Fact Check: Is it cheapest to book a flight on a Tuesday?

ROCHESTER, N.Y. — If you’re planning a summer vacation and are looking for the best airfare, you might be perplexed about the right time to book that flight.

Many people may tell you the best time to book is on a Tuesday. We’ve all heard that. But is that true?

It can be maddening trying to understand how airlines set their prices. Is there a day of the week when tickets are cheapest? News10NBC called on Hayley Berg, lead economist at Hopper — a travel app that constantly monitors and alerts customers to airfare sales.

“When I hear the myth that if you book on a Tuesday you’re going to get the best deal, my first thought is we have consumers who are missing out on lower prices because they’re stuck on this Tuesday-morning-at-6 a.m.-in-a-private-browser, whatever those myths might be,” Berg said.

Berg says there is no magic day of the week to book a flight.

“The reality is airfare prices change so constantly and depend so much on things like where you’re flying out of and where you’re going to, that there isn’t just one day of the week you’re guaranteed to get the best deal.”

Berg explains there may have been a time when Tuesday was the best day to book, back when airline revenue managers manually looked at how routes were performing, triggering fare sales to take effect early in the week. But that was long ago in the early days of the internet.

However, there are things you can do to make sure you get the best deal. It starts with planning in advance.

“Typically, if you’re traveling domestically, prices are going to be the lowest for your trip between one and two months in advance of your departure date,” Berg said. “Prices on average are going to slowly drop until that sweet spot, and they’re going to rise really rapidly in the last three or four weeks before departure.”

So the next time someone tells you they’re waiting until a Tuesday to book their flight because it’s cheaper — let them know that’s FALSE.

Here’s another tip: When you fly is more important than when you buy. If you’re flexible, flying on a Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday is generally cheaper.