Let’s be honest: a lot of American cultural exports feel less like welcome traditions and more like marketing homework. I’m not anti-American by any stretch, and I enjoy plenty of things that come from across the pond. But I do roll my eyes when I see pumpkin patches appearing in European towns where there’s no real history of pumpkin-picking, or parents orchestrating elaborate Elf on the Shelf scenes just because social media told them December has to be a performance. Gender reveal parties? Half-time shows at ordinary football matches? We somehow managed for decades without them, and we’d go right on managing. So when Black Friday started showing up on European calendars, even though Thanksgiving is not a thing we celebrate on this side of the Atlantic, my first instinct was to treat it as another bit of Yankification that didn’t belong here. It felt vaguely silly to take part in a shopping event tied to a holiday we don’t have. And yet, for travellers, this is the one case where I think we should put our skepticism aside and embrace it. With fuel prices still unpredictable, the cost of living eating into everyone’s savings, and every future expense feeling a little uncertain, the opportunity to book a holiday in advance at a discounted price is genuinely valuable. These sales let you lock in travel plans for 2027, or for whatever trip is on your mind, before prices creep upwards. Once you strip away the overblown branding and the fake American accents in the adverts, what’s left is a very simple, very useful idea: plan ahead, pay less, and protect yourself from future rises. That’s not cultural contamination; that’s just common sense.
If you do decide to dive into the sales, it helps to understand how the whole thing works, because the deals are not all confined to a single Friday. Brands like to stretch the event out, starting with pre-Black Friday teasers, then the main event, then Cyber Monday, and finally Travel Tuesday, which falls on the Tuesday after the American Thanksgiving weekend. Each day gets its own name, but the underlying message is the same: please spend your money. According to Skyscanner, which looked at average prices per seat across the whole five-day Black Friday-to-Travel Tuesday period in 2025, Cyber Monday is actually the best day to book flights. That might seem counterintuitive, because Black Friday gets all the hype, but the data suggests that’s when the real bargains are most likely to appear. Travel Tuesday, however, can still be worth checking, even if the name sounds like something invented in a boardroom. Laura Lindsay, a travel trends expert at Skyscanner, explains that by the time Travel Tuesday rolls around, most people have already made their plans and are mentally exhausted from a marathon of shopping. That lull is exactly when airlines and hotels swoop in with tempting offers to get people thinking about next year’s adventure. In other words, the quietest day might be the one that saves you the most. To make the most of this, your best bet is to set up price alerts before the sales begin. Platforms like Skyscanner and Google Flights let you track specific routes, so you’ll know instantly when a fare drops. It also helps to be flexible with your dates and your destination, and to check nearby airports on both ends of your trip. A different departure point, or a willingness to fly on a Tuesday instead of a Saturday, can be the difference between a good deal and a spectacular one.
As for which airlines are playing along, the list is fairly long, which is reassuring if you were worried that Black Friday only applies to gadgets and questionable presents. Many of Europe’s biggest carriers have already set up dedicated landing pages for their Black Friday deals, with the exact details still under wraps but the promise of discounts clearly signposted. easyJet, British Airways, Iberia, SAS, Jet2, Finnair, Air Europa and LOT Polish Airlines are all among those teasing what’s to come. If you don’t see a landing page for a particular airline, don’t automatically assume they’re not taking part. Ryanair, Lufthansa, Aer Lingus, Turkish Airlines, Norwegian, TAP Air Portugal, Volotea, Aegean Airlines and Pegasus Airlines all ran sales last year, even if they haven’t been as loud about it this time around. The best way to stay in the loop is to join the airline’s mailing list. That might sound old-fashioned, but when a sale goes live, the first notification usually lands in the inbox of subscribers before it’s announced anywhere else. If you’re loyal to a particular carrier, or if you have a few favourites you always check first, signing up now means you won’t be scrambling at the last minute, or worse, discovering that a deal ended the day before you heard about it. One thing to keep in mind, though, is that not every part of the world follows the Black Friday calendar. Middle Eastern airlines, for example, generally avoid Black Friday because Friday is a holy day in Islam. Instead, they may run something called White Friday sales, or they’ll offer discounts at other times of year, such as during Ramadan or Eid. So if you were hoping to book a flight to Dubai or Doha during the November sales, you might need to adjust your timing and your expectations, or at least be ready to keep an eye out for a different kind of promotion.
The hotel side of the story is just as promising, and arguably even easier to navigate. Major hotel groups such as Marriott, Accor, IHG and Hilton all ran Black Friday sales last year, and there’s no reason to think they’ll skip this year. These sales typically offer percentage discounts on room rates, sometimes with extra perks like free breakfast or late checkout, and they can be particularly useful if you’re planning a longer stay or a trip to a city where accommodation is normally expensive. The key, as with airlines, is to sign up for the hotel group’s membership programme before the sale starts. It costs nothing to join at the basic level, and it usually takes just a couple of minutes to set up an account. But the benefits are real. Members often get notified about the sale before the general public, and in some cases they receive a steeper discount than non-members. It’s a small step that can make a big difference, especially if you’re booking multiple rooms or a family holiday. Even if you’ve never bothered with loyalty programmes in the past, this is a good reason to start. You’re not committing to anything, and you’re not signing up for a credit card or a points scheme that will clutter your wallet. You’re simply giving yourself an advantage in a sale that’s already crowded with eager travellers. If the idea of another account feels like a hassle, think of it this way: it’s five minutes of admin now, and it could save you hundreds of pounds, euros or kronor later.
Beyond the obvious advice to sign up, compare and act quickly, there’s a slightly more human element to all of this. The truth is that Black Friday travel sales can be overwhelming, and it’s very easy to get swept up in the excitement and book something you don’t really want because it looks like a bargain. Prices that seem too good to be true often are, or at least they come with catches like limited baggage, inconvenient layovers, or non-refundable fares. So before the sale starts, it’s worth spending a little time thinking about what you actually want. Do you need a beach holiday to escape the winter, a city break to visit friends, or one big dream trip that you’ve been postponing for years? Write down a rough destination, a flexible date range, and a budget, and use that as your anchor. When the deals start flying, you’ll be in a much stronger position to judge whether something is genuinely good for you, or just good in itself. It’s also wise to compare prices across both airline and hotel websites rather than relying on a single booking platform. A flight that appears on one site at a heavily reduced price might be even cheaper on the airline’s own website, especially if you factor in baggage fees and payment charges. And don’t forget to check the final price before you click buy, because some sales exclude certain dates, and the discount might not apply to the specific departure day you’ve chosen. A little patience and a willingness to dig through the fine print will serve you better than impulse-buying the first thing that pops up in your inbox. Remember, the goal isn’t to spend money just because the marketing says you should; it’s to make your next trip genuinely more affordable.
In the end, this is one instance where I’m happy to admit that the Yankification of the world has done us a favour. Thanksgiving might not mean anything in Europe, and the idea of Black Friday can feel awkward, imported, and more than a little artificial. But for travellers, the sales have become a real and reliable opportunity to cut costs, especially now, when every holiday feels like a splurge and every euro counts. Whether you’re looking to book a short city break, a long-haul adventure, or a family holiday that won’t keep you paying off debt for months, this is a moment to pay attention. The best approach is simple: set your alerts, sign up for a few newsletters, keep your dates flexible, and be ready to move when you see a price that makes sense. Don’t let the hype talk you into something you don’t need, but don’t let the silliness of the event turn you away from a genuinely good deal either. After all, there’s nothing wrong with saving a little money and getting excited about tomorrow’s journey. So go ahead, embrace the chaos, enjoy the slightly absurd spectacle of a holiday you don’t celebrate being used as an excuse to sell you a holiday you’ll never forget. Sometimes the best ideas come from the least expected places, and this time, the Yankification of it all is actually something worth getting behind.
