So you’re trying to get out of here?

Get ready to pay. The Iran War has caused airfares to spike. And a Salt Lake Tribune analysis of federal flight data found that Salt Lake City’s airport, a Delta hub, is the fifth most expensive in the nation.

But there are ways to fly more cheaply. The Tribune spoke with a flight expert from the Utah-based deals website, Flights From Home, about how to find cheaper seats when booking airfare. We also looked at flight data to suss out trends that could save you money.

Here’s what we learned:

Book early, but not too early

Jenny Smith, a Flights From Home expert, said that a motivated traveler can often find cheap flights, but flexibility is key. If you are too locked into one destination or one time frame, you’ll be more limited.

She recommended booking domestic flights between one and three months ahead of your trip. For international flights, she said, it’s a “toss up.” Smith said she’s found great deals by booking a month ahead, as well as nine months ahead.

“It just really depends on your destination,” she said.

In general, though, booking within three weeks of your departure date is a bad idea, according to a Salt Lake Tribune analysis of flight data. The U.S. Bureau of Transportation Statistics tracks when tickets are purchased by putting them into three buckets: within 21 days of the flight, 22-90 days before, or 91 days or more. For some destinations, it’s cheapest to book over three months out, for others, somewhat sooner is better.

For example, a flight from Salt Lake City to Seattle is likely to be cheaper three weeks to three months in advance, while you will probably be better off booking that flight to Phoenix more than three months before you take off.

It also can depend on which airline you book. For most domestic flights, it is typically more expensive to book less than 21 days in advance.

There is also seasonality to airfares, Smith said. For instance, she said, if it’s summertime when you’re looking, you’re likely to find cheaper prices for fall trips.

How to find cheap holiday flights

Smith said that airlines will often black out deals for high-travel dates. When she spoke to The Tribune in February, she noted that Presidents Day weekend was blacked out — there were no flight deals to be found if you wanted to travel that weekend. The same is often true for spring break and other holidays.

But wait! She added that if you book far enough in advance — about 11 months ahead of time — “sometimes they don’t pay attention to that” and you can get a good deal.

For instance, Smith said she and her family booked far enough ahead of time — in May — that they flew to London and out of Prague for around $460 per person over Christmas, which is a peak travel period.

Most and least common deals

Smith says if you see a cheap flight to Orlando, Fla., jump on it.

“You should book it,” she said. “You’re not going to see it again for like six months.”

The same is true for travel to South Pacific destinations like Fiji, Tahiti or Rarotonga (Flights From Home found an $874 deal — normally more than $1,300 — for there in March). Anywhere in Africa is also rare, Smith said.

She remembers that two or three years ago, Flights From Home found a $500-ish flight to South Africa — “and we have not seen that deal ever since.”

On the flip side, she said, there are sometimes $500 round-trip deals to various destinations in Europe, like Dublin and Madrid, especially for trips between October and March.

In the U.S., there are often cheap flights to the Pacific Northwest and California. Deals to New York and Boston are also fairly common, Smith said.

Are layovers worth it?

Flights From Home typically likes to avoid alerts for flights with long layovers.

But sometimes, waiting longer can make a meaningful difference in price.

The Tribune’s analysis of the data from July to October 2025 showed that, on some airlines, a flight with a layover can cost from $50 to $130 less than average on a round-trip itinerary.

That difference, though, might go away if the flyer is locked to a specific carrier. In that case, flights with layovers cost $30 more on average than direct flights.

What else?

Google Flights can be your friend. You can set alerts for airfares for certain destinations during certain time frames and see how those prices compare to the average.

Also, be on alert for credit card points and miles deals. Sites such as Roame help people search for flight and hotel offers using airline loyalty programs and credit card points.

And, don’t forget about nearby airports. A layover in Las Vegas or Denver can be cheaper than a nonstop flight from Salt Lake City. Provo’s airport hosts Breeze and Allegiant airlines, which can deliver bargains.

The same is true for some international trips. Maybe you have your heart set on France, but the cheap flights are to England or Spain. Consider flying into one of those airports and taking a budget airline, like Ryanair or easyJet, the rest of the way.

We found a mid-May easyJet flight from London to Paris that was only $80 round trip, though it would likely require you to change airports if you had arrived at London’s Heathrow Airport. We also found a round-trip Ryanair flight from Madrid to Paris in June for $69.

And with those foreign budget airlines, remember to check their policies on luggage and carry-on bags. Ryanair requires a smaller bag than most U.S. airlines do.

And if you’re price-conscious, one good strategy is to pick your vacation destination by budget, not the other way around. Below is the price of the median round-trip ticket to domestic destinations from Salt Lake City airport:

Then, once you’ve selected a destination, use this interactive graph to see which airlines are cheapest on that route.