Life

These Are The 3 WORST Days To Travel During Spring Break — Here’s When To Fly Instead

by Megan Grant
Fotolia

Planning for a vacation is truly an art form. It's takes years to master the skill of stuffing more in your suitcase than the universe would like, and still be able to fit it in the overhead storage bin. You're a wiz at finding discount codes to knock down your hotel rates. All that's left is settling airfare — and hopefully ensuring you get where you need to be on time and without any issues. Fortunately, one company did all the grunt work to find the best and worst travel days for spring break, so you can go to and fro without running into problems.

You already know the spring break vacation can get kind of hectic, particularly if you're headed to a more popular spot, like Cancun. Some of us opt for a cold spring break destination — typically a more manageable and affordable option, since everybody and their brother isn't trying to spend more time in frigid temperatures. If your heart is set on white, sandy beaches, crystal clear waters, and sipping Mai Tais, though, fear not: RewardExpert has the answer. These folks use data to help make travel easier for everyone; and now they've got some advice about when you should be flying in and out during the spring break vacation.

Specifically, RewardExpert says the three worst days to travel for spring break are March 1, 12, and 13. By analyzing five years of statistics reflecting airline on-time performance, RewardExpert also found the best (and worst) airports, and travel dates for spring break travel this year. Buckle up:

The Best And Worst Travel Dates

If you want to be sure your plane travels on time, these are the best and worst dates to do it.

Top 10 (best)

  • April 11, 14, 15, 16, 18, 22
  • May 2, 14, 27, 28

Bottom 10 (worst)

  • March 1, 6, 12, 13, 30, 31
  • April 3, 7
  • May 19, 22

The Best And Worst Airports

You can increase your likelihood of taking off and landing on time by finding an airport that has a solid reputation for timeliness. Some airports are known to keep planes moving on a tight schedule. Others? Not so much.

Top 5 (best)

  • Honolulu
  • Salt Lake City
  • Portland
  • Minneapolis/St. Paul
  • Seattle-Tacoma

Bottom 5 (worst)

  • LaGuardia
  • San Francisco
  • Love Field
  • William P. Hobby
  • Liberty

Does any of this data guarantee your air travel will go exactly according to plans? Of course not. Considering RewardExpert looked at a span of five years, though, taking their findings into consideration probably wouldn't hurt — particularly if you have some flexibility with your plans.

Finding a reliable and on-time flight is part of the equation; but what about the expense? Because most of us want to arrive on schedule and on a budget, I did a little digging to find the most and least expensive travel dates for 2018, to see if there's any overlap with RewardExpert's data. That's where FareCompare comes in.

Least Expensive Days To Fly

  • Most of March, with the exception of weekends beginning March 10 (the worst travel dates)

Most Expensive Days To Fly

  • April 14, 15, 22 (the best travel dates)

According to FareCompare and RewardExpert's data, then, it would appear we have a choice: save money but risk some kind of delay, or pay a little more and be likelier to have an on-time flight.

Don't let this put a damper on your plans. While the data suggests patterns over the span of five years, it certainly isn't reflective of all spring break flights. Plan early, compare prices, and you'll be able to do spring break your way. Safe travels!