This article originally appeared on Vulcan Post.
As most travellers on a budget would know, there’s a secret to getting the best airfare discounts: it’s all about timing, timing, timing. This usually involves compulsively monitoring airlines and travel sites for flash promotions, thus wasting time and effort you could have been spending on planning your itinerary. But KAYAK.sg is here to help.
KAYAK, for those who haven’t heard, is a US-based travel search engine which launched in Singapore just last month. KAYAK’s data analysts have done the number-crunching, based on searches on their website for travel dates between January to April this year; thanks to them, we’re about to reveal a few trends and patterns that you can use to clinch the best airfare rates possible.
Tip #1: Book early for nearby destinations
According to analysis by KAYAK.sg, the best time for Singaporeans to book air tickets to destinations in Asia is exactly 46 days, or one-and-a-half months, in advance. By doing so, you get to save an average of 9% (as compared to flight costs when booked one month in advance).
And if you’re planning a trip to Australia or New Zealand — it’s autumn going on winter there right now, so they’re great destinations to beat the Singapore heat — you can clinch the cheapest airfares by booking two months before departure. You’ll be able to save up to an incredible 18% in airfares as compared to getting your tickets a month in advance.
Tip #2: Book even earlier for more remote destinations
For most long-haul flights from Singapore, KAYAK’s trusty data analysts have found that two-and-a-half months is the magic timing. This means that for trips to Europe, the Caribbean, Africa, North America and Central America, doing your homework early is a must.
Here’s a breakdown of the average savings you can enjoy if you book early (which also translates to the price hikes you’ll have to suffer if you book too late):
If these tips sound amazing so far, there’re more penny-pinching tools available at KAYAK.sg. One of KAYAK’s most helpful features is Price Trend, which can predict whether the price for a given destination is likely to increase or decrease over the next seven days. Complement Price Trend with Price Alerts — a tool which sends updates on the best fares to a specific destination directly to your email — and Explore, which helps you source for the best places to go within a set budget, and you’ve got a powerhouse for travel planning on your hands.
So the moral of the story for booking flights? It’s clear that the early bird catches the worm, wherever you’re planning to travel in the world. It might be troublesome to get your tickets so early, but it’ll be more than worth it once you’ve freed up your budget for those inevitable shopping sprees.
Now that you’ve gotten the best flight deals, follow that up by checking out a comprehensive list of accommodations on Agoda!
