The cost of your flights makes up a significant part of your budget, so it’s important you find the cheapest deals. With a little practice you’ll be finding the cheapest prices in no time.
1) Be Flexible With Your Dates
The cost of flights vary significantly from the time of day, to the day of the week, the time of the year, and around holidays. If you book your flight when everyone else does, you’re going pay a higher fare. If you’re flexible with your dates and avoid the busier times of the day, week, and year, you’re going to get a cheaper fare. It’s cheaper to fly early in the morning or late at night rather than through the day, as its less convenient for travellers and therefore the airline has more trouble selling seats. Also it’s always cheaper to fly during the week than on the weekend, as that’s when everyone wants to fly!
2) Be Flexible With Your Destination
If you booked your vacation from work months ago and now you find the cost of booking your flight has doubled, why not leave it for another time and fly somewhere else? Airlines always have a deal to somewhere, if you’re flexible, it might just be the deal for you. There are many websites which allow you to find the cheapest flights from your location. Google Flights is perhaps one of the best for this.
3) Don't Always Fly Direct
Instead of flying directly to your destination, it might actually be cheaper to fly half way, change flights, and then fly the rest of the way. It might take you twice as long but it might cost you half the price.
4) Compare Airlines & Websites
Ten different websites could have ten different prices for the exact same flight. It pays to shop around. The price of flights change all the time, so while one website might be cheaper today, another might be cheaper tomorrow. Keep in mind that not all search websites list budget carriers, and others don’t list airlines who’s websites aren’t in English. There’s no one website which is the cheapest or the best. In my opinion Skyscanner, Google Flights, and Momondo are three of the best. If you find a suitable flight, you should always check the airlines website, as sometimes they have promotional prices significantly cheaper than search aggregators.
5) Join A Frequent Flyer Program
Signup with an airline from your home country that has a load of alliances with international carriers. Earn rewards such as free flights, free upgrades, and more. It doesn’t matter how often or how little you fly, you should be a memeber and start collecting those points.
6) Book Early
Generally speaking, the earlier you book your flight the cheaper the airfare. I’ve been told the best time to book your flight is 6-8 weeks before you want to fly, but cheap flights can sometimes be had until ever a week before the scheduled flight. By following these simple steps you’ll be sure to find a flight at a good price.
