Cheap Airline Tickets
Cheap airline tickets are not easy to book because airfare pricing is doubtlessly complex as algorithms change rates literally minute-by-minute, and places the average would-be traveler at a serious disadvantage; why? Because then they are far more likely to overpay for flights.
That's exactly why I wrote this blog post, for I wanted to assist others take vacations wherever they fancy but for less and teach them how to book cheap airline tickets. Why overpay when you can take a roundtrip flight to Milan for only $130? Sounds too good to be true? Continue reading and you'll never overpay!
Find Cheap Airline Tickets Like a Guru!
Here are the same tactics that the experts and gurus often use to track down the cheapest airline tickets to fly everywhere around the world.
1. Choose your target destination & dates according to price
This is the frequent and common way the vast majority of travelers use to get a flight:
1. Select where they wish to travel
2. Pick their dates
3. Learn what are the going flight rates
Generally this only results in higher prices.
Rather, if booking a cheap flight is your number one priority, just flip that method:
1. Find out what prices are currently available through Momondo, Google Flights to different destinations all over the world.
2. Then, decide which of the options of cheap destinations seems the most attractive to you
3. Choose the dates you prefer which have available cheap flight prices
The key thing is to be flexible with your departure's timing and destination. If you have already chosen your destination and dates and you're quite set on them, 95% of what could've been done to reduce the cost of your flight cannot be used. Flexibility is indispensable and rigidity is your ultimate undoing. Moreover, as I'll elaborate below, when you arrive in Asia or Europe or elsewhere, it's truly simple to board a low-cost airline to the final destination.
If you want to book a really cheap flight, you're recommended to go on searching for more than just one date.
2. Utilize only superior flight search sites
My three top favorite tools for searching for cheap flights are Momondo, Priceline, and Google Flights. There exist others more complex such as SkyScanner, ITA, Matrix, and different plugins; however, for most people Momondo, Google Flights, and Priceline are more than enough.
Keep in mind that since Southwest never appears on OTAs and search engines, check directly on the airline's website.
3. Locate the cheapest spot to travel with Google Flights Explore Map
Flyers love Google Flights intensely due to it making it truly easy to view plenty of options. First, you have the option to add up to 7 airports in the departing and arrival fields; so, if you could travel from all airports on the East Coast to most airports in France, Paris, only type in the corresponding airport codes and you'll learn which route is the cheapest. If you happen to be more flexible, consider using the Google Flights Explore Map.
Type in your departure airport and keep the destination field open (or choose a region, nation, or state such as California) and a map shall display all your options. Moreover, you could look for specific dates or search through weekends or from one to two-week trips during the next 6 months.
4. Be flexible--just by a couple of days--to enjoy more savings
Another helpful feature that Google Flights offers is that it's simple to learn if adjusting your dates could reduce the price. When you pick out your preferred dates, Google Flights shall display two months of dates and even highlight the ones cheapest days to travel based on the extent of your trip. Usually modifying the dates only by one day or changing from a 6-day trip to 7 days could give you a whopping 50% saving.
5. Fly on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Saturday
Wondering about the cheapest days to take a flight? Typically, Tuesday, Wednesday, and even Saturday turn out to be the cheapest days to fly. Friday and Sunday happen to often be the most costly days. These are not necessarily the cheapest days for booking, for cheap flights could appear suddenly.
6. Cross the ocean very cheaply
If you are set on getting the cheapest possible flights, concentrate on attaining the cheapest prices across the ocean, although it's not starting from your local airport or going to your final destination.
Two itineraries are often cheaper than one. Also, you could stay and even explore a different city for one, two days, or longer.
You'll be surprised how cheap you may travel just by crossing the ocean, sometimes saving you hundreds.
7. If you're flying with a group, buy each ticket individually
Let's suppose you and a friend want to travel from the city Seattle to Washington DC. Currently, the cheapest nonstop airline flight was $299 each ticket
However, an odd thing occurs when you decrease the number of flyers from two to one: the rate on the same flight magically falls from $299 to only $199 per ticket.
This pricing anomaly happens at times because whenever anyone books more than one ticket, airlines have the tendency to place your whole group into one fare bucket.
But this doesn't work every time. However, if you're flying with a group, it never hurts to check if flight tickets are cheaper via booking them one at a time.
8. Avoid the peak flying times of holidays and summer
In Europe and North America, the cheapest time period of year to travel is often:
- January through the middle of May
- September through the beginning of December
The most costly time to travel is often:
- middle of June through middle of August
- Christmas
- New Year's Eve
9. Book when an airfare deal appears
There exists a ton of misleading information regarding what's the perfect time to buy a flight; people are essentially divided into two camps, one camp swearing it's absolutely Tuesday at 3:00 pm, and a second camp claiming it's Sunday early in the morning. Don't believe this madness. This does not apply anymore for getting cheap flights but also can result in you paying more for your next flight.
The best strategy for booking reduced airfare is simply to snag discounts whenever they pop up. Airfare today doesn't change weekly, but hourly and even minute-by-minute due to numerous factors ranging from oil prices, consumer demand to rival's prices.
What does this mean? No expert or guru can tell with absolute confidence when the next round of very cheap flights will emerge. So, you are better off to be on the lookout for them.
