Flight prices fluctuate constantly, and fares can disappear in seconds. But with a bit of planning and patience, you can get cheap flights without breaking the bank.
For starters, research suggests that booking your trip at least 38 days in advance can save you money. Additionally, flying midweek instead of on a weekend can save you 13% to 20% on airfare.
Book Early
There’s an old saying that the best day to buy a flight is Tuesday. But that’s not necessarily true, especially if you have a flexible schedule and can fly on other days. The key is being ready to seize opportunities as they arise and booking your flight as soon as possible.
For domestic flights, Google’s data suggests that buying tickets 1-3 months in advance is optimal, while international airfares are often cheaper when booked 2-8 months ahead of departure. Keeping tabs on prices and signing up for fare alerts is also helpful.
During peak travel seasons, such as summer vacations and holidays, booking in advance is crucial. And if you have the flexibility to shift your dates, flying during shoulder season—April through June or September and October—often provides much better deals. It’s also smart to book flights on off-peak days, such as Tuesdays or Wednesdays, which tend to be less expensive than weekends and busy travel days like Fridays and Sundays. Lastly, always check flight prices again after you book, as prices can drop even after you’ve purchased your ticket.
Check Multiple Third-Party Sites
Flight prices are always changing, and while there’s no single website that will consistently beat all the others (or at least it shouldn’t be), checking multiple third-party booking sites can help you find the best deals. However, stick with reputable, well-established booking sites that have earned their credibility over time. And if you’re considering using a new site, be sure to read reviews to assess its reliability.
For example, FlyLink is a Canadian-based site that allows you to search for flights in CAD but charges your credit card in USD at today’s rate (plus 3% currency conversion fees). The company offers an excellent price tracker and also provides Mix & Match fares, which are two one-way tickets from different airlines packaged together to save money.
Another great feature is its ability to display fares on an interactive map, allowing you to see prices in various regions and periods, which helps narrow your choices. The site is easy to navigate and allows you to filter by various options, including the number of stops, take-off and landing times, airline choices, in-flight amenities, and more.
Travel When the Crowds Aren’t
No one day or week is guaranteed to have the cheapest flight prices, and even expert booking sites can sometimes get it wrong. Fortunately, there are numerous tools available to help you compare and find the best prices. The most popular among them are Skyscanner, Google Flights, and Momondo. Each site offers its unique approach to making the process easier and faster, but they all share some common features. These include pop-up booking calendars and colour-coded price tracking that highlight the cheapest, median, and priciest days to fly on your specific dates. They also often provide a fare graph that shows you how prices have changed over time on your route.
These tools can help you find the lowest prices, but they’re no substitute for doing your research. Look beyond the price tag to factor in additional costs, such as air taxes and fees for baggage, seat selection, and other optional add-ons. Likewise, consider the length of your trip. A cheap fare may not be worth it if you need to wake up before dawn to catch your flight or if the journey will require you to spend more time in transit.
Book a Longer Flight with a Layover
If you’re flexible about the length of your layover, flights with one or more stops may be less expensive than direct ones. A layover gives you a chance to stretch your legs, explore a new city, and can help reduce jet lag. Longer direct flights, however, can be tiring since you don’t get a chance to disembark during the flight and take a break.
Some airlines, such as Icelandair and Qatar Airways, offer complimentary or discounted stopovers on select routes to promote tourism. You can choose to build in a layover of up to several days by booking your outbound and return flights separately.
To find flights with a specific number of stops, go to SeatGuru and enter your destinations and dates, then click “search.” You’ll see a list of flights with various numbers of stops and their prices. You can filter by selecting (or deselecting) “Direct Flights Only” in the search bar. If you’re able to fly in the off-season and avoid holiday travel, it can make all the difference in finding cheap airfare.
Skiplagging
Skiplagging is a controversial travel hack that leverages pricing inefficiencies in airline flight schedules. Essentially, travellers purchase tickets to their desired destination and then deliberately skip the last leg of the trip, opting to stay at their layover destination instead. This can save hundreds of dollars, but it also raises interesting questions about passenger rights and the fairness of airline pricing models.
The idea behind skiplagging is that the airfare price you see for a direct route from point A to point B might be much higher than that of a direct flight to point C via point B because there’s more demand for the former option. The founder of flight search engine Skiplagged, Zaman, explains that his company’s mission is to empower travellers by exposing these pricing anomalies and encouraging them to use strategic booking tactics to their advantage.
Airlines dislike the practice because they can cancel a ticket or block future bookings if they suspect a passenger is skipping a leg of their itinerary. And while skiplagging is technically legal, it could still result in costly fines or even the cancellation of your frequent flyer account if an airline detects your deception.
