Gone are the days when people would only feel comfortable booking their summer holidays through a travel agent, or even a holiday package.
Nowadays, people are taking holiday hunting into their own hands and looking to find the very best deals! Flights are almost always going to be one of the highest costs of your trip, no matter where you go. So it’s important that you save where you can.
Take a look below at our top 10 tips and tricks on how to find the cheapest flights and have a go at trying some yourself!
1) Consider Different Departure Airports
Being open-minded about what airport you fly from in the UK is super important and could be one of the biggest money-saving opportunities.
There are over 40 airports in the UK, so you’re bound to have at least a couple within close proximity to you. Although one may be slightly quicker to get to, you could find that an airport slightly further away has similar flights at half the price. There are lots of airport parking discounts available if you take a look online, we found some at Birmingham Airport!
2) Consider Different Arrival Airports
As well as being open-minded about the airport you fly from, you should also consider any additional options for your arrival airport.
You’ll find that many holiday destinations have multiple airports within close proximity to each other, where various airlines will fly to. So you could make your trip away a little more adventurous and see some different sites by flying to an alternative airport.
Do your homework on where your hotel’s location and compare prices for transfers from different airports and by using different airlines like Virgin.
3) Be Flexible With Your Travel Dates
If you can’t be flexible about where you fly from and to, then try to be flexible when you travel. This is another huge way to save money on flights!
We know that with school holidays and booking off your annual leave at work, it can sometimes be really difficult to be flexible about when you go on holiday. But even by just looking a couple of days on either side of when you’re thinking of going, you could find flights at less than half the price!
Emirates allows you to view flights by the whole month, so you can easily see at one glance the different prices for different travel days.
4) Think About An Early Morning Flight
It’s true what they say, the early bird catches the worm!
If you can face leaving your bed at an obscene time to jet off for 2 weeks in the sunshine, then you should always consider the benefits of an early morning flight. You’ll get longer in the resort, and these unsociably timed flights often come at a discount.
And just because it’s early doesn’t mean you can’t have a snooze on the flight, just make sure you pack your flight cushion!
We always check online for airlines such as Air Canda where you could find yourself a comfortable but early flight at a discount price.
5) Look Up Tickets in Advance
Like with most things, it’s always important to look at prices well in advance of your trip.
However, we would also say not to look at them too early. Flight prices are generally expensive to begin with, then drop in price, and then will change again closer to the departure date depending on their popularity.
There is definitely a sweet spot to find when booking flights, generally about 2-3 months before departure – but it’s always a gamble. In a nutshell, keep your eye on the prices as far in advance as you can and work out for yourself how they seem to be fluctuating.
Your next trip could be just around the corner, keep an eye on websites like Qatar Airways who offer special low fares on their website.
6) Sign Up for Alerts for Price Drops
If you haven’t got the time (or energy) to keep checking back at prices, then let someone do the hard work for you and sign up for price drop alerts!
Places like Skyscanner and other airline comparison companies have a function where you can add a trip and then they’ll send you a notification every time your flights either go up or down in price. Simple!
7) Check Out Budget Airlines
Budget airlines conveniently service most short and medium-haul destinations from the UK and even some long-haul destinations.
Granted, they may not be quite as comfortable as a premier airline. But for the price difference – you really can’t complain! If you’re tied into travelling during the expensive school holidays, for example, then we would always suggest you travel with a budget airline to help keep the costs down.
If you are planning a budget holiday, check out EasyJet. There are tons of flights at discount prices throughout the year to some great destinations. It’s sometimes cheaper to fly somewhere abroad with EasyJet than it is to holiday in the UK!
8) Always Check Luggage Eligibility
This is one you should really be mindful of – always, always check the luggage requirements before booking any flights.
A flight may look like a bargain, but if you look into the finer details and find that this price only includes a small hand luggage bag – then it may not be as cheap as you think. If you’re looking to take some sort of luggage with you, then it’s super important that you look closely as some airlines like Etihad will offer different sizes of luggage included as standard.
If you are a person that struggles to pack lightly, research the location you are flying to because you may be able to pick up some of your most used or favourite products at your destination and likely at half the price! That should save you some space in your suitcase!
9) Use Google Flights & Skyscanner
As we’ve already touched on, places like Google Flights and Skyscanner are some of the best tools to find the cheapest flights.
With these, you can search for flights and see real-time prices for a multitude of dates to make it super easy to compare flight costs.
10) Don’t Always Fly Direct
This trick is one that we’d suggest leaving till the end of your flight search as it’s probably the most inconvenient, but can still be a brilliant way to save money on flights.
Most people run away from the idea of flying indirectly, but it sometimes isn’t really all that bad when you look into it. Sure, your overall travel time will be longer, but the saving can definitely be worth it! With long-haul flights, it could actually be a welcome break from sitting in the same spot so don’t forget to check out deals on airlines websites like Air Malta where you could find low fares when booking.
Just be sure to have around a 3-hour buffer period between flights to allow for any slight delays, which will also cover you on your insurance if your delay is any longer than this.
