Owing to the post-pandemic economic slowdown, getting cheap air tickets may not be as easy as it sounds. Although millions of airlines are operating at the moment, airfare remains one of the most expensive parts of every trip.
Travelling is about more than simply getting to your destination; it’s about the incredible moments and fresh experiences you uncover along the way. It implies that travel is not about being inexpensive or expensive, but tickets are. We’ve all gone through the excruciating process of searching for the cheapest flights to any given destination.
With a plethora of search engines and constantly changing pricing, the process of finding the cheapest flight is befuddling. Here are some tips for saving time, frustration, and, most importantly, money when purchasing your next plane ticket.
Table of Contents
Self-book Connecting Flights to Save Some Extra Bucks
If you’re traveling somewhere that requires a transfer, such as cheap flights to Johannesburg from London, which normally includes two stops such as Barcelona and Qatar, consider that it may be cheaper to book these two legs separately by adding another location to your trip.
It should go without saying that you should avoid booking tight layovers when doing so. I repeat: do not schedule layovers that are more than an hour apart! This method is for people who want to add an extra destination for a few days or longer before their next journey.
Furthermore, when purchasing tickets, avoid selecting the “direct flights only” option for layovers. The vast majority of transfers and layovers are less expensive than direct flights. Booking flights with short layovers, on the other hand, should be avoided. It might be pricey if you miss your flight due to unanticipated delays.
You may even schedule multi-day layovers to see two destinations for the price of one! You could go out and tour the city instead of spending a couple of hours in the air. Several airlines and airports provide transit passengers with free or low-cost city tours. Some much offer free or decreased lodgings on the off chance that you stay for the time being.
Do Search in Incognito
You are not insane if you believe that a flight price has changed after searching for it several times on your web browser. Travel prices rise when a specific route is regularly searched, according to cookies in your browser, as the site aims to terrify you into buying the flight immediately before prices rise even further. To see the best prices, always search for flights in incognito or private browser mode.
Toggle incognito mode in Google Chrome or Safari by hitting Command (or “Control” on a PC), Shift, and “N.” Press Command (or “Control” if you’re on a PC), Shift, then “P” to open Mozilla Firefox or Internet Explorer. This will start a new browser window that will not monitor your information, preventing price inflation while you search. Open Safari, then select “Private Browsing” from the “Safari” menu bar if you’re running an older version of OS X.
When you re-open an incognito window, your cookies are reset. If you wish to start with a clean slate for each flight search (so your earlier searches aren’t “remembered,” potentially rising expenses), close all incognito windows, open a new one and then perform your flight search.
Determine the Cheapest Day to Fly Out.
While there are numerous beliefs about booking on a Tuesday to save money, the reality is that there is no consistent truth about which days are the cheapest to travel. It is usually cheaper to leave on a weekday, though this is not always the case. Your smartest option is to get a short depiction of rates for the whole month to find which days are the least expensive for your particular course. Here’s how to do it:
- Step 1. Hop on the Reliance Travels website
- Step 2. Enter your departure & arrival cities
- Step 3. Select “one-way” (even if flying round trip – you’re just determining the cheapest days to fly out first)
- Step 4. On a PC: click “Leave” yet rather than entering a date, select “Entire Month”, and afterward “Least expensive Month” so you can peruse all dates to see which is least expensive. Hit “Search flights” to effectively see which date is the least expensive.
If applicable, repeat these steps for your return flight. You can still plan a round trip in one booking, but following these steps first will allow you to determine which days are normally less expensive to fly in/out for your circular trip.
Budget Airlines Are Best
If you’re wondering how to find an extremely inexpensive airfare, the answer is always budget carriers! Budget airlines can sometimes outperform the larger carriers by offering much lower ticket prices. When you choose to fly on a budget, you must make certain concessions.
Space and legroom, as well as free food, beverages, and movies, are not available on cheap carriers. Before boarding the plane, stock up on munchies — and water. Extra legroom and movies are occasionally provided, but there are no assurances, and I can assure you that it is rarely free. However, giving up these amenities in order to acquire cheap airfare is well worth it.
There are hundreds of low-cost airlines, but Reliance Travels is one of my favorites (especially if you want to travel from the UK). Learn more about this low-cost airline and how to get cheap air tickets. To prevent losing out on specials, keep a watch on its Facebook and Twitter sites, as well as sign up for email alerts.
