Top 16 Things To Know Before, During, And After Finding A Cheap Flight

2. Know the Travel Season & Be Flexible

Flexibility is the key to fitting into the cheapest flight offers, especially during peak seasons. If you have strict dates to meet, finding cheap flight tickets is mostly a matter of luck. Unfortunately, luck rarely favors the traveler here. Prices also take flight during the summer and other holiday periods.
So, if you don’t have anything scheduled in your destination, let the search engine find the best deal for you. Most of these engines offer an option for flexible dates and search cheap flights around the date you’ve chosen. You can be even more flexible and look for less hyped destinations. Such a change of plans can significantly impact your holiday budget.

3. Fly Low-Cost Carriers

Expand your search beyond traditional and expensive carriers. Nowadays, plenty of small companies offer budget flights, even between continents. However, most flights offered by such companies cover short to medium lengths. Several budget companies suspended their intercontinental services during the COVID crisis, but some are expected to offer long-haul flights again.
Budget flight companies are usually the best options whenever available. Still, you need to pay attention to fees and other taxes: cheap tickets can come with loads of fees that’ll make the final cost more expensive than you expect. Typically, these companies charge for checked bags, printing the boarding pass, and whatever they can, legally speaking. So, compare not only ticket prices but also additional fees.

4. Check Which Airport the Low-Cost Airline Flies Into

Unlike traditional airlines, budget companies sometimes don’t fly to specific airports. If it’s possible to be flexible with your destination, look for the airports that operate with low-cost airlines. Some cities have more than one airport, and sometimes, it’s also possible to find smaller airports in the cities surrounding your destination. However, you should factor in the prices of commuting to your final destination to see if the effort is worthwhile.

5. Check 2 Stops with a long layover and More Flights for Huge Savings

Long layovers might not be convenient when you’re in a hurry. Yet, a long layover could be a fantastic opportunity to explore new places and save money. Indeed, prices drop considerably for this kind of ticket because most travelers prefer to go straight from point A to point B.
Nevertheless, there are websites dedicated to finding the best deals for those who don’t mind spending a day or two until the next connection. Not only are the tickets much cheaper, but you’d also pay much more to visit your layover destination on a separate occasion. Platforms like Airwanderer can help you with the extra stop along the journey and make it worthwhile.

6. Use Price Predictors to Understand Price Fluctuations & Set Fare Alerts

Calculating price estimates and fluctuations is very complicated. Although you can’t count on them for precise predictions, it’s possible to know what a ticket will cost. These websites make their estimates based on tons of statistical data to predict possible fluctuations and probable price tags.
It does not affect the actual price, which can change suddenly and for countless reasons. Still, these tools can help you plan your journey and save money. Platforms like Fare Detective, Kayak Price Forecast, and Hopper offer this service for free and even allow you to book tickets through their website.

7. Compare Search Engines

Search engines are indispensable tools for finding the best deals on anything. They help us clearly and straightforwardly compare companies, prices, and conditions. Although search engines already help us to save quite a lot of money, there’s another way to make them cut our costs: comparing search engines’ results.
Flight search websites aren’t all the same. They use different algorithms to carry out the same research. Do the same research on different engines, comparing prices and conditions. Typically, these websites charge a fee for their services; should you buy flight tickets with them, those fees should also be compared.

8. Take Advantage of Student Discounts (if under 26)

Being young has countless benefits; cheap airline tickets are arguably among the least sung. If you’re a student under 26, you can get a 10% and 20% discount on flight tickets. There are even specific websites to help you find the best student deals, such as Student Universe and Flight Centre.
You can also enjoy discounts with specific companies. For instance, Austrian Airlines, Swiss Airlines, and Lufthansa have special programs for students in this age group. It’s always worth checking each company for student discounts and similar benefits.

9. Mix and Match Airlines

The ideal flight takes us from the departure location to our destination in a single leg. However, we don’t live in the ideal world. Worse still, flight companies know that everyone wants this kind of journey and charge handsomely for it. A little patience can save you quite a few bucks.
Consider adding stops to your travel and changing companies along the way. Websites specialize in combining the cheapest legs within a journey to find even better deals. Also, you’ll need flexibility, as this journey takes longer than a direct flight.

10. Sign Up for Frequent Student Flyer Programs Search Ticket Prices as One Person

If you travel with the same company often, you can always sign up for a Frequent Flyer Program or equivalent. These programs offer miles and special discounts for the most loyal passengers and can save you a lot of money. It’s possible to convert credit card points into miles in many cases. Not all points need to be converted into tickets, though. It’s also possible to convert them into free luggage, upgrades, and other benefits.

11. Search for Flights in the Departing Airport Currency

While buying tickets between two destinations abroad, using the local currency is usually the best. You can notice the difference by changing the currency settings while searching for a flight. If you’re in the United States but want to buy tickets in the EU, changing the currency to Euros can return better offers. Although this tip doesn’t always work, it can lead to significant savings.

12. Use a VPN & Go Incognito To Access Local Deals

Don’t let flight companies snoop on your search. Clear all your cookies and go incognito while doing your legwork. It will prevent the companies from tracking your search and raise the prices of what you’re looking for. Deleting cookies for your browser is very simple, and you can always find quick tutorials on how to do so. It’s a minor effort that’s completely worthwhile.
Using a VPN can also help a great deal in finding cheap air flight tickets. A VPN allows you to search and buy tickets from different countries at lower rates by changing your virtual localization. This tool is perfect for anonymous searches and adds an extra layer of security to everything you do online.

13. Book Early (But Not Too Early)

Buying your ticket at the last minute can have costly consequences. That’s why everyone will advise you to book your tickets well in advance. How early, though? As a rule of thumb, bookings done between two and three months in advance are much cheaper than those bought at the airport counter.
Five months of anticipation might do the trick if you’re planning to travel during peak seasons. There’s no reason to buy a ticket any earlier than that, as you can miss better deals during this period.

14. Search Hidden City Fares

Here’s a tricky tactic, but it can pay off if handled with care. Let’s say you want to fly from Berlin to Paris and find two options. The first is a straight flight, and the other is a ticket from Berlin to London with one stop in Paris.
Sometimes, the second option can be cheaper than the first. Yet, there are some risks involved in this move. First, if you decide to get off before your alleged final destination, the company cancels the rest of your ticket.
If you buy a round trip and play this hand, you might end up without your return ticket. Additionally, you can only carry a handbag since your checked luggage will go to a different city than yours. Airlines aren’t particularly fond of this practice and flag passengers that do it often. Still, it’s a legal move and a very efficient one.

15. Watch Out for Extra & Hidden Fees

Low flight fares are appealing, and the companies know it. Budget flight companies throw their best promotions online, with prices that look too good to be true. Be careful, though, because quite often, they are. Low prices can conceal unfair fees and taxes that increase the final price considerably.
Although all the additional fees should be clearly explained in the T&C while buying the ticket, not everybody cares to read the small letters, and companies know it too. If you don’t want to have nasty surprises at the airport counter, check every fee involved in the purchase and if you can avoid any of them.

16. Take Advantage of Low-Cost Flight Sales

Flight sales don’t spend too long online. Most offers disappear after 24 hours, and you can miss fantastic deals by not keeping an eye on the offers. It can be laborious to do it independently, as it involves almost daily online scooping. Sign up to as many flight deals websites as possible, and let them do the legwork for you. All you’ll have to do is to keep an eye on your email.