5 Ways To Save Money On Flights
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Airline tickets are often the most expensive part of travel. While there are bargains to had, you’ll need to know about where and when to look to save money on flights.
Save Money On Flights By Booking Ahead
Generally speaking, booking flights as far ahead as possible will get the best deal. For example, if you wanted to find flights to Montreal in Canada for over the Christmas period, the best time to book is September 25th to October 25th.
Leaving booking flights until the last minute can often see huge price hikes, so as soon as you know the dates you want to travel and have accommodation lined up, it’s worth getting them booked.
Is Your Flight Really Cheap?
While budget airlines are great for very cheap flights, you’ll often find they add on lots of extras that might be included in a more expensive flight, such as luggage, in-flight meals, booking fees and seat allocations.
It’s always worth doing your sums, checking out a few different airlines or comparison sites and finding out whether your flight really is as cheap as you think it is.
Is it worth taking a detour to save money on flights?
Flying direct, especially long haul, is often the more expensive option. Splitting your journey into two smaller legs can actually save you quite a bit of money. Layovers (the time between flights) can be anything from an hour or two to a more significant chunk of such as eight or twelve hours.
A longer layover could give you the opportunity to explore the city you’re laid over in. However, it can also add significant hours to your overall travel time so it’s worth weighing up whether the savings on cost are worth your time.
Remember if you do have a shorter layover you’ll need enough time to collect luggage and get to the gate for your next flight. I’d recommend an absolute minimum of two hours.
This is something we did on our honeymoon – we flew to Las Vegas via Calgary as it was around £150 each cheaper. In all honesty, we wish we’d paid the extra. By the time we arrived in Vegas we’d been travelling for almost twenty-four hours and were completely exhausted. We were very glad we had booked a direct flight home!
Be Flexible To Save Money On Flights
The more flexible you are with dates, times and locations, the more likely you’ll be able to find a bargain flight. Of course, this is easier said than done, especially if you’re restricted to school holidays or weekends.
However, if you’re going travelling, the world is your oyster and you can really take advantage of cheap flights to far-flung locations.
For school holiday flights, try Tuesdays and Wednesdays for the best deals. Controversial, but you could also choose to take your children out of school a week or so early – the savings on flights will likely outweigh any fines charged by the school. Shopping around is also key to finding the best deals.
Private Flights
The cost to charter private jet might not be quite as much as you think. While it may sound like an expensive option, when you compare the costs with say, first-class tickets, there might not be that much in it.
There are also other occasions you might want to charter a private jet – for example, it has been proven that flights can cost almost a third less than a train ticket. Yes, really! Tom Church from Latest deals did this a few years ago and you can read more about how he did it here.
Some final tips for finding cheap flights
- Always pay for flights (or package holidays) by credit card for extra protection. All the better if you earn cashback too.
- Try looking at different airports if you’ll need to travel to one anyway – the savings could be much more than the cost of travelling to a different city.
- Sometimes buying a package deal is much cheaper than just buying flights so always check this option too.
- When searching for flights, keep clearing your cookies or browse incognito as prices can increase when you search the same flights repeatedly.
- Typically Midweek flights are cheaper than those at weekends.
- Mix and Match airlines – you don’t need to book the same airline for both the outbound and return journeys.
How do you save money on flights? Let me know in the comments!
