Kworld Trend / 5 tips for finding the cheap flights, airfare is the most expensive part of the trip. While prices for transatlantic flights have dropped in recent years, they can still make a huge dent in any travel budget. Whether you’re a solo traveler on a budget or a family looking to vacation abroad, finding a cheap flight deal can be what makes or breaks your trip.
5 tips for finding the cheap flights
After all, if your flight is too expensive, you’ll likely keep putting it off. I’ve seen that happen over and over again.
Yet every day, airlines offer thousands of amazing deals – from erroneously posted fares to special promotions to slashing fares to compete with another airline. Cheap fares exist and it can make your dream trip a reality – if you know where to look (I start all my flight searches with Skyscanner).
Today, I’m going to help you master the art of finding a cheap flight. These are the exact steps I have taken over a decade to get the cheapest possible fare every time I travel. If you follow them too, you will never be the person on a flight who paid the most for their ticket!
Here’s how to find a cheap flight no matter where in the world you want to go:
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Aircraft prices have skyrocketed because we are facing limited capacity and high fuel prices. Then, let’s not forget that tickets only ramp up during the height of the summer season.
1. Don’t search by destination
Turn the way you search for flights and make your destination “everywhere” on Skyscanner . (Go on, try it!) Enter the dates and departure airport and leave the destination open. You will get an instant image of hard-to-reach places.
2. Use a good flight search site
Try Luxury Escapes for up-to-date flight information that prioritizes the best deals. While you’re there, check out the site’s collection of experiences and hotels for up to 71 percent off regular prices.
Other places to start include Kayak , Skyscanner , and Expedia . You can compare airlines as well as see which days of the week offer the best value.
3. Avoid weekends and peak season
“Typically, weekend trips are the most expensive and in high demand,” says Stephanie Yip, Finder’s travel expert . “Traveling on a weekday can really help keep costs down. Avoid school holidays and peak seasons.”
4. Book two one-way tickets
Jarrod Kris, Skyscanner ‘s Australian travel expert , recommends mixing things up. “It’s not necessary to book flights as returns – booking separate one-way fares can end up saving you money.”
5. Be flexible with your travel dates
Sometimes airline prices can drop dramatically between days. On Skyscanner, you can search for dates throughout the month and see which dates have the cheapest flights.
Other Tips Cont
6. Set an alert for airfare
Airlines such as Qantas and Virgin Australia allow you to set up alerts when airfare drops on your route. If you’re not particular about the airline you’re flying with, aggregators like Skyscanner and Kayak also allow you to do that.
7. Consider some road travel
When the time is on your side, consider land transfers. Instead of flying to London, fly to Paris instead (if it makes financial sense). It doesn’t take long (or cost a lot) to travel between the two cities on a high-speed train. Check Klook , which sells Eurostar tickets, for prices to see if this option is worth it.
8. Plan a stop
Flying direct can have a huge impact on how much you pay for your flight, especially if you’re crossing the ocean.
9. Take an internal flight first
Use the GPS fare to get you to your destination if you’re traveling internationally. These are short domestic flights from your base to a second domestic destination for a cheaper fare for the longer distance.
10. Bypass the larger airports
Consider flying to secondary airports in larger cities, if that’s an option. There is often a price difference between prices.
Now that you’ve got your flights sorted, check out our picks for the best vacation deals to jump on right now (some even include flights). Or book a hotel for less using the latest coupon codes from Luxury Escapes, Wotif, and Booking.com.
11. Don’t always fly straight
Not only does it help to be flexible with dates and destinations but flexibility with the route you take is another way to get a cheap flight. For example, it is sometimes cheaper to fly to London and take a low-cost airline to Amsterdam than to fly directly to Amsterdam from the city of departure.
I did exactly this when I was going to Paris. The flight from the US was $900, but I could fly to Dublin for $600 and get a $60 flight to Paris. It meant more flying time, but the $240 I saved was worth it to me.
To use this method, find out how far to go directly to your destination. Next, open Google Flights and type in that destination continent to see prices for nearby airports. If the difference is more than $150, I’m looking to see how much it will cost to get from the second airport to my primary destination (either by economy flight or by train, if it’s not too far). You can use Rome2Rio to help find the best way to get between a nearby airport and your original destination.
12. Remember not all search engines are created equal
In order to find the best deal, you need to search multiple websites. Many major search sites don’t list budget carriers or obscure foreign carriers because these airlines don’t want to pay a booking commission. Others do not list booking sites that are not in English. Others still only show fares retrieved directly from the airlines.
In short, not all flight search websites are created equal, and each has advantages and disadvantages.
Since there is no perfect airline search engine, you’ll want to search for a few to compare. Even the best have their faults. However, I do have a few favorites that I always start with because they tend to consistently show the best results. For me, the best sites for finding a cheap flight are the following:
- Skyscanner – The best booking site out there. They have a great user interface (and a great mobile app )
- Google Flights – A great search engine that lets you see prices for multiple destinations.
13. Take advantage of student discounts
If you are a student (or under the age of 26), there are many discounts available to you. You can usually find prices 10-20% off the standard price. Travel agencies such as Flight Center and Student Universe can help you find a cheap ticket for you. Don’t overlook them!
Additionally, keep in mind that most student discounts carry over to airline partners. For example, Lufthansa offers a student discount, which means you can use this discount on partner airlines such as Swiss Airlines and Austrian Airlines. This will allow you to go a lot further while still saving a lot of money.
If you’re not sure which airlines offer discounts (they don’t make this information easy to find), visit their website or call them. Doing a little digging to save 20% (or more) is worth it!
14. Mix and Match Airlines
When you book directly with an airline, you will only be able to fly on that airline and any of its partner airlines. This means that your options will be limited when it comes to finding the perfect itinerary or saving the most money.
Usually, this will be enough. However, if you are after bigger savings, try booking your tickets on separate airlines. For example, if you are traveling from New York to Paris, you might have a stopover in London. Booking both legs as a single ticket will be simple, but likely won’t save you money.
Alternatively, book your flight from New York to London as a single ticket and then a ticket from London to Paris with another airline. This will allow you to shop around for the best deal. It’s more work, but the savings (and flexibility) can be worth it. 5 tips for finding the cheap flights
15. Use points and miles
Once you know you want to travel somewhere, you must sign up for a travel rewards card. Airline rewards programs are the number one way for passionate travelers like myself to earn free flights, travel perks, and free hotel stays. They offer flight upgrades, huge welcome bonuses, credit towards rideshare rides like Uber or Lyft, access to free events, access to airport lounges, and so much more.
No matter how often you fly, you must be enrolled in the rewards programme. You don’t need to do any extra spending either. Earn over 1 million miles a year – without flying or spending extra money. That translates to dozens of free flights (mostly in business class) for me and my family.
If you’re smart with your money and collecting points and miles (“travel hack” art), you can travel the world for very little (and often for free). Here are some travel hacking articles that can help you get started:
- Travel Hacking 101: A Beginner’s Guide
- How do I earn 1 million frequent flyer miles every year?
- Is travel hacking really a scam?
- The ultimate guide to travel hacks
- The ultimate guide to choosing the best travel credit card
- The best travel credit cards for travelers
16. Search ticket prices for individual travelers
If you’re traveling with friends or family, don’t search for or purchase multiple tickets in a single purchase. Airlines always display the highest fare in a group of tickets which means you will end up paying more money.
Airlines have many different price points for tickets (depending on a variety of factors). They want to sell tickets at the highest possible fare group, and when they group tickets together they always list the fares in the highest fare group.
For example, if you are a family of four and you are looking for four seats, the airline will put four seats together and will show the fare based on the highest ticket price. So if seat A is $200, seats B and C are $300, and seat D is $400, those tickets will be priced at $400 each instead of adding up the individual ticket prices. If the price difference is large, that translates to significant additional expenses.
For this reason, always search for tickets as a single person. Then, in the checkout process, you can choose your seats so that you and your family sit together. And even if you don’t end up next to each other, it’s a fair trade to save a few hundred bucks. 5 tips for finding the cheap flights
17. Look for tickets in other currencies
If your country’s currency is currently strong compared to other currencies around the world, find a ticket to travel in a country where the currency is weaker.
For example, when the US dollar was strong and the New Zealand currency was weak, I found a round-trip flight from Australia to New York City for $1,000. However, when I looked up the New Zealand version of the airline, I found the same ticket for $600 USD.
It was the same airline, same flight, same booking class – just booked in a different currency. This tip doesn’t always work, but it often does enough that it’s worth a try if your coin is currently doing well.
18. Book early (but not too early)
Airfare prices continue to rise as you get closer to your departure date, but there comes a sweet spot when airlines start either lowering or increasing prices based on demand. Don’t wait until the last minute but don’t book too far in advance either. The best time to book your flight is about 2-3 months before you leave, or about five months in advance if you’re going to your destination during peak season.
This is not a hard and fast rule, so use it as a guide. I could go on forever about airline pricing models, but airlines raise prices closer to departure time because people who book last minute tend to be price insensitive business travelers, so they’ll pay anything. So don’t book last minute! 5 tips for finding the cheap flights
This is a more advanced (and riskier) way to find cheap flights, but if you’re determined to spend as little money as possible, it’s worth looking for hidden fares in town. This is when you book a layover at your desired destination. You can then deplane and exit the airport at the stopover city instead of continuing to the final destination for which you booked the ticket.
For example, let’s say you want to travel from Austin to Atlanta. A flight from Austin to New Orleans with a stop in Atlanta may be cheaper than booking an Austin to Atlanta direct.
As you can imagine, this practice can get complicated and challenging. A few important items to keep in mind is that once you skip one leg, the airline cancels the rest of your flight. This means that you cannot buy round-trip flights and do the practice on your outbound flight, because your return flight will be cancelled. Also, you cannot check bags, as they will end up at the final destination on your ticket, not where you disembark. 5 tips for finding the cheap flights
