How to always find cheap flights
1. Be flexible with travel dates and times – How to always find cheap flights
Maybe you ask yourself that how to find cheep flights. Airline ticket prices vary depending on the day of the week, time of year, and upcoming holidays, such as New Year’s Eve, Christmas, Bayram, or semester break. July and August are big months for traveling around Europe, and everyone wants to go somewhere warm in the winter or travel when the kids are out of school.
If you are going to fly when everyone is flying, then you’re going to pay higher fares. Try to be flexible with your dates. If you are dead-set on visiting Istanbul, go to Istanbul in the spring or fall when fewer people visit and airfares are cheaper.
Furthermore, it’s always cheaper to fly during the middle of the week than on a weekend, because most people travel on the weekends and airlines increase their prices then. Prices are also cheaper if you fly after a major holiday like Christmas or a long Bayram holiday.
Early-morning or late-night flights are cheaper because fewer people want to travel then.
How to always find cheap flights
2. Be flexible with destinations – How to always find cheap flights
Airline search engines have made it really easy to search the entire world to find the cheapest ticket — you no longer have to search manually. Kayak offers the “Explore” tool that allows you to put in your home airport and see a map of the world with all the flights on it. For example if you want to go to Ljubljana but ticket prices are really high, it would be useful to examine the airports that can be flown cheaper than the city you want to go to. For Ljubljana; you may try Graz, Zagreb or Trieste flights. You can pass to Ljubljana by train or bus.
3. Fly budget carriers – How to always find cheap flights
In 1980s and 90s, if you wanted to fly between continents, you were mostly stuck with traditional expensive airlines. That’s no longer true. Budget airlines now service many long-haul routes, making it possible to bounce around the world for little money.
Just be sure to check for fees. So if you don’t follow their rules, you’ll get hit with a terrible fee! Budget airlines will charge you for checked bags, carry-ons, printing your boarding pass, using a credit card, and anything else they can get away with. Also, some budget airlines fly to airports further out of town. Be sure to add up the cost of the ticket.
4. Book connecting flights for less – How to always find cheap flights
Sometimes it’s cheaper to fly to Istanbul and take a budget airline to Athens than to fly direct to Athens. By working various airlines and special offers, you can save a lot.
5. Search different engines – How to always find cheap flights
You need to search as many flight search websites as you can in order to ensure you are not paying more. It’s important to check a few sites before you book, as you’ll often see variations in prices, and you don’t want to miss a deal.
Best online tools for searching flights :
Momondo, Sky Scanner, Google Flights, Hip Munk, Kayak
6. Buy flights in Bulk
As a general rule, you will get better price on your flight tickets if you buy more at the same time, but only if they are with the same airline, or airlines in the same alliance (e.g. Star Alliance). For example, flying a return ticket from New York City to Istanbul with Turkish Airlines will be cheaper than 2 one-way tickets.
7. Book early, but not too early
Airline fares will keep rising, but there is a sweet spot when the airlines begin to either lower or increase fares based on demand. Don’t wait until the last second but don’t book far, far in advance either. The best booking window is 6–8 weeks before your flight, or around three months before if you are going to your destination during peak season.
8. Look for tickets in other currencies
If your country’s currency is currently strong compared to others around the world, search airfare in a country where the currency is weaker. Before booking a flight, consider if the rate is cheaper if paid in another currency. Often budget airlines will make you pay in the currency of the country you’re departing from, but this isn’t always the case.
If you follow the tips above, you’ll get a great deal and avoid being the person who paid the most for a ticket!
