
Lower Your Airfare
Here are 10 basic tips for air travellers to help you get lower price airfares on your next flight.
1. Flexibility
Be flexible with your travel dates and always plan ahead. Air flight ticket prices are dynamic and depend on demand and supply. The more flexible you are, the more chance you give yourself of finding a lower discount airfare.
2. Know the Air Market
Monitor the airfares on your desired route and find out the lowest published fare. Get a feeling for 'value' for your airline ticket - you can do this by logging on to the major online travel agents and experimenting with travel dates. There is a new generation of websites which can predict airfare pricing on a route and help you find the best time to buy, although they are generally restricted to analysing US domestic flights currently.
3. Know the Season
Fly during times of the year with less demand - the 'off-peak' and 'shoulder' seasons. Avoid flying at peak times of the year. This should get you a cheaper airline ticket.
4. Choose Your Day and Time
Flights departing between Tuesday and Thursday tend to be cheaper due to lower demand and thus greater availability of lower fares. Very early morning or late evening flights are less busy and could offer you a better airfare deal. Or choose an inconvenient overnight 'red-eye' flight that many travellers avoid.
5. Holidays
Try not to fly just before or just after major holidays - these are some of the busiest flying days of the year and you will pay a heavy premium to travel at this time. You could try flying on the holiday itself - demand usually plummets and the airlines sometimes offer exceptional airfare deals to tempt the public.
6. Beware Restrictions
Some airlines still impose the infamous Saturday night stay restriction rule. Many fare tariffs have a 30 day maximum stay restriction. Break these rules and you are looking at significantly more expensive air flight ticket prices. Also, many tickets should be booked at least 21 days in advance to get a better fare.
7. Circumnavigate
Flying long-haul in business class or first class? Always get a quote on a round the world ticket and compare prices. Round-the-world biz class airfares are often cheaper than an ultra long-haul return trip - and you will get more choice in stopovers. Likewise Circle Fares around the Pacific can save you money.
8. Make a Connection
Routes with a change of plane at a connecting airport are often cheaper than non-stop flights. Airlines are willing to pay you to fly a more inconvenient route.
9. Use a Low-Cost Hub City
If flying long-haul into Europe, fly into a budget hub like London and continue your journey on the budget carriers like Ryanair, Easyjet and Air Berlin. The budget airlines tend to operate out of London Gatwick, Stansted and Luton.
If flying to Asia, Bangkok and Kuala Lumpur both offer good international connections with low-cost Air Asia. Consider new budget long-haul carrier Air Asia X which connects Asia and Australia and UK.
10. Check the Code
If your flight is 'code shared' then check the price of the same flight with different alliance partners. The flight will be exactly the same (make sure it has the same flight times) but there can often be significant price differences between airlines