On the Fly Try these money-saving tricks for last-minute travel plans.

Not all business trips are planned at the last minute. Byplanning ahead and choosing the right day of the week to travel,you'll cut your travel expenses and trip stresses. Here'show:

• Seek the midweek soft spot. Trips that start and/or endmidweek (Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday) are cheaper and easier.That's because the airlines' lowest off-peak fares areavailable on those days. And since you're traveling off-peak,the airport parking lot will be less crowded, airport lines will beshorter, and you might even end up with an empty seat next to youon the plane!
• Avoid security delays. Backups at airport securitycheckpoints are worse when business and leisure travelers convergeon airports simultaneously. That means big delays on Sundayevenings and Monday mornings, when business travelers are headingout for the week and leisure travelers are coming home from theweekend. Another bad day is Friday afternoon, when leisuretravelers are taking off for the weekend and business travelers arereturning home.
• Take a day trip. Over the past decade, many airlineshave been using smaller planes to build up flight frequenciesbetween major business centers. This makes the option of a day tripthat much easier. You can take an early morning flight to anothercity, meet with clients all day, then fly home that same night andsleep in your own bed. You won't have to pay for hotels ormeals, and it won't disrupt your personal life too much,either.
• Leave the weekend behind. While the dreaded Saturdaynight stay-over rule is waning, it's not dead yet. Where majorairlines don't compete with less restrictive low-fare carriers,this rule still applies to travelers hoping to snag the cheapestfares. The good news is that low-fare carriers are slowing enteringmost major cities, and the Saturday night stay-over rule willcontinue to fade away.