Travel experts debunk common travel myths | 3 On Your Side

PHOENIX (3TV/CBS 5) — Want to plan a Fall trip? August 23rd is National Cheap Flight Day, a day some travel experts claim is the cheapest day of the year to book a flight. Or is it?

The folks at Scott’s Cheap Flights say don’t fall for it.

“One of the reasons why I’m out here trying to preach this gospel is because it is not true that August 23rd is the cheapest day to buy flights, nor is it true that there’s any specific day or time of the day or month of the year when it is cheapest to book flights,” Scott Keyes, Founder of Scott’s Cheap Flights, said.

Whether you want to go to the beach, mountains or a new city, Keyes says there’s lots of good options out of Sky Harbor.

“We have been seeing a lot of cheap flights popping up both out of Phoenix, and out of Tucson,” Keyes said. “If you’re flying domestically, Keyes says flights tend to be the cheapest about one to three months out.

“If you’re traveling internationally that Goldilocks window is about two to eight months in advance of travel,” Keyes said.

So, what airline is best for bargains?

“There’s no single airline that has a monopoly on cheap flights and your best strategy to be able to get cheap flights is actually not to be loyal to any one airline but instead to be loyal to the almighty dollar,” Keyes said.

Even though Sky Harbor is a hub for American, Keyes says you might want to look elsewhere for deals.

“While American flies the most flights, they don’t have all that much motivation to offer cheap flights because they already have control of the market and where you tend to actually see the best deals out of Phoenix is more likely not on American, but instead on their main competitors United and Delta,” Keyes said.

Over the years, many have heard Tuesday is the cheapest day of the week to book a flight, but Keyes says it’s a myth. While it used to be true, it’s not anymore.

“Nowadays, air fares set algorithmically, it is constantly changing by the day, if not by the hour,” Keyes said. Keyes says there are better days to go!

“Generally speaking, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Saturdays are going to be your cheapest days to travel,” Keyes said.

As you’re searching for flights, Keyes says clearing your browser isn’t going to get you a better deal.

“Many folks swear by this, that if you search for a flight and then search for it again and search again that the airlines are going to watch you and they’re going to jack up the price as a result, it is not true,” Keyes said.

So, where are the cheap flights out of Phoenix now? According to Keyes, all over!

“The most frequent cheap flights that we’ve seen lately have been to places like in the upper kind of Rocky Mountain West so think Montana, Wyoming, places like that, out to Hawaii and Alaska. I’ve actually been seeing record lows in terms of fares, and now we’ve been seeing a lot of more cheap flights to Europe even in the tail end of summer,” Keyes said.

If you’re looking to go out of town on a specific weekend for a wedding or family vacation, Keyes says he uses two alerts when he’s eyeing a particular flight.

“Google Flights alerts are great, Kayak has a great alert system. Those are really helpful when there’s one specific flight that you really have your eye on and you’re hoping that the price goes down,” Keyes said.

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