If you are like many people that cannot stand the high costs of airline tickets, you are probably looking for ways to help you and your family to fly frugally. You can have some control over the issue to help keep the costs low and still go to the destinations you desire. While there is no hard a fast rule to flying on the cheap, if you employ the concepts behind the tips and tricks contained here, you will be that much closer to achieving your goal.
Fly During Off Peak Season
While almost everyone wants to go the Europe during the summer months, it is not an easy task to accomplish on a budget. One of the things you can do to keep the costs under control is to book your flight to occur during the off-season. The farther in advance you book your flight can have some great impacts on your savings. In some cases, you could book your flight as much as a year in advance in order to achieve a great deal of money. You might be surprised to find that you can conceivably save 80% of the airline cost by booking well in advance during the off-season.
Nearby cities can help you save
While it might seem more convenient to fly directly into the city in which you will be staying, many times, it is less costly to fly into a nearby city instead. Instead of flying into San Francisco, you might consider arriving in LA, and then departing from San Diego. It can mean more driving and time consuming, but if you want to save money, then you can do it this way. Make sure you compare the savings to what it will cost you in taxi fares if you are planning to travel at destination in this fashion. If you are planning to rent a car while at your destination, choose a large enough rental agency that will allow you to drop the car off at another location.
Research
There are plenty of online resources that you can utilize to help you plan your frugal flying fling if you so choose. One of the best tips you can have in this area is this: Only do your research with these services. If you want to keep things cheap, do not book your flights through these services. You will be charged at the time of purchase by the service. While the costs might be as little as $5, every dollar you save stays in your pocket to be used elsewhere. Some of these services will even email you with alerts to let you know when prices drop to the destinations you have chosen.
Picking the Date of your Flight
Another tip for saving money on your airline travel is to have the online services look for dates both before and after your desired date. Many people find it surprising that they can book a ticket arriving 48 hours before their intended date and leaving 72 hours later than desired for a great deal less money. Make sure you look for dates before and after and you might find a great deal.
Booking
When it comes to booking your flight, go online and book directly with the airlines. If you try to purchase your tickets over the telephone, most airlines will charge an extra fee in order to get you to use the internet booking instead. **You might be tempted to use one of the services that allow you to name your own price. Avoid this temptation, most of the time, you will find these rates are exactly what the airlines will give you if you contact them directly. You might even be able to get some extra bonus air miles in some cases.
When booking directly with the airline, it is wise to book your flight during the middle of the week. Typically, Wednesdays are when the airlines announce their discounted flights for the week. They actually send out email blasts letting people know the available savings for last minute bookings to certain destinations. Avoid booking on the weekends as this is the time that the rates are their highest.
Sometimes, there are advantages in booking through an online travel agency such as Expedia. Expedia can offer not only flights but hotels as well so you may get a great package deal. What’s even better is that if you can find a coupon code for expedia, you’ll even save more. More and more sites like Expedia are using coupon codes to attract more customers, it pays to search for these through google prior to booking directly through them.
There you have it, some tips and tricks that can help you save big the next time you want to fly frugally.
The video below shows great tips on how to get the best airline seats: