CheapOair Challenges Flight Booking Myths as National Cheap Flight Day Opens a Wider Low-Fare Window
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As travellers prepare for National Cheap Flight Day on 23 August, CheapOair has released new research suggesting that the biggest airfare savings may come from understanding seasonal booking patterns rather than following long-standing travel myths. The online travel agency’s inaugural National Cheap Flight Day Report combines a survey of 1,000 US travellers with proprietary booking data and fare analysis, highlighting how consumer assumptions about the cheapest time, method and ticket type for booking flights can differ from actual pricing trends.
The findings arrive as the travel industry approaches one of the key transition periods of the year, when peak summer demand begins to soften but the major holiday travel season has not yet fully taken hold. According to CheapOair’s analysis, National Cheap Flight Day should be viewed less as a single-day airfare sale and more as the beginning of a broader opportunity for travellers searching for lower fares.
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When Is the Best Time to Find Cheap Flights?
CheapOair said some of the strongest pricing opportunities are expected to fall between 28 August and 10 September. During the shift from August into early September, its analysis found that domestic airfares typically decline by around 12%, while international fares decline by approximately 17%.
The period sits between the high-demand summer travel season and the increasingly busy autumn and winter holiday booking cycle. As leisure demand changes and some destinations move into their shoulder seasons, airlines may adjust fares to stimulate bookings and fill available seats. That does not mean every route, date or destination will become cheaper, but it demonstrates why travellers should monitor fare movements across a wider booking window rather than waiting for one supposedly perfect day.
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Yuvraj Datta, Chief Supply & Revenue Officer at Fareportal, the travel technology company behind CheapOair, said National Cheap Flight Day is not a single magical moment when fares suddenly collapse. Instead, travellers who understand seasonal demand and compare available options regularly may be better positioned to identify genuine savings.
Which Flight Booking Myths Are Still Influencing Travellers?
The survey revealed that several traditional beliefs continue to shape how Americans search for flights. One of the most widespread assumptions concerns the idea that there is a particular time of day when travellers can consistently find the cheapest airfare. According to the research, 74.4% of respondents believe such a best booking time exists.
CheapOair’s analysis disputes the idea of a universally reliable hour for booking. Airfare is dynamic and can change in response to inventory, demand, competition, route conditions and airline pricing decisions, making a fixed daily booking time an unreliable strategy.
Another popular belief involves browser cookies. More than half of respondents, or 50.4%, believe clearing cookies can help lower airfare prices. Meanwhile, 48.2% believe repeatedly searching for the same flight can cause fares to increase. CheapOair said its findings do not support either assumption as a dependable method for obtaining cheaper tickets.
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These misconceptions reflect the continued influence of older travel advice in an increasingly sophisticated airfare marketplace. For travellers, the more useful approach may be to compare fares, dates, airlines and itinerary options rather than relying on technical tricks that do not consistently affect ticket pricing.
Are Round Trips, Budget Airlines and Layovers Always Cheaper?
The report also challenges several broad assumptions about which types of tickets always offer the lowest price. Around 72.2% of respondents believe that purchasing a round-trip ticket is always cheaper than booking two separate one-way journeys.
However, this is not necessarily the case. Depending on airline pricing, competition and route availability, two one-way tickets can sometimes provide better value or greater flexibility. Travellers may therefore benefit from comparing both options before completing a booking.
Similarly, 68.1% believe budget airlines always provide the lowest overall airfare. While low-cost carriers can offer highly competitive base fares, additional charges for baggage, seat selection and other services can alter the final price. Comparing the total cost, rather than the headline fare alone, remains essential.
Another 66.3% believe flights with layovers are always cheaper than nonstop services. CheapOair’s findings again suggest that this is not a universal rule. Route competition, demand and airline schedules can occasionally make nonstop flights competitively priced, particularly when carriers are competing for passengers.
How Far Ahead Should Travellers Book Their Flights?
One of the report’s clearest findings concerns booking lead time. While 54.7% of surveyed travellers believe the cheapest fares are generally found several months before departure, CheapOair’s proprietary booking data indicates that the most consistent savings occur when flights are booked between 30 and 60 days before travel.
That finding reinforces the importance of avoiding rigid booking rules. Booking extremely early may be appropriate for high-demand holidays, major events or routes with limited capacity, while waiting until the last minute can carry substantial risks. Yet for many ordinary journeys, monitoring fares during the one-to-two-month period before departure may offer a more balanced opportunity to secure competitive prices.
Where Do Travellers Believe They Will Find the Best Fares?
The survey also showed that travellers remain divided over where the lowest prices can be found. Airlines were favoured by 30.6% of respondents, followed by online travel agencies at 29.4% and flight comparison sites at 27.5%.
The narrow gap between these figures highlights a growing recognition that there is no single booking channel guaranteed to offer the cheapest fare every time. Comparison remains a critical part of the search process, especially when travellers can evaluate flexible dates, multiple airlines, fare classes and itinerary combinations.
To coincide with National Cheap Flight Day and the wider booking period, CheapOair is offering $55 off its booking fees on eligible reservations using the coupon code FLIGHT55. The promotion runs from 17 August through 27 August 2026.
Ultimately, CheapOair’s report delivers a simple message for travellers: the cheapest flight is unlikely to be found through one universal trick. As airfare pricing becomes increasingly fluid, travellers may achieve better results by questioning outdated assumptions, comparing the full cost of different options and watching seasonal booking trends. National Cheap Flight Day may provide the symbolic starting point, but the wider late-August to early-September period could prove more important for travellers seeking meaningful airfare savings.
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