Here’s how you can find cheap flights!
For many of us, traveling means unforgettable adventures and a long-awaited chance to relax. Purchasing an airline ticket in itself is a special experience, as most of us are immediately excited about the upcoming adventure.
Yet, planning a trip can often cost us a lot of money, time, and nerves. Since flight fares are constantly changing, it’s nearly impossible to guarantee when to find the lowest prices. But don’t despair; there are some useful tricks to help you find cheap flights and save some money.
No matter where in the world you want to fly, we’ve got you covered! Here are some expert tips on how to take to the skies without breaking the bank!
1. Know where to search
If you want to find cheap flights, you have to know where to search. Many of the budget airlines aren’t on the most popular comparison sites for flights, such as Orbitz, Expedia, or Kayak. Do check them for comparison, though, and also give others, such as Skyscanner, a try.
Skyscanner, for instance, offers the broadest range of airlines as well as some nice tools for finding the best deal if you’re flexible (either with your dates or location). Although this site is one of the best engines for cheap flights, no single website is consistently perfect.
This being said, try a combination of several engines for flights to make sure you’re not missing any results. Remember, there doesn’t seem to be one that finds the cheapest flight 100% of the time.
When you find small airlines, even if they’re listed in a booking tool, it’s recommended to check the airline’s website. It may have exclusive online offers that aren’t found even in the cheapest search engine for flights.
2. Be flexible with your travel dates
Another thing you should do if you want to find cheap flights is to be flexible with your travel dates. Prices for plane tickets significantly vary depending on the time of year, day of the week, and upcoming holidays like Christmas and New Year’s Eve.
If you want to find cheap flights, you should know that it’s often more affordable to fly in the middle of the week than on a Saturday or Sunday because most people travel on these days and airlines increase their prices then. Flights are also frequently cheaper if you choose to fly right after a major holiday.
Late-night or early-morning flights are often more affordable because fewer people want to travel then.
Before you make the purchase, make sure you check other dates to see if there’s a lower price on another day. Even the difference of one day can help you save some money!
While there’s a theory that says Tuesday flights are the cheapest, the reality is that there’s no consistent truth as to exactly which days are the most affordable to fly.
3. Be flexible with your airports or destinations
Another thing you should consider doing if you want to find cheap flights is being flexible with your destinations or airports. In most cases, there will be more than one airport close to the place you want to go. In other words, don’t only check flights to the nearest airport.
If you want to find cheap flights and don’t mind traveling a little longer, you can often find a better price by flying to a nearby airport and taking the train or bus from there to your destination.
According to travel experts, most major cities have a smaller secondary airport, if not several. This is where many budget airlines fly into since it helps keep their costs down (smaller airports charge smaller landing fees).
Make sure you check how far the airport is from where you want to go, though. Sometimes transportation from the airport to the city can be pretty expensive, so you may actually not be saving any money but rather spending more.
4. Check out the budget airlines
The next entry on our list of ways to find cheap flights is a great expert tip that can be very helpful, and that is checking out the budget airlines. They offer significantly cheaper tickets than their full-service counterparts.
Budget airlines aren’t always included in major search engines for flights, so you have to check flights right on their websites. However, before you commit to your departure, make sure you check their terms and conditions.
For example, budget airlines often have very strict luggage restrictions, which means they will charge extra fees if yours doesn’t fit within their rules.
Some of the best US low-cost airlines include Porter Airlines, Allegiant Air, Spirit Airlines, Frontier Airlines, Southwest Airlines, and JetBlue Airways (which also offers good connections to the Caribbean). When it comes to Canada, you’ll want to consider Air Transat and Porter Airlines to find cheap flights.
For Asia, check out Jeju Air, Hong Kong Express, Air Asia, Jetstar, Peach Air, Spice Jet, Nok Air, or Scoot. As far as Europe goes, you’ll want to consider flying with Ryanair, Vueling, Aer Lingus, Easyjet, Norwegian Air, or Wizz Air.
5. Fly to two different airlines or airports
Sometimes it’s really worth it to mix and match. Most airlines sell one-way flight tickets at reasonable prices, meaning one carrier may be cheaper for the outbound route while the other airline works better for the return.
Moreover, you could even fly to one airport and leave from another.
Keep reading to discover other ways to always find cheap flights!
6. Try alternative routes
As stated above, being flexible with destinations and dates will help you find cheap flights, but if you can be flexible with the route you take, even better.
For instance, some people find it cheaper to fly to London and then take a low-cost airline to Amsterdam than to fly direct to Amsterdam.
There are lots of budget carriers around the world, and making good use of a great deal to another city and then hopping on a low-cost flight to your destination is sometimes the best way to go.
7. Book connecting flights yourself
Next on our list of ways to always find cheap flights is to book connecting flights yourself. If you are flying somewhere that implies a transfer, say from Australia to Canada, which usually involves Australia to Los Angeles, then Los Angeles to Canada, consider that it may be less expensive to book these two legs separately on your own.
If you do this, make sure you leave enough time to catch your connecting flight in case the first flight is delayed. This way, you could turn your stop into a second destination by flying out a couple of days later instead of the same day. That’s a wonderful way to explore a new city you otherwise may have never visited!
8. Eliminate the “cookie issue”
Another great method to find cheap flights is to eliminate the “cookie problem.” Yes, it happens: you search for a flight several times in a row, and suddenly the price has increased.
Based on the cookies on your web browser, flight prices do go up when a particular route is repeatedly searched, as the website wants to scare you into purchasing the flight tickets quickly before prices get even higher.
That’s why it’s always best to search for flights in incognito or private browsing mode. This will allow you to see the lowest prices.
In Safari or Google Chrome, incognito is enabled by hitting Shift, Command (or “Control” if using a PC), and “N.” For Mozilla Firefox, hit Shift, Command (or “Control” if using PC), and “P.” This will open a new browser window where the search results aren’t tracked, so you won’t see any inflating prices.
We hope this article will help you find cheap flights whenever you decide to go on a trip. Oh, and don’t forget to take a good camera with you (here’s one that you’ll love).
If you liked our article on ways to always find cheap flights, you may also want to read 6 Ways to Get the Most Out of Your Costco Membership.
