While many Brits are thinking about their summer holidays, travel experts are warning that now is the time to look further ahead. There’s a brief but powerful booking window happening right now – especially for those eyeing Christmas travel. According to Fred Harrington, a personal finance expert at digital savings platform SaveMyCent, “by July, summer vacation demand will peak and airlines start adjusting their algorithms for autumn booking patterns.”
This means prices for December flights could soon begin their annual upward trend. The good news is that, if you know the right method, you can still lock in lower fares.
Harrington has spent years analysing fare fluctuations, and the technique he recommends is surprisingly straightforward.
He calls it “flight search stacking”, and it’s designed to exploit the quirks in how airlines and travel platforms handle search data.
“Run parallel searches across multiple platforms – Google Flights, Skyscanner, airline websites – but always in incognito or private browsing mode,” Fred explained.
“Airlines track your searches and can actually bump up prices if they think you’re desperate for a particular route.”
The technique also involves comparing flexible dates and alternative routes to uncover what Fred calls “ghost fares” – deals that appear only through certain combinations or less obvious options.
“Airlines release their cheapest fare batches midweek,” Fred noted, highlighting how strategic timing is key, too.
“Weekend bookings often trigger higher pricing tiers because the algorithms assume you’re leisure travellers with flexible budgets.”
With Christmas still months away, this little-known trick could give savvy travellers the edge they need.
As Fred puts it: “People are booking their August beach vacations right now, but completely ignoring December flights that are literally at their cheapest point of the year.”