THE ULTIMATE GUIDE TO BOOK CHEAP FLIGHTS

Travelling must never stop for those who are passionate about exploring new destinations. And if you are someone who wants to travel and be on the move at all the times, one of the major requirements is money and one of the major things that can help you save it is to cut down on your flight expenses.

Since airfare represents one of the biggest aspects of a trip’s cost, finding that hidden cheap flight deal can be just as important as finding the right destination, the right tour company, the right backpack, or the right place to stay.

The first thing to know about finding a cheap flight is that there is no magic bullet or one secret ninja trick to doing so.  In fact, you’ve probably come across a ton of them on your search to find the best flight deal. Most of them are myths. There's no way that you would wait for that festive season or off season when most of the major airlines come up with special fares. You can discount on your flight bookings at any time of the year. All you need to do is follow these simple tricks every time you are looking to book your flights.

Book early

That might sound cliched, but there's no better way to get a cheaper flight ticket than to plan your travel well in advance and book the tickets at that time. No matter whatever discounts or deals come by, booking early has always proved to be the best way to get discounted airfares. The reason being - as your departure date approaches, the airline fares will only increase, exceptions are very few here. So book the tickets early, save big and utilize the savings for other enjoyable experiences.

Be flexible with your travel dates and times

You might have heard that booking flight tickets on a Tuesday would save you big bucks. But that’s not always true. Try to be flexible with your dates. It’s best to check out the prices for the entire month. This way, you will get a clear picture of days that are cheaper for your destination. 

It’s always cheaper to fly during the middle of the week than on a weekend, because most people travel on the weekends. If you are going to fly when everyone is flying, then your ticket is going to cost more. Prices are also cheaper if you fly after a major holiday as are early-morning or late-night flights cheaper because fewer people want to travel then (who wants to wake up early!).

Be flexible with your destinations

If you can’t be flexible when you fly, at least be flexible with where you fly. It’s best to be both, but if you really want to save the most money and get a cheap flight for your trip, you should at least do one!

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. If you are flexible with where you want to go (i.e. anywhere but home) use ‘Google Flights’ tool to figure out where to go. Go to Google Flights and click the map. Put in your dates and home airport and enjoy all your options.

The truth about airfare is that there’s always a deal to some destination, and if you’re flexible on where you want to go, you’ll always get a deal. When you are locked into one place at one time, you are stuck with whatever price shows up. When you become flexible, suddenly the entire world opens up to you and you’ll find amazing cheap airfare!

Don’t always fly direct

Not only does it help to be flexible with dates and destinations but being flexible with the route you take is another way to get a cheap flight. Sometimes it’s cheaper to fly to London and take a budget airline to Amsterdam than to fly direct to Amsterdam. There are so many budget carriers around the world that taking advantage of a good deal to another city and then hopping on a budget flight to your destination is sometimes the best way to go.

Be sure to have at least 3 hours between connections as booking tickets on different airlines will mean that if something goes wrong, you can't just get out seamlessly on the next flight. Your second airline won't care you were late since they didn't fly them on the first place.

This method is more work as you have to figure out lots of different routes and check different airlines – and connecting adds more time to your journey. But it will shave even more money off your flight, giving you extra to spend at your destination.

Opt for different airlines

Agreed, the easiest to book flights for your trip is to book for a return journey. Besides, the general perception suggests that return flights are cheaper. But the truth is rather different. Make that extra effort to go through the flights offered by other airlines and be a little more open about the time of your flight. Trust me; you will surely crack a cheaper deal.

Use the airline website to book

Given the increasing number of travel booking websites, it is always easier to opt for any one of them for booking a flight. But these websites are smart and no matter how much of discount they show you at the moment of showing the search results, the moment you try to book, you will end up paying an increased amount. This is because they include their service charges at the time of preparing your final bill. Well, they also need to earn their revenues. So the next time, make that extra effort to visit the airline's official website and book your desired flight from there.

Search ticket prices as one person

Don’t search for or buy multiple tickets in a single purchase. Airlines always show the highest ticket price in a group of tickets. For example, if you are a family of four and searching for four seats, the airline will find four seats together and show your fare based on the highest ticket price. So if seat A is Rs7000, seats B and C are Rs7200, and seat D is Rs8000, it will price those tickets as Rs8000 each instead of adding up the individual ticket prices. Therefore, always search for tickets as a single person. Afterwards, in the checkout process, you can pick your seats so you and your family are sitting together.

Take advantage of student discounts

If you are a student (or under 26), there are many, many discounts available to you. You can usually find prices 20-30% off the standard fare. 

Remember not all search engines are equal

Always remember you need to search multiple websites as you can before you book your flight tickets, no matter how much of hurry you are in.

You may contact author for more information at tribeni.das@justyatra.com

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