The Cheapest Months to Fly from the US to Lagos (And When to Book)

Chicago, Houston, Atlanta, New York, DC — wherever you're starting from, US–Lagos fares follow a rhythm that repeats every year. Once you see the pattern, you stop overpaying.

The annual pattern

• January (after the first week): one of the best windows of the year. The December crowd has flown home and airlines need to fill seats.
• February–May: generally calm, decent fares, especially outside Easter week.
• June–August: summer demand pushes prices up — school holidays mean family travel season.
• September–early November: the quiet zone. Often the cheapest sustained stretch of the year.
• Mid-November–December: peak of peaks. Detty December demand takes over and fares can multiply.

How far ahead should you book?

For US–West Africa routes, very early booking (8–10 months out) rarely gets the best price, and last-minute booking almost never does. The dependable window in our experience is roughly 2–5 months before departure for normal seasons — and 4–6 months ahead for December travel, because that peak breaks all the normal rules.

Three habits of people who never overpay

1. They search flexible dates. Shifting departure by two or three days regularly changes the fare more than any coupon ever will.
2. They compare more than one airport. If you're in the Midwest, checking both O'Hare and a nearby hub can surprise you. Same on arrival — Lagos is the default, but Abuja sometimes prices differently.
3. They act on deals instead of watching them. Genuinely good fares on Lagos routes last days, sometimes hours. Decide your budget in advance so you can book the moment a fare hits it.

Let the deals come to you

This is exactly what our weekly deals email is for: when a US–Lagos fare drops out of its normal range, subscribers hear about it while it's still bookable. And if you'd rather hand the whole hunt over — send a trip request with your route and budget, and we'll watch it for you.

Or join our weekly deals list — mistake fares and route drops, one short email a week.