The best times of year to book a flight.

It’s no secret that Aussies have a huge appetite for travel. Last year alone, 9.9 million Australians set off on an overseas adventure. But travel is an expensive habit to fuel so it pays – literally – to hunt down the best deals.

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Pre-planned sale events

Flash sale events like Click Frenzy, it’s little sister Click Frenzy Travel and Black Friday are on the rise. These targeted sale events are a shopping lover’s weakness, with deals and discounts almost too good to be true.

Click Frenzy Travel starts next Tuesday 22 August at 7pm, and although it’s still a relatively new event, this flash sale solely dedicated to travel deals has definitely generated a lot of excitement. It’s a 24-hour “drop the price on everything” sale that covers all things travel, even travel insurance and luggage. It’s definitely not one to be missed.

Airline birthday sales

Airline birthday sales are a great time to pick up a cheap flight, with budget airlines such as Jetstar, Tigerair and AirAsia each throwing their own birthday bash packed with deals. Jetstar (22 May) has been known to offer some of the cheapest flights of the year, including domestic flights for $39 return and international flights $179 return, depending, of course, on your location.

Tigerair’s birthday (17 November) is only six months after Jetstar’s and this year the airline turns 10, so you can expect some big deals.

End of Financial Year (EOFY)

When you think of financial year sales, travel deals don’t immediately spring to mind. You’re more likely to splash out on a bigger TV or see if you can score yourself a new winter jacket. But just like other retailers, travel agents and merchants are looking to refresh their stock and prepare for the new financial year. Airlines and travel agents often host their own EOFY sales, so keep an eye out during June, not only for that new leather handbag, but for a ticket to Hawaii as well!

Public holidays (Boxing Day, Christmas and New Years)

Probably the biggest and most widespread sale day of the year, Boxing Day puts on a good show in terms of travel deals, with discounts on hotels, tours and flights all up for grabs. Some airlines like Jetstar will even begin their sales before Christmas, sometimes as early as the first week of December.

Tigerair is renowned for ringing in the New Year with travel deals, so watch out for discounts in the first week of January.

Miscellaneous

Throughout the year, there are a range of other more retailer-specific sale events where you can find discounts for a multitude of reasons. Some retailers will take part in Australia Day sales (26 January), where you’ll find budget airlines offering deals on domestic flights and online travel agents such as Webjet and STA Travel discounting their Aussies tours.

If you’re a fan of cruises, Princess Cruises is renowned for offering all mums a little something special on Mother’s Day (the second Sunday of May), with cruise deals just for her.

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There is no be-all and end-all of travel sales. Lucky for us, travel retailers tend to host big sale events on a regular basis, not to mention all the other random sales that pop up throughout the year. So before you book your next trip, no matter what time of year it is, jump online and do a quick search for any deals or discounts. Who knows what you’ll find?

Bessie Hassan is the Money Expert at finder.com.au, the site that compares virtually everything.