How long do cheap flight deals last?

This is a tough question! When airlines drop prices on their routes, the fare tends to last at least for a couple of days - if not longer. That being said, some unannounced flash sales will be shorter. As you might have already noticed, we try to predict how long these fares will last in the Taking Off section of our Flight Guide emails:

This estimate is based on our experience (from staring at flight prices every day for ten years!), but is obviously not foolproof. In reality, no one can predict exactly how long a great deal will last, so any Flight can expire at any time - sometimes even within an hour or two of us sending out the email.

The rule generally goes as such: the better the deal, the quicker you should try and make a decision. The really great fares are, understandably, the ones that are more likely to sell out. Airlines drop their prices when the demand on a particular route is falling short of its forecast and, as soon as seats fill up to meet their expectations or projections, they'll usually raise prices right back up.

With error/mistake fares in particular, I recommend booking as quickly as possible - they usually only last a matter of hours.

If you're trying to find a price following the 'How to book' instructions in our Flight Guide but the fares on Google, Skyscanner etc. are much higher than the ones we've listed, this sadly means it's most likely that the deal is already gone.