Searching for the cheapest flight can be a tedious if not overwhelming process considering all the new deal sites and options rolling out all the time. Even when you know where to look, prices can change as you search and leave you wondering if you got the best deal for your upcoming trip or vacation. Let’s explore some tips for finding the best flight deals.
Budget Airlines Are a Great Option
There are many great budget airlines to choose from, and while they don’t offer all the amenities of their more expensive competitors, they make up for it in dollars saved. Flights can be found on these airlines for a fraction of the cost of a non-budget-oriented company.
Be sure to read the fine print, as many of these airlines make up for the extremely low fares by charging high baggage fees for checked and carry-on luggage. If you can get away with traveling light, you can avoid most of these fees. Budget airlines also tend to have late arrivals more often, so be sure to factor in some extra time for possible delays.
Choose the Right Day to Fly
Flying on a weekday is almost always cheaper than departing on a weekend. It’s possible to find good deals for a Saturday or Sunday, but in most instances, the fares for weekday flights will be far lower. While there is a lot of speculation that Tuesday is the cheapest day to fly, that is not always true.
Once you settle on an airline, check the fare calendar for all the possible days you could fly. If you aren’t restricted to traveling on a specific date, you will be able to find much better fares.
Pick the Right Time of Year
Which days of the week you choose to fly will have an impact on the price, but the time of year will make the most difference. Airlines book to capacity (and even overbook) during busy holiday seasons. The price of a ticket on any major airline will skyrocket during these periods. If you can avoid flying on the holidays, you should consider doing so.
Early months like January and February are often cheapest for airfare, as people are suffering from travel exhaustion and need time to rest. The beginning of fall can also be a good time for finding good flight deals for the same reason.
Go for the Best Location
If you are flexible with your travel destination, there are plenty of major cities with deeply discounted flights. Cities with tourist attractions will usually have affordable flights, such as Orlando or Los Angeles, and hubs for major airlines such as Atlanta or Dallas will also have cheap flights available.
Sometimes you may find it more affordable to fly into a major city at a discount and then travel to the final destination by an alternate method. This often happens when you are trying to go to a smaller city without a major airport. Explore different options for getting where you want to end up that include other forms of transportation such as shuttle buses or ridesharing.
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