Plane Travel - How to save on plane tickets and find cheap flights
Airline tickets typically go on sale 11 months before, so you can typically save on tickets to popular destinations and during peak travel times if you buy as far in advance as you can. Otherwise, I have had luck using google flights for last minute tickets as well. The best months of the year to score the best prices is usually in September and January. If you have to travel during a busy time like Christmas or during school holidays. Then definitely book early, because these tickets do not usually go down in price only up!
1. Search for plane tickets one at a time.
Even if you’re flying with a group. Airlines often sell multiple fare classes at different prices, with a couple of seats in each class. If there is only one seat left in the lowest fare class and you search for four seats, most automated systems will show you the highest fare class for all four tickets. Try searching one at a time, just in case there are limited seats on sale. This way, you will rest assured that at least some, if not all of your tickets, were purchased for the lowest possible price. If for some reason you don’t like your seats or you don’t get all of the seats you want, most websites give you 24 hours to cancel flights with no penalty. If you lock in the cheap fare and have the option to select seats, pick one next to an empty seat; then, immediately book the second ticket and select the seat next to the first one. It takes a little time and effort, but can really pay off.
2. Search for flights midweek.
Airlines tend to have lower prices from Tuesday through Thursday, so do not limit your searches to the weekends. Fare sales generally target the next 2-3 months of travel and have 14-21-day advance purchase requirements.
3. No need to avoid flying on the actual holiday.
Changing your departure or return date by one day can lower your ticket price substantially. Sometimes flying on the actual holiday like Easter, Christmas, Thanksgiving can get you the lowest fare, since you most likely missed the holiday, but you’ll cash in on the savings. The exception is 3 day weekends like Labor Day or Memorial Day. Then, everyone is looking to fly on the actual holiday, so that is the best time to try and add an extra vacation day.
4. Search for two one-way fares, even if they’re on different airlines.
Some airlines charge extra for a one-way fare, but if demand is down you can sometimes get better prices by buying 2 one-way tickets to
and from your destination.
5. Travel packages are sometimes less expensive.
If you need to book a hotel, in some cases packages offer better value than booking separately. Due to the fact that some big name hotels will use this opportunity to hide their highly discounted rate in a package deals, in order to avoid having a discount associated with their name and lower their perceived value.
6. Act quickly on low fares.
Airlines are required by the DOT to offer 24-hour freehold or cancellations as long as you are booking your ticket 7 days prior to your travel date. You will have to pay first, then you get the full refund, should you decide to cancel. This only when buying directly from the airline. However, online travel agencies (OTA) such as Expedia or Orbitz often offer the same courtesy. I have booked a few hours before a flight, then hit a snag and was not able to make the flight, so I simply went online and canceled.
7. Use second-tier airports.
JetBlue, for example, uses less traveled airports in big cities, in order to lower their ticket prices by $500-$100.
8. Follow your favorite airlines on social media.
Use Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and sign up for travel website emails. This will give you access to deals that airlines can not advertise directly. The fact is that Airlines only have a certain number of seats they can advertise at a sales price, once those are sold the flights go back up to higher tier prices.
9. Sometimes it's better to pay a little more for your flights when it earns you more points.
So you have to compare and see if you gain more from the points or the lowest fare. Airline credit cards, as well as travel sight credit cards, offer free flights for signing up for their services, not to mention perks like priority boarding, free checked luggage, paying your TSA pre-approved or global traveler fees, offering insurance, and more.
10. Layovers can be a huge benefit.
Even though a nonstop is ideal, you can sometimes save hundreds by laying over somewhere. Some airlines like Aeromexico, Airfrance, WOW airlines, China airlines, or Icelandair offers free stopovers. Which means you can layover in the that airline’s hub city, which is typically where they concentrate their passenger traffic to save on airline costs. This allows you to layover in an extra city and makes it part of your vacation while saving on the airfare.
11. Shop for trips during shoulder season or off-peak travel.
When weather is not ideal, bad press, during political issues, or simply when lower volumes of tourists. Destinations will lower their flight and hotel prices. Sometimes to half price or less.
[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=suNKPRGTPmc[/embedyt]
12. Travel after a natural disaster, after a terrorist attack, or some other tragic incident.
This can get you better deals since people will be canceling trips and will be wary of going to a place that has recently suffered from an event. Make sure to check in and wait just enough till things stabilize before you go. However, this usually is shortly after the event as usually humanitarian aid or security forces rush in immediately afterward and the place becomes immediately safer than it will probably ever be again.
I talk more in-depth of travel issues in my Amazon Book. Check it out here.