Expedia Group and Airlines Reporting Corporation’s 2019 Travel Pricing Outlook reveals saving tips for Malaysian travelers

News

Malaysian Travellers Can Save Big on Flight Costs by Booking on a Sunday

The 2019 Travel Pricing Outlook [1] report, drawing on sophisticated analysis, reveals timing matters when it comes to unlocking travel savings.

The 2019 Travel Pricing Outlook [1] report, drawing on sophisticated analysis, reveals timing matters when it comes to unlocking travel savings.

By Expedia on February 20, 20194 minutes read

The 2019 Travel Pricing Outlook[1] report, drawing on sophisticated analysis of the Airlines Reporting Corporation (ARC) global air and Expedia Group’s lodging-trend data, reveals timing matters when it comes to unlocking travel savings.

The report reveals how travellers can gain real value for money by being strategic about not only when they book a flight, but when they start their journey. It also reveals trends savvy Malaysian travellers can use to pay less for seats in the “pointy end” of a plane.

Time-based travel saving tips for Malaysian travellers include:

ADVERTISEMENTS

1. Book three weeks in advance for your best savings.
2. Book Economy and Premium/Business seats on a Sunday for savings up to 20%.
3. Save more than 10% on Economy seats when you start your journey on a Thursday.
4. Save up to 5% on Premium/Business seats when you start your journey on a Friday.
5. Add a Saturday night to your mid-week trip starting from Wednesday, to save more than 10% on airfares, sometimes more for popular business destinations.

Chuck Thackston, Managing Director of Data Science at ARC says that for around three-quarters of trips, quantifiable savings can be accessed by travellers who extend their weekday trip to include a Saturday night stay. “The savings opportunities quantified by extending mid-week travel over a weekend is a new and valuable finding for travellers. The industry has talked about bleisure (business + leisure) for a while now, but we have been able to actually quantify real savings for travellers around this concept. It’s something that people who love travel should really start to incorporate into their travel plans,” said Thackston.

James Marshall, Vice President for Transport Partner Services Asia Pacific, Expedia Group explained: “Expedia is constantly looking for ways to improve the experience of booking travel. Finding patterns in data is at the core of what we do. Our algorithms use data science to analyze approximately 19 quadrillion potential flight itineraries and filter them to display the most relevant options for each journey. When it comes to saving on flights, booking early and taking advantage of the other unique ways to save on Expedia, will help people go places for less.”

Drawing from Expedia Group’s inventory of more than 1 million properties offered, Malaysians can consider to bundle their flight and hotel bookings through Expedia.com.my, which can result in better hotel savings.

Choosing between basic and other economy cabin fares

While travellers may save money by booking a basic fare (i.e., a fare with seat-only, no bag and potentially other limitations), it pays to choose carefully. If bags are added to a basic fare, the total cost of travel almost always exceeds that of other economy fares (i.e., where checked bags are included in the cost of the ticket).

ADVERTISEMENTS

Choosing between flights-with- and without-stops

“We took a deep-dive into direct versus connecting flights to myth-bust the idea that direct flights are always more expensive. Bottom line: They aren’t. Lots of factors come into play when airlines set fares, so the time to connect and other convenience factors need to be considered when making your decision on the best flight for your trip,” said Thackston.

Should travellers delay booking a trip if oil prices rise?

The short answer is no. When oil and/or airline fuel prices jump, travellers need not delay booking a trip based on the assumption that airfares will immediately rise. Comparing commodity price and average ticket price (ATP) trends over many years shows the days and weeks after a commodity price jump may actually be the most cost-effective window to book flights, as any effect that fluctuation may have on ATPs is more likely to appear over a longer time period.

[1] This new report represents the fifth collaboration between the two global travel data powerhouses, Expedia Group and ARC, with report data and analysis based on ARC’s view of more than 295 million passenger air travel trips in 2018, and additional insights based on Expedia Group’s platform view of more flight and global lodging demand. Refer to report for full data sourcing and relevant data notes.