I don’t know a single person, who doesn’t love travelling. One of those thousands quotes on the internet say „If travelling was free, you’d never see me again“, what is absolute true in my case. Travelling cost money and we try to squeeze our budget as much as possible, but did you know, there are some tricks to save money on most expensive item on our travel lists – flights?
I was on more than 80 flights during past 3 years and travelled to North America, Africa, Asia and around Europe, where I have never paid more than 300 € for flight. How do I do it? I simply follow these 5 steps that always help me to find best deals to most destinations. It’s not about being rich – it’s about being flexible. Try to imagine that your flight ticket is like goods – you can come to the market and simply buy it. Sometimes markets gives 1+1 for free or special discounts and you just have to wait until they do so and be the first to buy them until they’ll be sold out, since it’s limited offer.
red-eye (over night) flights are cheaper than day flights
1. CHECK FARE, NOT DESTINATION
The most important thing is not to look for destination, but for fares. If you say „I want to go to Sydney, let’s buy tickets!“ you’re doing it wrong and you will probably never find great deal. Try it from the other side and say „I found great deal to Rome, do you want to go?“. Many airlines have fare finders on their websites and it’s always worth to check them for HOT deals. These deals are usually for specific date and mostly last minute, so you have to be pretty flexible – just pack & go. On 95% I always choose my destination according to special flight deals.
Ryanair gives their customers nice overview of special deals on their website
2. CHECK INTERNET REGULARLY
There are agencies and enthusiasts who search for the great deals for you and share it on their websites and social media. Thanks to these web-pages I flew return for e.g. to New York for less than 250 € (normal price is always more than 400 €) Morocco for 50 € (normally around 200 €) or Azerbaijan return for 70 €. These prices are usually mistakes made by airlines (the airline has mistake in their system and sell tickets for wrong prices – if you are quick enough and book this flight, you can fly). I know a person, who booked ticket from Milan, Italy to New York City just for 50 € return – that’s like the dream. The second group of tickets are tickets, that are cheap, but the connection isn’t direct and sometimes you have to change the airport. Another friend of mine recently booked ticket to Bangkok from Europe, just for 211 € in high season what is almost unbelievable (normally its around 850 €). All he has to do is to change airports in Moscow.
3. FIND OFFICIAL RESOURCES
Except of mistakes, airlines are always proud to share their discounts within their customers on official channels. If you do not want to miss any great deal, follow airlines on the Twitter or Facebook for flash sales. This is how I booked return flight from Budapest to Warsaw only for 0,45 €. Many airlines have launched their mobile apps recently and I know about some, who sold tickets with 50% discount for those, who book their flights via this app.
special flash sale promoted on Twitter
4. RETURN TO/FROM DIFFERENT CITY
Another thing you have to know is, that if you return to, or from different city than you have departed, the flight will cost you less. For example, book your flight New York – San Francisco – New York and you will pay around $ 250, but if you book it from New York to San Francisco and return from Los Angeles, you may save some bucks. With regular airlines ALWAYS book return ticket (except of low-cost airlines), even if you don’t plan to fly back. For example one-way flight from Vienna to Warsaw can cost almost 600 € (I’m not kidding) and the same flight for 100 € if you buy return (+ flight back). In the end you will pay 600 € for one flight or 200 € for two flights. Don‚t ask me why 🙂
always buy return tickets if you fly with regular, not low-cost airline
5. TRAVEL OFF-SEASON
The last point but also very important is to travel in off season. Everything is cheaper starting from flights to accommodation. Why? Because airlines know, when to raise prices to earn more. For e.g. flights are 100% more expensive before and after the Christmas, because everyone want to travel home and that’s why off season travelling can save you even more than you think. When I was in Morocco, it was there during Ramadan and I couldn’t have enjoyed it more – almost no tourists and reasonable hotel prices made my trip even enjoyable.
Travelling isn’t always expensive, but it is not cheap. There are some ways how to make it more cheaper and saving on flights is one of the ways. Best flight deals are here for everyone, just go and check latest deals, find the right one and book the flight 🙂
Milan Bardun – because it is better to travel, than to arrive
