Think you know the secrets to finding cheap flights? Do you rely on an app or website to find deals? The truth is, apps and websites RARELY offer the lowest available flights.
One of the biggest complaints when it comes to travel is the price of airfare. Many people rely on apps or websites to help them find the best flight prices. Little do they know, that these are not always the best places to find cheap flights. The best way to find great flight deals is to spend a lot of time researching flight patterns. This article will help you learn how to understand these flight patterns, and use them to find the lowest price for your next trip.
Always Check The Number of Available Seats
One of the most important if not THE most important piece of advice for finding the best deals for airfare is to ALWAYS make it to the seat selection step of the checkout process (if you can). For most airlines the opportunity to choose your seat comes before the payment process, so you don’t even have to commit to the flight to peruse the seat chart. The reason why this is important is because it gives you an inside look at how crowded the flight will be.
If there are only a few seats available, and the price seems reasonable, then you should book it immediately.
The more crowded a flight is, the more likely prices will continue to increase as the days pass by. If there are only a few seats available, and the price seems reasonable, then you should book it immediately.
Airlines want to sell every seat they can, but they don’t want to sell every seat at a discounted price
When there are many empty seats, and your flight dates are in a few weeks or longer, you can hold off on purchasing it. Instead of purchasing the flight immediately, you should continue to monitor it for as long as you are willing to risk. The reasoning behind this is rather obvious: airlines want to sell every seat they can, but they don’t want to sell every seat at a discounted price. If there are a lot of seats available 5 days before your desired departure, chances are those are the lowest prices you’ll find for that flight.
Flights on Tuesday Evenings Can SOMETIMES Be Cheap
The popular notion that Tuesdays offer the lowest prices for air travel is true to an extent. There have been many times where I’ve noticed a drastic jump in price the following morning after I had been researching flights on a Tuesday evening. But, these increases were most likely caused by a large demand for the given flight. In order to take advantage of the Tuesday airfare deal, it is best to perform your own study over a period of 3 weeks.
This will allow you to gather enough information to help you select your flight, continuously monitor any differences in price for your desired flight on both Tuesdays and Wednesdays. After a few weeks you’ll have developed strong insight on the optimal day to purchase your ticket.
Purchase TWO One-Way Flights Instead of A Round-Trip Ticket
There have been more than a few times when I noticed that booking individual flights is less expensive than booking a round-trip flight. Additionally, if you book two separate one-way flights, it gives you more freedom to fly out of a different airport. This can save you a lot of time if you plan on traveling to multiple cities on your trip, and if you don’t want to be confined to flying out of the same airport as you arrived.
This can save you a lot of time if you plan on traveling to multiple cities on your trip.
The best way to find the cheapest flights is to research several airlines, and compare their round trip prices with individual one-way flight prices. Be sure to note that if you plan on having a rental car that they do charge fees for dropping off cars at a different location than where you picked it up.
Pack Light To Avoid Unnecessary Baggage Fees
Another wise piece of travel advice is to learn how to pack for your trip. Traveling by car has spoiled people by making it easy to travel with as much luggage as you want. But, air travel is different. Many of the good flight prices you’ll find will be with budget air carriers that charge additional fees for luggage. It is smart to study the weather forecast, and to plan your clothing choices appropriately. Usually, you’ll only need to bring one pair of shoes in addition to the shoes you wear on the plane. So, don’t waste money paying for a suitcase full of shoes or clothes you’ll never need or wear.
Don’t Purchase A Reserved Seat
Most airlines offer advanced seat selection during the checkout process. These seats can range in price from free – $400 for a seat. Budget airlines will not offer free seat reservations. I’ve learned that seat selection is not worth the price.
These fees are easily avoidable if you don’t mind where you sit on a plane. That roomy exit row seat may be tempting to splurge on. But, that seat can set you back up to $80 or more. Chances are you’ll be assigned a seat that is not much different than that $20 “extra leg room” seat. Unless the seat selection is free, you should avoid this excess fee if you want to save money.
Traveling doesn’t have to be expensive if you plan it right. We hope this guide helped you. Be patient, watch the flight patterns and, we guarantee you’ll be booking cheap flights in no time!
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