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vacations

Science

A study reveals the cheapest time to buy airfare

The average flyer misses the best deal by 15 days.

Taking a trip on the airline.

Everyone seems to have a theory on the best time to purchase airfare to save the most money. Some say it's right before take-off. Others will swear that prices are lowest six months before the flight. Well, now we have the truth. A scientific study was conducted by Expedia and the Airlines Reporting Commission that found the best times to buy flight tickets to get the best deal possible.

When we actually buy...


DOMESTIC: 32 DAYS IN ADVANCE

INTERNATIONAL: 59 DAYS IN ADVANCE

When we should buy...

cheap deals, Expedia, ticket prices, domestic flights

Get your boarding pass ready.

Photo from Pixabay.

DOMESTIC: 57 DAYS IN ADVANCE

The ideal advance-purchase time for domestic flight to snag the lowest average airfare is 57 with prices climbing most rapidly in the 20 days leading up to the flight. On a flight that averages $496, it will cost $401 57 days before the flight and around $650 the day of departure.

INTERNATIONAL: 171 DAYS IN ADVANCE
For a ticket that averages $1,368, the lowest average of $1,004 happens around 171 days before take-off. On the day of, the price will be around $1875. Ticket prices begin to dramatically escalate 75 days leading up to departure.

(H/T Conde Nast Traveler)


This article originally appeared on 10.14.15

What would happen if your kids got to plan your next family getaway from start to finish?

Where would they want to go? What kind of kooky adventure would their young minds concoct?

They might be broke, but that just means they wouldn't be limited by a silly thing like a budget — only by their own imagination.


A new ad from JetBlue imagines just such a scenario.

In the commercial, kids enter a pint-sized travel agency and use a map to plan out their next family vacation.

One little boy books an excursion to Barbados to hunt for buried treasure. Another wants to take his parents to see Albany, N.Y. (Tough break.)

Another plans an epic (and perhaps physically impossible) road trip by pointing to random places on a map of the U.S.

In the end, the host asks the kids, "How much do you think this whole flight and hotel would cost?"

See how the charming and hilarious stunt ends in the video below:

Yes, it's a contrived scenario meant to sell flights, but the ad still holds an important message.

Family vacations are about a lot more than sun and sand.

Before the planning begins, the kids are asked why they think it's important to plan a family vacation. Their answers are extremely telling.

"[My parents] work a lot," says one. "When your dad or mom goes to work, you don't get to see them a lot," adds another.

And, indeed, research shows that parents and their kids often get way too bogged down in routine, with the majority of parents reporting that the thing they talk to their kids the most about is, well, the daily routine itself.

Time away from the grind is mega important toward the parent-child bond, according to science, and even though every parent knows that a vacation with kids can bring its own kind of stress, the emotional health benefits are massive for both parties.

It doesn't take a multi-thousand dollar blowout at Disney World to explore, play, and bond with your kids. A staycation could do the trick or even a trip to Albany.

If you can't come up with anything, ask the kids what they think. They just might have some pretty good ideas.