Fare data
The Cheapest Day of the Week to Fly in the US
Tuesday departures ran 4% below the typical fare and Sundays 42% above, across 1,029 daily fares on 40 US routes, including Thanksgiving and the holidays.
If your dates are flexible, the day you leave can matter as much as the airline you pick. We looked at the cheapest one-way fare for every departure day we track on 40 popular US routes and compared each day of the week.
What we found
Across 1,029 daily fares for departures from November 4, 2026 to January 31, 2027, compared with each route's typical fare:
- Tuesday: 3.7% below, the cheapest day to depart
- Wednesday: 0.9% below
- Thursday: 2.7% above
- Monday: 8.2% above
- Friday: 14.6% above
- Saturday: 18.3% above
- Sunday: 42.1% above, the most expensive day to depart
The gap between the cheapest and most expensive day is close to half a typical fare. On a $150 ticket, that is roughly $70 just for leaving on a different day.
The Thanksgiving and New Year weekends push Sundays especially high. Leaving those weeks out, the pattern still holds: Tuesday was 8% below the typical fare and Sunday 34% above.
A real example
On Las Vegas to Los Angeles, the lowest fare we found for Tuesday, November 17 was $24. The same route on Sunday, November 22 was $64. Over Thanksgiving the gap gets far bigger: Los Angeles to Las Vegas was $19 on Tuesday, November 24 and $135 on Sunday, November 29.
How we measured it
For each route we took the cheapest cached one-way fare for each departure day, compared it with that route's typical (median) fare, and then averaged those differences by weekday. Comparing each route with itself keeps a pricey cross-country route from drowning out a cheap short hop.
The fares come from recent searches on our travel partner Aviasales, collected on November 4, 2026. They include the Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year holidays. Prices change constantly, so treat these numbers as a guide to patterns rather than a promise.
How to use this
- Shift your trip by a day or two. Leaving on a Tuesday or Wednesday instead of a weekend is the simplest saving, and Sunday is the day to avoid.
- Check the calendar for your route. Every route page shows the cheapest days over the next three months, so you can see whether the midweek pattern holds for your trip. Here is how to read it.
- Price each direction separately. These are one-way fares. The cheapest day to fly home may be different from the cheapest day to leave.
