After interviewing 10 travel
agents in the area, we’ve
compiled the
very best tips for finding the
cheapest flights.
1. Book your flight 21 days before
you want to fly: Booking a flight
is like playing a game of chicken.
Airlines want to get the most
money possible for their tickets
and have sophisticated computer
algorithms that adjust their
prices automatically. Book too early,
and you might miss out on some
major deals. Book too late, and
you might be shocked to see prices
skyrocket. The general consensus
is to book your flight 21 days
before your planned departure date to
get the best deals.
2. Tuesday is the best day of the
week: Most airlines update their
reservation systems on a Tuesday
at 7pm GMT. People tend to buy
the bulk of their tickets on the
weekend, so airlines make changes on
one of the slowest days of the
week – Tuesday.
3. Fly on Tuesday or Wednesday:
Tuesday and Wednesday are the
least busy days at airports, and
are also the cheapest days to fly. As
an added bonus, you’ll also have less people to deal
with at the
airport. Friday and Sunday are the
peak flying days of the week, and
are the worse, and most expensive
days to fly.
4. Book Early for International
Flights: The best deals for
international flying are found
11-12 weeks in advance. You can also try
flying into smaller airports,
which sometimes have better deals.
5. Eat Your Cookies: Delete your
Internet browser cookies if you’ve
visited an airline site within the
last 30 days. It’s
been discovered
that some airlines will raise
prices for previous visitors to their
websites.
6. Compare Prices: Use travel
search engines, in addition to airline
websites, to make sure you’re getting the best deal possible.