Worst Days and Times to Fly on an Airplane

We've all long heard that Thanksgiving is the worst day of the year for travel—and that's not without reason.

"Travelers often attempt to book a trip that travels from Friday to Monday, but flying on these days will see significantly higher ticket prices," says Beal.

We've all experienced it at the dentist or when having the cable company come: The later the appointment is in the day, the more likely it'll get pushed back. Air travel is no different. Delays stack up, so evening flights suffer the most.

The exact week of Spring break in March varies between schools and colleges, but the week before Easter is usually the hottest time for travelers to head south, so fares for any travel in that direction will be higher.

Arguably, Monday is the worst day of the week to fly. Airlines typically cancel twice as many flights on Monday than Tuesday.

Typically, flights are more expensive and airports more crowded on Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays, and Mondays as weekend and long-weekend trips are the most common for both business and pleasure travelers. Therefore, if you can travel on Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday, you're likely to find more affordable fares and fewer traffic jams on interstates.

Everyone has beaches, friends, family, and travel in mind for the Fourth, packing airports. When the holiday falls on a weekend, the chaos is multiplied. For most travelers, this holiday is non-negotiable, so people expect to pay more. The alternative is to shift travel plans a day or two earlier.

Summer is the busiest travel season throughout the U.S., and weekends see the most airport traffic. Expect the biggest crowds and highest airline fares on Fridays in June, July, and August.

Many families decide to travel in the summer because their children are on break from school, but if you can wait for a less busy time, you should.

As the unofficial start to summer, Memorial Day weekend is not a good one for travel. In fact, for Memorial Day 2023, AAA expected 3.4 million travelers to fly, a year-over-year increase of 11 percent.