9 Tips on How to Score Super Cheap Flights

by Becky

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If you are a traveller, then taking flights occasionally is just part of the whole adventure. Over time, you have probably got better in scoring cheap flight deals or know better now what you should look out for when booking flights.

Anyway, if you do not have to book flights as often and want to hit your head against the wall when looking at all those expensive flight prices, then this is the right post for you. I’m sharing my tips today on how you can score super cheap flights.

And I have to say this year has been going pretty well in terms of cheap flight. I had a return flight from Germany to the Canary Island Lanzarote (4,5 hour flights) for €100 and next up is Germany – Corfu (return) for €75 and Germany – Poland (return) for only €32. I’m pretty proud of myself, and here is how you can get flights this cheap as well.

1. Be flexible in timing

When you book your flights, don’t have a fixed departure and return date in mind. For some reason, a flight can be more or less expensive if you choose different return days.

Consider staying a couple of days longer or leave earlier when you check out different departure and return times. Just leaving one day later can sometimes save you hundreds of dollars.

If you are completely flexible, just look at prices for the entire month and see which date is the cheapest. Skyscanner has an option like that, which lets you see prices for the entire month at once. That is basically the main feature that I use when choosing a date for my holiday. And it usually works, so you should give it a try as well.

2. Travel with hand luggage only

Budget airlines like Ryanair or Easyjet can offer flight deals for only €10 if you get lucky (e.g. Frankfurt to London). However, sometimes with these airlines, there can be a lot of costs encountered at a later booking stage. Taking a suitcase can cost you around €40 extra, and then choosing your seats is another €8.

To actually score pretty cheap flights, you should only travel with hand luggage to save you a bunch of money if the situation allows it. I know that isn’t always possible if you are travelling for a longer period of time, but if it is just a short weekend getaway, it should be possible to pack a little less for once.

And anyway, long-haul flights usually include luggage, so you do not have to worry about that then.

View out of an airplane window

3. Be flexible about where you want to go

Don’t always have a set location in mind, but let your choice of location depend on the flight prices. Choose a time frame in which you are available and then compare where the cheapest flights will take you. Maybe in that way you will also be more open to exploring countries that you never thought of visiting before. Who knows, they even mights surprise you.

4. Don’t travel in the main holidays

Unless that it is the only time you have to spare for travelling, it is generally cheaper to travel in the off-seasons for not only flights but also accommodation prices. Travelling during off-seasons is also great because places might be less crowded as well.

5. Check multiple websites

I usually use Skyscanner to find the cheapest flights, and they always state which website is the cheapest to book the flight. Anyway, if you find a cheap flight, still go and check other websites as well, just to be sure. Also, always check on the website of the airline directly and compare the prices.

But Skyscanner is always my first choice.

6. Join a travel reward program

A lot of airlines have bonus programmes where you can collect points for flying with them. If you have collected enough points, you can exchange them against gift cards or products. I really like the Etihad Airways guest programme.

I don’t fly with Etihad that often, but it is my favourite airline and for just one flight I can get a small gift card which is nice. Some bonus programmes are also paired with other airlines. (I got Etihad points for flying with Oman Air).

The beautiful city centre of Karlovy Vary

7. Book in advance

In general, the earlier you book, the cheaper the flight prices will be. So book in advance if you already know that you will be going travelling at a specific point in time in the future. Especially for low-cost airlines like Ryanair, you can score super cheap flights in advance for just a couple of Euros if you book early enough.

8. Remove your browsing history

Previous search engine searches can have an impact on your future search results. So if you want to rule out any bias towards more expensive websites or higher prices, than better delete your browsing history. You can also search in incognito mode if you want to avoid your personal profile influencing your search results.

9. Return flights are cheaper than one-way tickets

When I flew to Panama, I was originally planning on flying into Panama and out of Costa Rica. However, that was 300 Euros more expensive than flying in and out of Panama, so I just booked a cheap flight from Costa Rica back to Panama so I could fly out of Panama City.

I know, it’s not always possible to fly in and out of the same place, especially if you do not know when you will be returning home. Anyway, if it is somehow possible, it should be a lot cheaper to fly back and forth from the same airport.

And that was it, these are the tips I try to follow when trying to score super cheap flights. Do you agree and/ or do you have anything to add to this list?

Let me know x

Becky signature

And are you not only looking to score super cheap flights but also cheap accommodation? Then you only need to know one tip to get the cheapest accommodation across the world, which is to book via Hostelworld, my favourite website 🙂

Author

  • woman standing in front of the castle in ghent

    Becky has a degree in Business and works full-time in marketing. She travels whenever she can and has visited more than 50 countries, many of them as a solo traveller. She has also lived in six different countries.

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5 comments

Purvi Kamaliya 02/07/2018 - 12:53 pm

After a year of my travel I realised that I had spent maximum on my flights. and while searching for some guide to travel cheaper I stumbled upon this post. This is incredibly useful. Thanks.

Reply
Renuka Walter 01/07/2018 - 9:51 am

I do follow all these tips, and they are indeed helpful. But yes, I’m not too flexible about destination. I guess it’s better to travel to places that offer cheap flights.

Reply
Alex Trembath 30/06/2018 - 9:33 pm

Some great tips here, especially regarding flexibility with dates and timing. Not only will that give you a cheaper flight, but being spontaneous is just way more fun, right? 🙂

Reply
Becky 29/06/2018 - 4:27 pm

That is a good tip as well, thanks for mentioning that 🙂

Reply
Sandra from 4 Itchy Feet Travel Blog 29/06/2018 - 8:59 am

Those are some cool tips! I’m always after cheap flights!!

Reply

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