Air travel is more expensive and unpredictable now than in recent memory.

Especially as we get into the later months of the year and closer to Christmas, flights become eye-wateringly expensive.

Fortunately, a report into the past eight years' travel booking data across New Zealand has been published to help traverse the seasonal fees and identify the best times, days and places to travel.

The Expedia 2023 Air Travel Hacks Report aims to answer the questions you have around booking trips with minimal cost and hassle. According to the analysis by the Airlines Reporting Corporation, it's best to book early and fly late.

"Travellers should definitely be open minded on travel plans," says Daniel Finch, Expedia's Senior Director.

That goes as much for route options as it does the best time for travel.

Sunday is the best day to book, potentially saving up to 20 per cent on the rest of the week for domestic travel.

"How far out to book is an important consideration," Finch said, regarding travel across New Zealand. "The best booking window is one month for domestic flights, and at least two months internationally."

With limited capacity in many international sectors, there is a sharp contrast in the cost of direct flights versus indirect routes. Finch says that it can be cheaper, but also far slower to travel than you might remember from pre-pandemic.

Fares to Singapore via Bangkok are currently $600 cheaper than flying direct from Sydney. But it is something for the traveller to weigh up carefully.

"Indirect travel can be incredibly painful," he says. "Trips that once took 20 hours can now take 30 to 40 hours."

Many more cautious travellers and travel agencies will add more time to layovers to compensate for potential disruption, giving more chance of meeting later connections. This only compounds the problem.

For some destinations direct links simply don't exist yet. Popular holiday destinations like Bali now have stops via Australia, which has caused headaches for Kiwis.

"Try and choose departures with as few changes of airline as possible to minimise disruption," is Finch's advice for when transfers are unavoidable. Destinations in South East Asia offer huge value for travellers on the ground, including the newly opened up destinations of Japan, Korea and Taiwan. While there may be less capacity for airlines and flights slightly dearer, Finch says there are bargains to be found on the ground.

"North America is pretty Much at 2019 levels and capacity is back to normal."

"It's definitely looking a lot better than 2021." While there's still memories of bad press and disruption suffered by travellers last year, capacity is recovering and bargains to be found amongst the new travel routes.

Best times to book travel

Easy, like a Sunday booking

Sunday was shown to be the best day of the week to book flights, offering an average of 20 per cent on domestic fares and 15 per cent for international. This is a trend that has been observed for the past four years and doesn't seem to be going anywhere.

Domestic window

Domestic air fares ramp up quickly. Booking at least one month ahead of travel can save you up to 40 per cent on your fare, whereas tickets become increasingly expensive less than 30 days out.

On average, domestic plane tickets in New Zealand cheapest were at their cheapest 5 months before travel.

International early birds

Similarly good fares were given to those prepared to wait, when travelling overseas. You'll want to book at least 165 days or six months to lock in the best fares.

"Prices only get more expensive," says Finch. It may already be too late to plan this Christmas, it's almost time to start on 2023/24.

The cheapest time to travel was consistently at the end of the week. Domestic flights in New Zealand were cheaper on a Saturday rather with the Sunday rush, on the way home ahead of the working week.

How to avoid travel disruption

Fly later to avoid disappointment

The best time to travel is after 9am. Year to year flight data showed that departures scheduled between 3am and 9am were at the most risk of being bumped off the schedule. Cancellation was 20 per cent higher.

Fly off season

It might be obvious to travel off-season if you can but due to the squeeze and the ongoing airport labour shortages there were a lot more problems, it is best to avoid peak times this year.

Cancellations are most likely to happen in July and least likely in April and May. However overall the trend was for fewer delays and cancellations.

With total cancellations peaking at close to 9 per cent in July, they dropped to around 5 per cent just 30 days later. While it’s not quite ‘back to normal’ travellers can set off with a bit more confidence this summer.