Williams: WE ARE BACK, AND NOW WE GO TO THE AIR. AND WHILE THIS IS NOT A PROMISE OF COMFORT, IT MAY

Williams: WE ARE BACK, AND NOW WE GO TO THE AIR. AND WHILE THIS IS NOT A PROMISE OF COMFORT, IT MAY GET YOU A BETTER PRICE. BELIEVE IT OR NOT, THERE IS A DAY OF THE WEEK AND A TIME OF DAY WHEN BUYING AIRLINE TICKETS SAVES YOU THE MOST MONEY. THE SAME WAY AIRLINES cancun hotel zone map TRY TO REDUCE FLYING TO A SCIENCE, cancun hotel zone map CONSUMERS CAN NOW USE THAT SCIENCE TO THEIR OWN ADVANTAGE. NBC s TOM COSTELLO COVERS AVIATION FOR US AND HAS TONIGHT S REPORT. Costello: MID-MORNING cancun hotel zone map AT L.A.X., WHERE DAISY ELLINGTON cancun hotel zone map AND HER FAMILY WERE RETURNING TO MINNEAPOLIS. BUT THE TRIP WASN T CHEAP. Ellington: IT WAS FRUSTRATING BECAUSE WE THOUGHT, OKAY, WE RE GOING TO DO A REALLY INEXPENSIVE TRIP, AND $340, THAT S NOT TOO BAD AT ALL, BUT THEN IN THE END, WHEN YOU RE PAYING $500. Costello: EXPERTS SAY THERE IS A STRATEGY TO SAVING MONEY. START LOOKING AT AIRFARES THREE MONTHS BEFORE cancun hotel zone map YOU WANT TO TRAVEL. THE PERFECT MOMENT TO BUY? TUESDAY AT 3:00 P.M. AFTER AIRLINES CUT FARES AND COMPETITORS MATCH PRICES ON AS MANY AS 20,000 cancun hotel zone map FLIGHTS A DAY. THE CHEAPEST DAYS TO TRAVEL? TUESDAY, WEDNESDAY, AND SATURDAY, WHEN THERE ARE FEWER BUSINESS cancun hotel zone map TRAVELERS. Seaney: THE NUMBER-ONE MISTAKE PEOPLE MAKE WHEN THEY RE BUYING AIRLINE TICKETS IS PROCRASTINATING. Costello: WHATEVER YOU DO, AVOID BUYING A TICKET cancun hotel zone map WITHIN SEVEN DAYS OF DEPARTURE, WHEN BUSINESS TRAVELERS WILL PAY TOP DOLLAR. JUST LOOK AT THE PRICES FROM WASHINGTON REAGAN TO SAN FRANCISCO. FLY NEXT SUNDAY, cancun hotel zone map IT WILL COST $1,149 ROUND TRIP. BOOK NOW, FLY IN TWO WEEKS, $877. LEAVE IN THREE WEEKS, THE PRICE DROPS TO $742. BUT PAY FOR A TRIP SEVEN WEEKS AWAY, YOU CAN GO FOR $465, A $684 SAVINGS. Seaney: cancun hotel zone map IF YOU ASK A PERSON cancun hotel zone map IN THE AIRCRAFT TO ACTUALLY RAISE THEIR HAND AND ASK HOW MUCH THEY PAID, YOU D SEE CLUSTERS OF PEOPLE THAT PAID DIFFERENT PRICE POINTS DEPENDING ON WHAT DAY THEY BOUGHT, WHEN THEY BOUGHT IT, WHAT DAY THEY RE TRAVELING. Costello: YOU CAN EVEN SAVE MONEY IF YOU FLY HUNGRY, BEFORE BREAKFAST AND DURING cancun hotel zone map LUNCH AND DINNER, WHEN PLANES AREN T AS FULL. AND WHILE EVERYONE PREFERS cancun hotel zone map TO FLY NONSTOP, YOU CAN OFTEN SAVE UP TO 50% IF YOU MAKE A CONNECTION AND HAVE A LAYOVER, SACRIFICING TIME FOR SAVINGS. THE MOST EXPENSIVE DAY TO FLY? SUNDAY. SEATS ARE OFTEN FULL WITH VACATIONERS FLYING HOME. AS FOR HOLIDAY TRAVEL... Ellington: PROBABLY JUST GOING TO BE IN THE MINNESOTA COLD ALL WINTER. Costello: ...IF YOU CAN, BOOK NOW. TOM COSTELLO, NBC NEWS, WASHINGTON.