7 TIPS TO FIND A CHEAPEST PLANE TICKET

A few days ago I was chatting with a friend on facebook. He told me about his future trip to Canada and what he would do there. He admitted, however, that he was bothered by the price of the ticket, he had spent more than 900 euros for his return trip.

So I asked him if he had compared fares on different flight comparators.

He answers me no … BOULET

A few minutes later, I told him that I had found a return ticket, almost at the same dates, for 550 euros … At that moment I think he wanted to hang himself.

It was then that I realized that people who are not accustomed to travel do not necessarily have the good reflexes to find and find a cheap air ticket.

Some time ago I wrote a very complete article on how to travel cheaper all over the world (I suggest you to take a look at this article if it is not already done, it is full of tricks), but today I will try to be more specific on air tickets because one of the questions that comes up most often by mail is:

how to save money on airline tickets?

The increase in oil prices, personnel costs, decreasing capacity and the cost of materials have only increased the prices of the flights.

The period of ultra low cost travel is over and, when the air ticket is the largest part of your travel budget, finding the right deal can be as important as finding the right destination, the right travel agency, the right bag backpack or the right place to stay.

Although good deals are not as common as before, there are still several ways to avoid being the person on the plane that paid the most.

Here are 7 tips (rather generic but always good to have in mind) to help you find a cheaper plane ticket

1- Be flexible with your travel dates

Flexible DatesThe price of the ticket depends on the day of the week, the time of year or upcoming holidays such as Christmas or New Year for example.

The month of August is the month of departures in Europe and tickets are more expensive.

Take off in the middle of the week is often cheaper than the weekend because most people travel on weekends. As the demand is stronger, the price increases.

Flights early in the morning or late at night are also cheaper because few people like to travel at these times.

Before confirming your departure date, be sure to check the other dates to choose the cheapest day. If you are not flexible on your flight dates, you will never find cheap airline tickets.

You can save several hundred euros a day apart!

 2- Be flexible with your destination

Instead of going to a country where the ticket is expensive, go to a destination where the flight is cheaper. With the Kayak.com “Explore” feature, you can enter your departure airport and see the cheapest destinations.

For example, during my trip to India, I flew to Dubai before flying to Mumbai in southern India, I saved 200 euros through this stopover.

If you are flexible about your destination, this is a good way to start your search.

3- Fly with low cost airlines to and from secondary airports

Most major cities have a smaller secondary airport. It is at this airport that most low-cost flights arrive and depart as landing costs are cheaper. Find out about airlines flying to these airports.

In France, RyanAir flights depart from Beauvais airport instead of Charles de Gaulles or Orly. In Los Angeles, you can go to Long Beach, an airport close to the city, instead of landing at LAX.

In Kuala Lumpur, Air Asia, the biggest low-cost airline in Asia, flies to an airport far away from the main airport (and offers cheap bus trips to the city!).

Most of the time, you only pay taxes on these low-cost tickets. It is therefore a very good alternative to standard airline flights whenever possible.

The service on these flights is very limited but they save you a lot of money.

Remember to check how far from the city center is the airport. Sometimes, transportation from the airport to the city center can make the total cost of your low-cost transportation more expensive than a normal ticket. But in general, low-cost flights are good business and I use them very often for my short-haul flights.

4- Remember that not all flight comparators are equal

Most people who search for their airline tickets online tend to go on GoVoyage or Expedia. As this article shows, you make a big mistake if you are in this case. These sites belong to or work with airlines. The offers they offer are not without bias.

I advise you to look at as many comparators as possible to make sure you have the best deal. In addition, many comparators do not list low-cost companies because they do not want to pay a commission.

The best comparators are those who have no affiliation with airlines and earn their money with advertising (not via bookings). It is important to check several sites when booking because prices sometimes vary and it would be a shame to miss a more interesting offer.

There is no perfect search engine and even the best have their faults.

With that said, here are my 3 favorites to find a cheap flight ticket: Skyscanner.net, Kayak.com, Momondo.com.

5- Take advantage of student discounts

If you are a student, you have access to many discounts. Visit the website statravel.fr and their search engine. You will find airline tickets at a student rate on the website and at their agency.

6 – Join a loyalty program

Airline loyalty programs are a good way to get free flights and upgrades.

Whether you fly very often or not, I advise you to sign up for a loyalty program to accumulate “miles” over time.

Join the program of a national airline that is part of an alliance of airlines. In this way, you will earn miles even by taking flights on the other companies of this alliance because they are partners.

For example, if you join the Air France Flying Blue program, which is part of the SkyTeam alliance, you will earn points even by taking the other companies of this alliance: Delta for a flight to the United States or Vietnam Airlines, Alitalia etc.

So, just sign up for a program from an airline in your country, part of an alliance (OneWorld, SkyTeam or Star Alliance).

In addition, there are plenty of ways to earn miles if you do not spend your time traveling the world.

For example, you can shop at partner stores. Most airlines that offer a loyalty program allow you to earn about 2 to 4 miles per euro spent in partner stores such as Fnac, GAP, Apple etc. Sometimes it is possible to earn up to 10 miles per euro spent.

If you spend 1000 € in one less, you can accumulate 3000 miles just by going through the links present the website of the loyalty program. You do not pay more, so it’s win-win. I make my purchases through the partner program just to get extra miles.

Make all your expenses with the travel credit card that comes with the loyalty program, whether it’s a StarBuck coffee shop or your mobile phone bills. In this way, you will gain a free flight regularly without doing anything special (count every year every 3 years, depending on the amount of your expenses).

By using these tips, you will be able to accumulate miles without even flying.

7- Book your flight early in advance

The price of a plane ticket depends on the price of oil. And with the constant increase of the latter, the plane will always cost more. There was a time when the best time to book was between 6 to 8 weeks before the departure date. But today, I recommend booking your flight as soon as you know your departure date.

Because if the price of oil continues to increase, the price of air ticket will do the same.

I hope these tips will help you to see more clearly about the hunt for cheap airline tickets. If you have tips to share do not hesitate to leave them in comment!

More tips for finding a cheap airline ticket

(thanks to those who posted these tips in the comments)

ORDER HIS TICKET BETWEEN 1 AM AND 4 AM IN THE MORNING

Ordering your ticket between 1am and 4am is cheaper and more profitable (up to 25% less than “peak hours”).

By Agnes and Just Tip Tip

 KNOW WITH A FREIGHT DRIVER! 😀

Ok, this is not given to everyone but I hosted a pilot this week (via Airbnb) and he makes very regularly flights to Lisbon. It has the possibility to take up to 3 passengers with him for a price of 25 € (+ taxes) per person. The disadvantage is that the flights are often made at night but the advantage is that we discover another way to travel. I intend to enjoy it on occasion, I’ll tell you about it 😉

By Fred from the YummyPlanet blog

A LONDON TOKYO FOR 68 EUROS!

I met in the Philippines, about 3 months ago, a Pole who swung me a pretty incredible info.

He gave me a Polish site to get tickets at unbeatable prices from Europe to the whole world.

This site is www.fly4free.pl

He managed to get a return London-Tokyo for 68 euro!

I did not believe it but after seeing the tickets difficult not to resign myself.

I do not know how the site works, I know that the procedure is not so simple and he has been watching 2 times a day for 2 weeks to get his ticket but it must be admitted that it is worth it.

By Sha Dy

 RETARDED FLIGHTS = INDEMNITY TRAVELERS UP TO 600 €!

If your flight has been canceled, overbooked or delayed for more than 3 hours, you may be entitled to compensation (unless it is a case of force majeure).

I discovered the site vol-retarde.fr which allows just knowing in a few clicks if we have the right to compensation and how much! To keep absolutely in his favorites.