Getting up in the middle of the night to buy your plane ticket at the best price is useless… or almost. In reality, everything depends on a particular criterion, often ignored by travelers.
All methods are good for saving a few euros, and for that, social networks are kings. Videos revealing how to reduce your spending at the supermarket, at the gas pump, or even on vacation have millions of views. But to pay less for your plane ticket, there are many preconceived ideas. For example, some travelers think that using a VPN allows them to display lower prices. However, it is ineffective: regulations prohibit airlines from modifying their prices based on the geographic location of the buyer. Other Internet users in turn say that you should buy your ticket on Tuesday. If Skyscanner actually observes this trend in its analyses, we must not forget that prices depend above all on demand, and fluctuate strongly from one day to the next depending on the destination chosen.
Another myth persists about the ideal time to pay less for your plane tickets: buying them in the middle of the night. Many deal hunters stay up late, thinking of outwitting the algorithms, because they log on when demand is lowest. However, it is a “false idea” which has lasted for more than 20 years, because “from a very well known travel agency that had much cheaper service fees at night” in the 2000s. This is what Alexandre Poisson, dynamic pricing expert at Yield Tactics, explains in the magazine 60 million consumers. In reality, it can still be wise to book your plane ticket at night… as long as you pay attention to an essential point that no one thinks about.
“Recalculations are often done at night”confirms the specialist. “But it’s nighttime at the company’s headquarters.”and not where the traveler is looking to buy their ticket. Indeed, although it is a well-kept secret by the companies, several sources specializing in travel and price tracking corroborate this logic. Prices fluctuate throughout the day, but computer reservation systems typically do their major resets overnight: the algorithms take advantage of when website traffic is at its lowest to take inventory. They put back on sale tickets that had been reserved but not paid for the day before, recalculate the probabilities of filling the plane, and open or close new fare classes.
The specialized site AwardFares explains that “Most airlines publish new availability when their reservation system switches to the next day, which usually happens at midnight in the airline’s local time zone.. Concretely, the right time to pay less depends above all on the nationality of the airline. If you book a Lufthansa ticket for example, the German time zone is appropriate. It is identical to that of France, which means that you will indeed have to stay up late to try to get the best price. This is valid for most European companies, because the time zones are all close, within an hour. On the other hand, if you are traveling with an American company like Delta Airlines for example, you will have to follow the time zone of Atlanta, a city located in the state of Georgia, where the company is based. In summer time, this is equivalent to a six-hour shift: their “middle of the night”, for example 3 a.m., corresponds to 9 a.m. in France. Same, but in the opposite direction, if it is an Asian company like Singapore Airlines. A French traveler should therefore look for tickets around 6 p.m.
The myth of sleeping to pay less is therefore indeed true, but not quite as we had always believed. For your next trips, don’t hesitate to take a few extra seconds to check the location of the head office of each company, to know when it is best to book. Moreover, as also recalled 60 million consumersit is better to buy directly from the company’s website to eliminate intermediaries and simplify procedures in the event of an appeal.
