Tired of Staying Home? How to Find Cheap Airfare Deals

Money | December 29th, 2008 by Valencia Higuera

My parents have a timeshare and I’d been looking forward to spending time in sunny Orlando during the last week of December. However, after going online to secure airline tickets, my excitement turned to disappointment…it looks like I’m going to be spending my vacation at home.

We normally drive to Florida and avoid the car rental fee, but earlier this year my husband suffered a back injury and couldn’t handle the drive. Our only option was to fly, but with ticket prices nearly doubled around the Holiday, I refused to pay $700 for two round-trip airline tickets – especially since tickets are half this price two weeks before and after the holidays. It’s such as rip off. Unfortunately, there’s nothing I can do about it, so I won’t get mad.

Traveling around the holidays is always expensive, but there are ways to save. Here are few tips to help you get the best deals out there.

Buy Your Airline Ticket Online

I once read that airline carriers reduce online ticket prices by 10 percent. This may not sound like much, but if you’re booking tickets for your entire family, it can mean significant savings. Plus, booking airline tickets online makes comparison shopping easy and convenient. Start your search with Expedia, Travelocity, and Orbitz!

Look for Sales

Airtran and Southwest occasionally offer sales on airline ticket prices. The window for buying these tickets is short, but you can usually select a travel date three or four months in the future. I’ve seen ticket prices for both carriers start as low as $49 one-way.

Be Flexible About Travel Dates

You’ll always save money by booking your airline tickets at least one month in advance, but if you’re flexible and able to drop everything and travel on a whim, consider last-minute deals. Last-minutes travel website such as 11thhourvacations features amazing deals on hotels, airfare, rental cars, and cruises. Also, consider booking a red-eye flight, flying mid-week (Tuesday – Thursday), or choosing a flight with one or more connections. These flights can be a slight inconvenience, but you’ll also save money on air travel.

Travel During the Off-Season

Summer months and the holidays are the worst times to travel if you’re looking for a deal. Everything is more expensive from airfare to hotel accommodations because these are the times when most people are available to travel. If you can re-arrange your travel schedule, pick an off-season date. Off-season really depends on the location. Even if a location doesn’t have an official “off-season,” there are definitely times during the year when prices are at their lowest. For example, if you want to visit Disney World (and most popular tourist destinations), the best time to book airfare and hotel accommodations is between Labor Day and Thanksgiving, the first couple of weeks in December, and from January to April.

Know any other tips or tricks to traveling on the cheap? We’d love to hear them!

[Photo by aka Kath]

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candylee 12/29/2008 09:06 PM 1 point
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Other great resources I used during my Europe backpacking trip - these are aggregate discount airfare sights that look at all airlines:

www.skyscanner.com
www.kayak.com

Also, if you're looking for short-haul flights (ie. in SE Asia or Europe), there are a whole slew of fantastically cheap domestic or intercontinental airlines. Go to www.wikitravel.org and search "discount europe airlines" or "discount south east asia airlines", etc. There is a very comprehensive list. They're usually cheapest either when there's some sort of blow-out sale, or when you book at least 1 month in advance, since the prices rise by number of seats (ie. the first 10 seats are at $20, the next 10 seats are at $50, and so on.)

If you're a light packer, choosing to have a carry-on bag will save tons of money as well - some airlines are now charging about $20 per extra kg which can get pricey.

Flying into nearby suburb airports is often cheaper, too. (ie. Flying into London Gatwick rather than Heathrow) However, be prepared to pay a bit more to commute into the city because the suburb airports might be an extra half hour away.

Red-eye flights are usually cheaper as well, and less likely to be filled up. An important consideration as well is airmiles - if you are currently collecting points with the star alliance group, or have a card with airmiles, etc., try to find flights with partner airlines because you can earn points by flying with them, too. It may not seem like a lot, but the points add up and you can score yourself a short-haul flight after a few purchases, or at least a few nights' stay at a hotel for a weekend getaway.

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Backpackerresources 05/13/2009 08:23 AM 1 point
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Since you are open to suggestion, may I suggest hotelbackpacker.com. As backpacker myself, I know the importance of getting around on a tight budget, so I researched the net and compiled the best links and deals around...

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