You’ve seen the headlines.

There are optimal days and times to book business-class flights. Only by following these secret hours will you snag the best fares.

Except there’s more to it than that.

Nothing’s completely random.

Yes, business-class fares fluctuate wildly. But by knowing which days to pay attention, when to book, and when to ignore price drops completely, you can dramatically improve your odds.

Let’s dive in.

Why Business-Class Prices Change at All

The biggest reason business-class fares are so unpredictable: supply and demand.

Commercial airlines have hundreds of seats in economy. Usually far fewer than that in business class. You might be lucky and get twenty. You might struggle to find ten.

In short, there aren’t very many seats. As a result, prices move quickly and aggressively to respond to demand.

Add in airlines’ desire to keep seats open for last-minute buyers at higher prices, and you’re left with prices that change constantly to balance two competing incentives.

Wait…Prices change when I check multiple times in one day?!

Yep. As a result of this tight balancing act, business-class fares can rise and fall several times in a single day, even when nothing else changes.

How Tuesdays Don’t Always Help You Save

Remember earlier when we said “reliably”? Tuesdays are great… if you’re looking for advice everyone else is giving.

Book your flights on a Tuesday.

You’ve heard it a thousand times. Search any “when to book” article to August 2015 and you’ll probably see this advice.

Used to be true. Airlines used to update prices on weekly cycles, so there was something to that.

These days, airline pricing systems update constantly. 24/7. That includes business-class prices.

But here’s the thing. A lot of savvy travelers swear by one consistent trend: early-week fares are less aggressive.

Price changes are less drastic. Last-minute buyers haven’t started scrambling yet. And in some cases, airlines hold better seat availability until after the weekend rush.

Just… don’t think of Tuesday as a magic day.

Think of it as part of an early-week window where you should be paying attention and ready to buy if the time is right.

What Day Should You Actually Book Business Class?

Trim the fat. If you want a shortlist, here it is:

Sunday is your friend

Some swear by Saturdays. Others recommend Mondays.

Instead, you might want to keep Sunday front-of-mind. Sundays tend to be quietly strong for business-class bookings. Not every route. Not every week. But you’ll hear from more than a few folks who see better prices or availability after most of the weekend rush has passed.

Give Sunday prices a closer look.

Stay alert on Monday and Tuesday.

Don’t skip Mondays and Tuesdays just because they’re not Sunday. Both are actually great days to check back on flights you’re monitoring.

Why? Again, airline inventory and pricing systems often make significant changes to their prices early in the week.

Make Monday and Tuesday part of your routine for tracking flights.

Skip Saturday… unless you’ve got nothing to lose.

Here’s the day to bail if you’re trimming your list.

Saturday is the one day of the week that you’ll almost always want to skip. Airlines tend to hold firm on prices during weekends, especially for premium cabins. So the deals just aren’t there.

That doesn’t mean they’ll never pop up. Just don’t sweat it if you see one.

The short version: Focus on Sundays. Monitor Mondays and Tuesdays. Try not to worry about Saturdays.

What Time Of Day Should You Book?

You know where this is going.

Forget About Hours.

Believe it or not, but there is no best hour of the day to book your business-class flight. None. Zero.

Airline pricing systems are always on. Prices can change at 2AM. or 2PM. All hours are equally terrible… and equally likely to yield a great price.

Stop listening to people who say otherwise.

Book when you’re ready.

Instead of obsessing over hours, focus on consistency.

Do it like this:

• Check in the morning;

• Check again in the evening;

• Set up a price alert to catch you in between.

You want to stop chasing prices and start fishing for the moment price drops into your ideal range.

How Far Out You Book Matters More Than Anything

Of all the variables we talked about so far, timing is king.

Business-class fares tend to follow a reliable pattern based on how far in advance you book. That pattern holds true across airlines and industries:

• High at launch

• Low in the mid-range

• High just before departure

Don’t worry about the exact prices. What matters is the trend.

How far in advance that sweet spot opens up varies by route, but a good rule of thumb is:

• 1-3 months before for domestic or short-haul flights

• 2-6 months before for long-haul international flights

Why? About two months out, airlines start adjusting prices to match actual demand instead of predictions. That’s also when short-term price cuts are most likely to happen.

Finding a Sweet Spot for Business-Class Booking Habit 

Ready to get into the weeds? Here’s what many frequent business-class flyers follow:

1. Know your target price before you start looking

Before you even think about tracking prices, decide what you’d be willing to pay for your flight. And it means DECIDE.

Write it down. Memorize it. Get comfortable with the number.

This can’t be stressed this enough. Never start tracking a flight without a target price in mind.

Reason: if you toss your number out there, you’ll always find a reason to exceed it.

Ever.

The second you let hesitation creep into your decision-making, you’re screwed.

2. Set up price alerts right now

Do yourself a favor and use a service like BC Flights to track prices instead of doing it manually.

Price drops will happen. Often. Usually without warning.

Price alerts make sure you know when they happen.

3. Check prices once in the morning and once in the evening

Okay, now get obsessed…but on a schedule.

Checking every five minutes won’t help. Prices fluctuate too much.

Here’s a schedule that works for most travelers:

• Sunday evening

• Monday morning

• Tuesday morning

That’s three times per week. Each flight should only take a few minutes.

Simple enough.

4. Buy the instant the price you’re looking for drops

Got a good price on a flight you want? Hit purchase.

Here’s the hard part. Don’t wait. Prices almost never pause for you to buy.

They’ll only go back down… when they want to.

Don’t believe us? Go read any traveler’s comments on almost any “when to book” article.

You’ll start to notice the same lessons repeated over and over again.

“There is no best day.”

“Flight prices change all the time.”

And finally…

“The best deals go to those who buy.”

Think about that next time you see a flight “too good to be true”.

Booking Better Business-Class With BCFlights.com 

Sure, you could spend all day tracking flights.

You could become a fanatic. Follow prices around the clock and never leave the house without your laptop.

Or…you could let BCFlights.com watch prices for you. Automatically.

Focused exclusively on business class, BC Flights scours the web for fares that meet two crucial criteria:

• Cheap enough to watch

• …and flights with consistently great business-class cabins. Instead of steering you toward flights based on price alone, BCflights uses real passenger reviews to highlight which airlines provide premium service worth your money.

You’re not just booking a cheap flight. You’re booking the right flight.

The Bottom Line: WHEN Should You Book?

To answer the original question: there is no universal hour or single best day to book business class.

There are better days. And worse.

Sunday and Monday are great. Saturday? Not so much.

But the best day to book business class is whenever your target price hits your preferred range. And that means…

• Determining where that range is BEFORE you start searching

• Setting price alerts to notify you when something changes

• Checking prices once or twice a day

• …and pouncing when the time is right.

Curious how BCFlights can help? Head on over to our flight tracker and start monitoring your favorite routes today