Google Flights says the best time to book flights for Christmas is 71 days before departure
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The best time to book your flights for Christmas is around 71 days before your departure, per Google.
That’s a big change from 2022 when Google said the best time to book Christmas flights was 22 days before departure.
US-Europe flights hit their lowest fares 72 days or more before departure, it said.
The best time to book your flights for Christmas is around 71 days before the departure day, according to Google’s analysis of its historical data of US flights.
That means booking flights between October 13 and October 15 to snag the best deals for travel between December 23 and December 25.
The company shared this data as part of its announcement of Google Flights’ new “cheapest time to book” feature on Monday. It analyzed average airfares on Google Flights between 2018 and 2023 for the top 4,000 US markets.
Moreover, the best time to book US-Europe flights is 72 days or more before departure, the company said.
These estimates are a big change from the company’s recommendations in 2022 when it said the best time to book Christmas flights was 22 days before departure. At the time, it also said the best time for booking US-Europe flights was 50 days or more before departure.
Google Flights’ new feature adds to its current travel insight tools which show if prices are cheaper or more expensive than average for the search, as well as a new pilot program for price guarantees making up the difference if the fare drops.
The US Travel Association predicts the total number of domestic trips in 2023 will surpass 2019 numbers, a first since the pandemic began. The association expects about 2.4 billion domestic trips will be undertaken in 2023, 70 million more than in 2019.
Moreover, the World Tourism Organization said in its 2023 outlook that it expects international tourist arrivals to reach 80% to 95% of pre-pandemic levels this year.
To be sure, the company has previously drawn flak for how its insights misrepresent the carbon footprint of a flight, according to climate experts. These experts told the BBC that Google Flights’ new methodology for calculating your flight’s footprint — introduced in 2022 — excludes many pollutants, meaning only half of a flight’s environmental impact is most likely shown.
Google did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Insider, sent outside regular business hours.
