Carmen
Travel editor at Reisedrop · 2026-09-20
Home leave is the one trip you can't skip: Christmas with your parents in Manchester, a wedding in Mumbai, three weeks in Melbourne because the grandkids grow too fast. And it's usually the most expensive booking of your year. After watching long-haul prices from Switzerland for a while, we can tell you: the difference between a good and a bad booking on the same route is regularly 400 francs and more. Here's how to land on the right side of that.
The golden booking windows, route by route
For London, Dublin and other short home-leave hops, six to eight weeks ahead does the job. North America is stricter: for summer and Christmas, book four to six months out – Zurich to New York in December sells out earlier than almost any other route. For India, book as soon as you know your dates; Diwali and the wedding season in November and December are brutal. Australia and New Zealand are the long game: the good fares for Christmas appear around July and are gone by September.
Direct from Zurich, or one stop and 300 francs cheaper?
SWISS flies non-stop to New York, San Francisco, Mumbai, Delhi, Bangkok and Singapore – wonderful, and priced accordingly. One stop changes the math: Turkish Airlines via Istanbul, Emirates via Dubai or KLM via Amsterdam are often 25 to 40 percent cheaper to the same destination. The honest question is what your time is worth with two kids and a buggy. Our experience: for anything under eight hours total flying, take the direct flight and don't look back. Beyond that, a well-timed stopover hurts less than you'd think – and Istanbul and Dubai are decent places to stretch your legs.
The days that cost you money
Long-haul has its own weekday logic. Outbound on a Tuesday or Wednesday is consistently cheapest; Friday and Saturday departures carry a premium because that's when everyone with a job wants to leave. Returning on a Saturday is often pricier than the Sunday overnight arrival that gets you to the office slightly broken but 150 francs richer. And if you can fly on the 24th or 25th of December itself instead of the weekend before: the savings are real, and the airports are eerily calm.
Kids, baggage and the details that add up
Children under two fly long-haul for about ten percent of the adult fare on your lap – after their second birthday you pay a full seat, so time the trip before the birthday if you can. Watch the baggage rules: some one-stop fares that look cheap include no checked bag at all, which is useless when you're hauling Christmas presents in both directions. And book the bassinet row the moment your booking is confirmed, not at check-in. Those four seats per plane go first.