7 Secrets to Book Cheap Air-flight
TRAVEL
PLANS CAN quickly
become expensive, making budget vacations extremely desirable. But such trips aren’t
possible if you pay too much for airfare. And unless you know where to look,
finding cheap flights can be a huge hassle. For the airlines, it’s about
getting you to pay the most you’re willing to pay, which is the opposite of
what the consumer wants. On a single flight, there can be more than a dozen
pricing categories. On a 150-seat plane, there could be 50 different prices.
Plus each
of those passengers may be paying for a different array of a la carte add-ons
such as priority boarding or baggage fees. The key thing to know about airline
prices is that the fare is where you start, not where you finish.
Save big with these insider tips |
With
summer right around the corner, U.S. News spoke to travel industry experts
about the best ways to stretch
your travel budget. Here are seven insider secrets to booking cheap
flights:
- Book
the flight seven weeks in advance.
- Buy at the best time: Tuesdays at 3 p.m. EST.
- Fly on the cheapest days, which are Tuesday, Wednesday and
Saturday.
- Fly out early.
- Check low-cost airline prices individually.
- Sign
up for free price alerts.
- Build
a relationship with the airline.
Book Seven Weeks in Advance
Passengers
pay the lowest price — nearly 10 percent below the average fare — if they buy
50 days before their flight, according to data from the Airlines Reporting
Corporation. The data were compiled by examining 2019 ticket sales from online
and corporate travel agencies in the U.S. for the top 500
origin-and-destination markets. But the seven-week rule isn’t a surefire
strategy for snagging the cheapest fare. “This is just a trend,” explains Chuck
Thackston, ARC’s managing director of data science and research. “Airlines will
make valuable deals available all the time. But, on average, we see this
[50-day] approach works.”
Best Time to Book Flights: Tuesdays at 3
p.m. EST
If you
don’t find the discounts you’re looking for in the early morning, a study says
the best time to buy airline tickets and shop for travel (domestically) is on
Tuesday at 3 p.m. EST. However, George Hobica, travel expert and journalist,
argues that the best deals vary frequently, so there’s not one specific day or
time of the week to buy.
Cheapest Days for Flights: Tuesday, Wednesday
and Saturday
According
to a study, the cheapest days to fly are Tuesday, Wednesday and Saturday for
domestic travel. Flying on these days of the week is almost always the cheapest
option in the U.S.. For international travel, weekdays are usually cheaper than
weekends. Friday and Sunday are the most expensive days for domestic travel.
Fly Out Early
The
cheapest flight is typically the first flight of the morning. Yes, that means
you have to get up at 4 a.m. The next-cheapest flight times are during or after
lunch or at the dinner hour. There’s a general rule of thumb, which is ‘fly
hungry. That’s because flyers tend to not want to travel at inconvenient or
uncomfortable times.
Check Low-Cost Airlines Individually
Comparison
sites like Kayak don’t necessarily do all the work for you. Some low-cost
airlines, like Southwest, don’t allow their tickets to be quoted on popular comparison
websites. So be sure to check them separately. And do your homework to
understand what extra charges, such as carry-on or checked baggage fees, might
increase the cost of your ticket. But the work can be easier through Friendztravel.com
where you can compare all the flights directly.
Sign Up for Free Alerts
Almost
every major online booking site offers airfare alerts that ping you when fare
prices fall. Popular digital resources such as Hitlist, The Flight Deal and
Secret Flying offer quick alerts on good deals. If you sign up for fare alerts
from Kayak or Google Flights, you can specify certain routes and travel dates.
He adds that travelers shouldn’t overlook online travel agencies such as
Expedia and Priceline. They sometimes buy seats from the airlines in bulk and
sell them for whatever the market will bear. That can result in savings if
they’ve overpurchased a particular route.
Build a Relationship
The
question isn’t how much is it to fly from here to there, the question is, ‘Who’s
asking? If you carry the airline’s credit card, you automatically have a leg up
on other travelers. Credit cards tied to airlines now offer perks that were
once standard, such as free checked bags, priority boarding and seat selection,
so they may be worth signing up for if you fly frequently on one airline.
If you
still have any doubt, or want to make buying journey with ease,
with
exiciting offers and coupons
Call Now: +1-(888)-826-0067
Visit: FriendzTravel
Comments
Post a Comment