Expedia 2023 Air Travel Hacks Report: Top Tips for Hongkongers to Maximise Travel  

Following on the slew of announcements of travel restrictions easing in the region and the gradual lifting of Hong Kong’s border quarantine requirements, travel is now back on the agenda for Hong Kong leisure travellers as the Christmas and Lunar New Year peak season looms.

The Expedia 2023 Air Travel Hacks Report offers a bright light on the horizon for Hong Kong travellers, indicating an increase in Hong Kong outbound flight capacity (airplane seats and flights available for a given route) – almost tripling from the capacity in September – towards the end of this year¹. Long-haul flights (distance above 3700km) originating from Hong Kong is expected to resume to close to 70% of pre-pandemic average level by December 2022, sooner than short-haul flights which is expected to reach over 50% of pre-pandemic average level by end of the year.  

As vacation deprived Hong Kong travellers gear-up for the holidays and a new year, Expedia.com.hk search data shows demand for outbound travel during the Christmas and Lunar New Year has increased by over 50% and close to 75% respectively in October². However, travellers encounter unpredictable flight prices and a gradual return of airline services to the city.

To help Hongkongers’ get the best of their travel needs, the Report provides the latest essential travel hacks and tips to help save Hong Kong travellers time and money on flights. Created in partnership with the Airlines Reporting Corporation (ARC) and leveraging insights from its global air ticket database, the annual report has become an authority for eight years running on air travel trends.

The report offers important advice on easing the burden of post-pandemic travel, revealing data-backed hacks for travellers, including:

Best day of the week to book airfares and catch the lowest prices

How to minimize the risk of being impacted by delays and cancellations

Cheapest day of the week to depart

“This report does more than save people money,” said Jon Gieselman, president of Expedia Brands. “It’s about the time savings and peace of mind that comes with knowing you have industry leading data-based tips at your fingertips to inform booking decisions.”

“While it has been a volatile recovery, all indications show things from a global perspective are beginning to normalize and travellers are taking advantage of flying again,” said Chuck Thackston, managing director of data science and research at ARC. “Airlines have improved their performance, and both capacity and demand continue improving steadily.”

Top tips from the 2023 Air Travel Hacks report include:

Book airfare on a Sunday to save.³ Travelers who book on Sundays, the cheapest day, instead of Fridays, the most expensive day, tend to save, on average, 23% on international flights.

Book as early as you can. Book at least six months before international flights to save 65%⁴ on average compared to those who waited until the last six weeks before departure. General advice is to book your ticket as early as possible to secure a good deal.

Depart after 9am to reduce chance of cancellations.⁵ Based on year-to-date flight status data, flights that depart between 3am to 9am have a higher chance of cancellation than those that depart earlier in the day.

Depart on a Tuesday to save an average of 10% versus departing on a Saturday⁶ which is the priciest day to start a trip. Alternatively try a Thursday to save 8% versus departing on a Saturday. 

More booking tips:

Travel hacks are a great way to save on travel, and there are other simple ways to knock HK dollars off your next trip.

Book airfare and hotel at the same time on Expedia, otherwise known as bundling, and you may unlock savings. 

Sign up for loyalty and frequent flier programs or risk leaving money on the table. Expedia members earn Rewards points for every eligible booking that can be redeemed to save on the next trip*. 

Earn airline frequent flyer points on top of Expedia points when it is possible on applicable bookings by entering your airline frequent flyer programme membership number at checkout, an easy way to double-dip and rack up travel rewards even faster. 

Data sources

1 Capacity trend information is based on number of flights and seats offered by airlines originating in the Hong Kong for January 2019 through December 2022, sourced from ARC’s global airline dales database and supported by OAG.

2 Outbound travel demand is based on the comparison of flights, accommodation and package searches on Expedia.com.hk in October and September 2022. Christmas travel period is identified as 19-31 December 2022 and Lunar New Year travel period is identified as 16-29 January 2023.

3 Best day of the week to book recommendation is based on average round-trip ticket prices for flights originated in Hong Kong  for January through August 2022, sourced from ARC’s global airline sales database.

4 Ideal booking window recommendation is based on average round-trip ticket prices for flights originated in Hong Kong  for January through August for 2022, sourced from ARC’s global airline sales database.

5 How to avoid flight cancellations based on January through August 2022 flight status data sourced from OAG’s global flight data platform. 

6 Best day of the week to depart recommendation is based on average round-trip ticket prices for flights originated in Hong Kong for January through August for 2022, sourced from ARC’s global airline sales database.

* Travel insurance and certain package bookings excluded. Rewards terms apply. See site for details.