Mid-Autumn Festival + National Day, Thanksgiving + Christmas, major festivals are coming one after another. For travelers who are about to travel, when should they book tickets, where should they book tickets, and what kind of tickets are the cheapest? Focusing on this topic, we have put together a comprehensive ticket purchasing guide for you.
How far in advance is the most cost-effective way to book tickets
In the past, consumers would have a misunderstanding, thinking that the earlier they book tickets, the more money they can save. In fact, this idea is wrong. According to a latest survey in 2024, for international flights from the United States, air tickets are best priced when booked 60 days to 4 months in advance.
Airlines Reporting Corporation believes that the best time to purchase international air tickets is 2 to 4 months before the travel date. If you book a ticket 4 months in advance, you are likely to enter the high-price zone, and the closer to the departure date, the more expensive the ticket will be.
However, this is not an absolute rule. When the peak travel seasons such as summer, Christmas, and New Year arrive, the overall fares in the US-China aviation market will rise. During the off-peak travel season, you may be able to get discounted air tickets from airlines. Therefore, if time permits, choosing your travel date in advance and staggering the peak periods will save you a lot of travel expenses.
Tips: Generally speaking, the low-season for US-China flights is from mid-January to April (excluding Spring Festival) and mid-September to mid-November (excluding Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day holidays). Air tickets are the cheapest at this time. The peak seasons are from late May to early September and from mid-November to early January. During this period, air tickets are the most expensive.
Which days of the week are the cheapest
If you need to fly inland for a while in any country in the United States and China, and then transfer via a hub city, you must choose the best travel date.
According to the US market conditions, air tickets departing on Thursday are cheaper than other dates. Expedia analysis pointed out that this price fluctuation ratio is as high as 16%. But at the same time, try to avoid flights on Sundays as they are the most expensive.
It should be noted that although early flights face the pain of getting up early, flight status data so far in 2024 shows that flights departing before 3 p.m. are about 50% less likely to be canceled than flights departing after 3 p.m. This means that there is a high probability that your second international flight will not be affected by the delay or cancellation of the first leg of your flight. This is crucial for time-poor travelers.
In the Chinese market, flights on Tuesday and Wednesday tend to have the largest discounts due to low occupancy. Due to the influence of business travelers on Mondays, Fridays and weekends, ticket prices have increased significantly.
Choosing direct flight or connecting flight
At present, the number of direct flights between the two countries is still limited, so connecting flights are very competitive both in terms of price and quantity. The most common and most cost-effective way to transfer is through South Korea and Japan.
Flights between these places and the United States have basically returned to normal levels before the epidemic, and they are connecting flights without long detours. For passengers holding Chinese passports, as long as they do not go out of customs and do not have to change airports, they can transfer smoothly even if they do not have visas for Japan and South Korea.
Places such as Singapore, Hong Kong and Taiwan are also popular choices for connecting flights. However, for passengers whose home is in northern China, it is not recommended to transfer to cities relatively south, because the flight will take longer and it will be a big test on personal energy and physical strength.
Where to book tickets
China’s ticket booking system is relatively centralized. In addition to the official websites of airlines, you can also purchase tickets through travel platforms such as Ctrip and Qunar. Offline, you can book air tickets through travel agencies. Because of the large passenger flow, the group ticket prices of travel agencies are sometimes cheaper than tickets purchased online. In the United States, ticket booking websites are relatively scattered, and their target audiences and focuses are also different. We have selected 5 relatively reliable websites for reference.
- Skiplagged
If you don’t have much baggage burden and want to take a trip on the go, then booking tickets with Skiplagged is the best value. This website uses the principle of “abandonment” to allow people to book connecting tickets in advance, and then abandon the last leg of the trip to ensure that they book the cheapest air tickets. However, you must be careful when booking flights through Skiplagged. It is best not to have checked baggage, otherwise it will be difficult to withdraw the baggage once there is an “abandoned” itinerary. - Skyscanner
Skyscanner mainly provides a large selection of low-cost flights. The website design is very clean and easy to find. But the problem is that the quality of flights on offer varies widely. - Momondo
For many aircraft fans, choosing their favorite aircraft type to complete a long-distance flight is a wonderful experience. Momondo happens to be a system that allows you to book air tickets by filtering aircraft. - Expedia
Expedia is the most comprehensive and popular travel website in the United States. It not only provides flight booking services, but also provides various travel services such as car rental and hotel booking. Expedia is stable and reliable, making it very suitable for new users. - Priceline
As an old American ticket booking website, Princeline is very trustworthy. Founded in 1997, it excels at finding and booking cheap flights. However, sometimes the fare given is not the lowest on the entire network.
