a hundred times over in your regular browser; the prices typically won’t budge.

The airline’s pricing algorithm isn’t keeping tabs on your personal browsing visibility. Flight prices hinge on numerous factors, and your browser’s incognito mode isn’t one of them.

What may actually be happening is that someone else has purchased tickets while you’re wasting time trying to be incognito. That can make the ticket prices increase, because supply and demand absolutely is a factor in ticket price.

It actually happened to me while I was booking flights for my husband and me while my mom was booking the same flight for her and my dad. She booked her flights, and then my flights increased in price immediately. Supply and demand!

So, stop trying to fool the airlines, and just buy your ticket when you see the price is right.

Flight Booking Myth #3 – Clear Your Cookies

Have you ever come across this flight booking myth? It goes hand-in-hand with myth #2. The myth suggests that airlines, armed with browser cookie knowledge, will spike their prices when they sense you’re hunting for the best deal.

But let’s think critically about this. First and foremost, this idea is not just a bit untrue; it’s outright false. Secondly, it’s kind of counter-intuitive.

When businesses know you’re price shopping, they’re more apt to lower their prices in order to compete, not raise them.

How many times have you abandoned your cart while shopping online, just to have an email come in a few minutes later with, “you left something in your cart!” Many companies even send a coupon with that email to encourage you to complete your purchase. (If only airlines did that!)

Airlines are not losing sleep over how many websites you check for flights; their pricing game is far more sophisticated. It’s all about supply and demand, orchestrated by some high-tech pricing software.

By all means, clear your cookies, but don’t buy into the myth that it’s a secret weapon for scoring cheaper flights.

Flight Booking Myths: #4 – Book As Early As Possible

Let’s get into flight booking myth #4: the notion that booking as early as possible is the secret to affordable flights.

It’s a belief deeply ingrained in the minds of many travelers, leading people to secure their seats months in advance. But it’s not necessarily the best choice.

Booking early definitely has its perks – the best seat choices, flexible flight times, and an array of options to tailor your journey. It’s a comfort zone for those seeking peace of mind.

But I’m going to debunk the myth that early booking equals budget-friendly flights.

Look at CheapAir’s chart below. Before 5 1/2 months, prices can be significantly more expensive. And about 3 weeks before your flight the price tends to skyrocket.

The real “sweet spot” for snagging the cheapest flights typically falls within the window of 1 1/2 to 5 1/2 months before departure.

Now, it’s important to note that this is for domestic US flights.

The best time to buy international flights varies, depending on location, but generally, the earlier the better with international flights. With many countries, you should book about 10 months in advance.

If you’re flying to Asia, you want to lock in your tickets at least 4 1/2 months early. But if you’re flying to Mexico or the Caribbean, you really only need about 6 weeks.

Here’s another CheapAir chart that shows the average cheapest day in advance to buy international airline tickets. However, their best advice for booking cheap tickets still is to book about 10 months out for most international destinations.

Flight Booking Myth #5 – Websites Can Predict Prices

One of my favorites is flight booking myth #5: the belief that certain websites possess a crystal ball, predicting when the cheapest flights will grace the market.

Don’t buy into it.

These websites claim to analyze historical data, but pricing factors are always changing. No one, and I mean no one, can accurately forecast when the cheapest flights will pop up.

Why? Because pricing is extremely complex.

High-demand events like concerts or unexpected festivals can throw a curveball, dramatically influencing prices even during historically cheap periods.

Websites might make educated guesses, but at the end of the day, it’s just that – a gamble.

Trust me on this and steer clear of falling into the predictive pricing trap. Use the advice above when it comes to choosing the best time to book, not the best guesses from websites that definitely cannot predict the future.

Flight Booking Myths: #6 – Book All Your Tickets Together

My final flight booking myth that you need to let go of is #6: the idea that booking all your tickets together leads to a better deal.

Lots of people think you can get a great deal on tickets especially when you’re going away with a group. Sounds logical, right? Wrong!

There’s a quirk in some airline booking systems that often flies under the radar. When you book multiple seats together, some systems automatically adjust all seat prices to match the cost of the highest-priced seat in the bunch.

It goes like this. You could get individual tickets at $99, $99, $150, and $150. But if you buy them together, voila! They could all cost $150 each.

This peculiar system tweak usually kicks in when there aren’t enough lower-priced seats to accommodate your group. So all tickets get bumped up to the next pricing tier that can accommodate you.

The workaround here is to buy the tickets in different tiers separately. However, this means it’s very likely you won’t be getting seats next to each other on the plane.

Families flying with children or anyone who wants to sit together will have to purchase the more expensive seats, but if seat selection isn’t a priority for you, purchasing your tickets separately may allow you to lower your cost.