Last minute flights

flopsy1973

Hi looking for flight to Alicante in Jul but they have risen quite a bit now. If I wait until last minute will the prices drop to get rid of remaining tickets ? 

MSE_Oliver

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Flight prices are largely based on demand, so they'll jump in price if a flight is getting booked up. But if the flight becomes less popular and demand dips closer to departure day, then the prices can go back down again. Waiting is a bit of a risk, though. Sometimes it will pay off,  but quite often it won't, especially if you're looking for a particular flight at a set time to a particular destination.

Also, if you're looking to travel during school holidays or from Friday to Sunday, then you're less likely to find a last-minute deal. Also, if you're booking a trip that’s popular with business travellers, that too is going to give you less of a chance to get a drop in price close to the departure date because airlines know that business travellers often book last minute; they don't care that the price is higher. And so airlines will be less worried about there being spare seats. 

Now, if you want the best chance of getting a last-minute deal for a short-haul flight, then you need to be as flexible as possible, willing to travel during the week and outside of peak times as well. So there are deals out there, but it's just maybe a bit of trial and error to find them.

The comparison site Skyscanner did a little bit of research on it and found that the cheapest day to book a flight was a Tuesday generally, and the cheapest days to fly were Tuesday to Thursday. Of course no guarantees, though, but best of luck.