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Frequently asked questions

• What is the cheapest day of the week to book a flight?

  The best day to book your flight depends on a number of factors, but there are general trends that you can follow to increase your chances of cheaper plane tickets. Based on an analysis of KAYAK data for all flights departing from inside South Africa over the last 12 months, the cheapest day to fly for domestic flights is Wednesday. For international flights, Monday had the cheapest tickets on average.

• Which month of the year are flight prices lowest?

  It’s well established that flights in the low season are generally cheaper than ticket prices during the high season. That means that knowing which month to find the lowest priced plane tickets will depend heavily on seasonality and your destination. While avoiding peak travel times can help you keep costs down, our data shows that the month with the lowest priced plane tickets for domestic flights based on all searches made on KAYAK in the last 12 months was February, while the most expensive was December. If you’re booking an international flight, then February is the cheapest month to fly and December the most expensive.

• When is the best time to buy plane tickets - Last minute or in advance?

  Last minute flight deals are definitely up for grabs, but when exactly to purchase your plane tickets will depend on where you’re travelling to and from. Based on all data for flight searches made on KAYAK over the last 12 months, prices for domestic flights remained below the average price up to 1 week before departure. For international flights, deals could still be had up to 1 week prior to the departure date, with prices remaining below average. If you’re flexible, KAYAK brings you both advance and last minute one-way and round-trip flight deals.

• Can flying international flights with a layover save money on airfare?

  For many long-haul international flights, flying direct is not possible and you will have to fly with stopover. Some routes will offer both and you could consider flying with a stopover for a number of reasons. Firstly, breaking up what would otherwise be a long-haul flight, taking a rest and then completing the journey might make the flight more manageable. Secondly, prices can also be lower than direct flights, so while it might take longer for you to reach your destination, you could save money. We’ve looked at prices over the last 12 months for the 100 most popular international destinations for KAYAK users and on average, prices for non-stop flights were cheaper than flights with a layover.

• How does KAYAK find such low flight prices?

  KAYAK processes over 2 billion flight queries annually and displays results from hundreds of airlines and third party sites, allowing it to find a variety of flight prices and options. It also displays results from 2M+ properties along with car hire, holiday packages, activities and millions of verified reviews so users can see as many available travel options as possible.

• How do I find the best flight deals on KAYAK?

  A simple flight search at https://www.za.kayak.com/flights scans for prices on hundreds of travel sites in seconds. We gather flight deals from across the web and put them in one place. Then on the search results page you can use various filters to compare options for the same flight and easily choose the best flight deal from all of the deals coming straight from the travel sites to your screen, with no extra fee from KAYAK.

• How can Hacker Fares save me money?

  Hacker Fares allow you to combine one-way tickets on different airlines when it can save you money over a traditional return ticket.

• Does KAYAK query more flight providers than competitors?

  Yes, KAYAK has access to more data and information than online travel agencies and consistently outperforms the competition in accuracy, globally.

• How does KAYAK's flight Price Forecast tool help me choose the right time to buy?

  KAYAK's flight Price Forecast tool uses historical data to determine whether the price for a given destination and date is likely to change within 7 days, so travellers know whether to wait or book now.

• What is KAYAK's "flexible dates" feature and why should I care?

  Sometimes travel dates aren't set in stone. If your preferred travel dates have some wiggle room, flexible dates will show you flights up to 3 days before/after your preferred dates. That way, you can see if leaving a day or two earlier will find you a better deal. You can also select the flexible 'weekend' or 'month' search options to widen your search range and find the cheapest price that works for you.