How to Find Cheap Flights

General rules to follow

Flexibility with your dates of travel is the key to finding cheap flights.  If you are locked into specific departure/arrival dates then you can still get great deal, it just takes a little more work.

•  Check out sites like yapta.com and airfarewatchdog.com for alerts on cheap fares.  Signing up to these sites will give you a leg up when cheap fares are released to your destination.
• Be realistic with the price you are willing to pay.  Holding out too long for the type of specials that send airlines broke won’t usually work, and you might end up paying more the longer you leave it.  If you have a price in mind and can find a seat for that price or less consider just booking it.  Barely two people on the same flight will have paid the same amount; the price will always be going up and down (usually up) so at least if you have a price in mind and find it you won’t be disappointed.
• Be flexible with dates and book early! If you can avoid peak times like Christmas and June July you will be flying cheaper. If you can’t then choosing weekdays over weekends and even less convenient times of day you should get on a cheaper flight.  Wednesday can often be the cheapest day to fly, as business travellers tend to  fill up seats closer to the weekends. Try to book at least three weeks in advance (6-8 weeks is better) and search different days around the time you want to fly.
• The major airlines often release their cheapest seats 11 months in advance, with the discount cycle usually at its peak in January. This is a great time to book for later in the year if you can.
• Airlines also release new fares on a Tuesday night -  it’s worth a crack to try the sites below on a Wednesday morning to see whats about.
• Always check the airlines own website before you book.  The airlines will sometimes have the same price or cheaper and often without the hefty booking fees charged by some sites.
• Don’t just stick to Webjet, Expedia and the Flight Centre site, there are usually cheaper options.
• For round the world tickets check out the pages on this site before you see an agent.  These pages will help you sift through your options and avoid paying too much, as agents often use the confusion around these fares to mark up prices.

How to Find Cheap Flights..

Sky Scanner A great feature on this site is that you can just choose your departure point and leave the destination blank: this just means a bunch of the cheapest flights will come up for the dates you choose.  Great if you are in Europe and looking for a cheap getaway for the weekend, or just starting your search from home.   You can also compare prices for the entire month in which you plan to depart – same for the return.  This feature can save you hundreds – again, flexibility is the key.  This site consistently comes up with the cheapest deals by comparing what you want amongst a massive range of booking sites.

If you need another resource to find out what airlines fly to particular destinations and the route they take  have a look at The Official Aviation Guide’s website at (www.oag.com/travel-guides/air-route-info/).  It’s a comprehensive guide that might get you thinking about alternative (and possibly cheaper) routes to your destination.

Once you have the cheapest deal in mind be sure to look on the airlines own website as airlines will often have cheaper deals direct through their own booking system

Try comparing what you find to the prices on one or more of these sites

Once you have an idea of current pricing you can search for the same fares on booking sites like the ones listed here.

Jetabroad (www.jetabroad.com.au) A quick and straight forward website to use.  Recently this site has had great cash back deals for using PayPal on top of already cheap seats.  The first price you see is what you pay so no hidden charges like on some other major sites.   This site consistently comes up with cheap fares.

Airflights (www.airfaresflights.com.au) is a great site to compare, though not book, airfares from the major agencies and sites in Australia.  This is not a booking site; you will need to get onto the retailers site once you have found the cheapest fare.

Travel (www.travel.com.au) has also consistently provided cheap fares, though this site charges a booking fee.

Webjet (www.webjet.com.au) with their massive advertising budget Webjet seems to be most people’s first stop.  Added charges at the time of booking and general lack of clarity in pricing makes it a less attractive option than the newer competition.  Recent attempts to keep the site competitive have led to the upcoming introduction of “Home Brand Airfares”, which means that the identity of the airline is not revealed to the user until the time of booking.  This may be a way to score a cheap fare in future as airlines will be able to shield the price of their discount fares from competitors.

I want that flight (www.iwantthatflight.com.au) a fairly new site that lets you search for domestic fares for Qantas, Tiger, Jetstar and Virgin.  A quick and easy way to find cheap domestic fares (maybe for a cheap connection to your international flight).

Last Minute (http://www.lastminute.com.au/).  Always popular site for spur of the moment or late notice flights.  Worth a look.

If you are looking for fares into Asia, America and now Africa also check out the list of budget airlines flying from Australia below, as the cheapest fares from the no frills airlines often won’t appear on the major booking sites.

Budget airlines – also check out destination tips for lists of budget carriers abroad

Whilst fares from the major airlines will usually come up in the comparison sites the budget carriers below might not be included.

Air Asia(www.airasia.com) Uses Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia as a hub and has some really cheap fares from Oz to heaps of destinations in Asia, and for onward flights to London.  A current fare from KL to London one way is just $350AUD including tax.

Jetstar(www.jetstar.com.au) With a growing list of destinations and some great last minute deals they are always worth a check for trips around Oz/Asia/Hawaii.

Tiger Airways(www.tigerairways.com) has cheap fares into Singapore from various Aussie capitals.

VAustralia (www.vaustralia.com.au/) Now with flights into South Africa and the USA.

Finding the cheapest flight

So be flexible as you can with dates and times, check Skyscanner  for options and have a look on a site like Jet Abroad, and the airlines own site, for comparison.  Do it as early as possible and consider booking if you are happy with the price.

If you are comfortable booking online and think you have found a great deal that suits your budget then it’s worth booking on the spot as prices/availability really do change very quickly.

Just be sure that you are aware of the conditions of the ticket; the cheapest tickets are often non refundable or non changeable.

Also consider the airline and stopover times; a few extra dollars for a better airline and smoother connections can be worth it.  There’s only so much time in the airport that makes saving $50 dollars worthwhile: you will probably spend the difference on food and drinks while you wait.

If you plan use a travel agent to book or price match check the using travel agents page for more on how to find cheap flights through agents, or read are you being ripped off on the dodgy world of travel agency pricing and practice.

Good luck and safe travels!!

by Brook Mitchell. Editor of aussietraveladvice.com. If you found this article useful please share it with you mates or consider signing up for updates via email or RSS. Cheers.

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Category: Africa, Europe, Finding Cheap Fares, Round the world, South America, Travel Blog, Travel Money, Travel News