Wednesdays Are Best

• According to travel expert and consultant Peter Greenberg, author of the Travel Detective Bible, the best day of the week to book a flight is Wednesday. Greenberg explains that cutthroat competition among airlines vying for a dwindling number of travelers creates weekly airfare wars. Those wars typically start on a Friday and continue through the weekend into the middle of the following week until late Tuesday, when the airlines begin setting fares for the next week on their calendar. So according to Greenberg, the best time to buy a ticket is early Wednesday morning when airlines clear out the previous week's leftover flights with lower prices (1 a.m. is the ideal time).
  
  

Tuesday Through Thursday

• Though bargains are everywhere in an era when people are traveling less, the best days to travel are still Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. Since weekends are typically loaded with leisure travelers, and business travelers dominate on Monday, there's almost ways a mid-week lull. Go to any travel website and contrast and compare round-trip flights that start or end midweek with those at other times and you'll see lower fares almost every time. An added bonus to mid-week air travel is shorter lines at the airport, since there are fewer people traveling.
  
  

Saturdays

• Though not the best day to fly, Saturdays are the best of the rest. Most weekend travelers have already made it to their destination, and business travelers are almost a non-issue. It used to be a much better day in a bygone era when flights with Saturday stay-overs were cheaper, but you can still benefit from this old practice, since many people still believe it's true and wait until Sunday to get on a return flight. So if leaving or returning mid-week is not an option, try to work a Saturday flight into your itinerary. (It also comes with the benefit of less traffic at the airport).