By Chad Buleen
Finding cheap airplane fares is not impossible, but you must be willing to work to get them. Finding cheap fares may be more important than ever now. Because airlines are struggling financially, they have started charging for features such as checked baggage, meals and headphones--formerly free services and amenities for customers.
Instructions
Difficulty: Moderate
Things You'll Need:
- Computer
Internet access
- Computer
- Internet access
Step 1
Stay flexible when setting a travel date. One of the best ways to do this is by checking the "Flexible Dates" box when using a websites such as Travelocity, Kayak or Orbitz to search for flights. Flexible dates will enable you to see which dates are least expensive.
Step 2
Buy tickets early--but not too early. Do not wait less than two weeks before the flight. Yet, do not buy tickets several months before it departs. The best time to find cheap plane tickets is about three weeks before departure. For flights headed to international destinations, more reasonable fares can be found about 30 days before departure.
Step 3
Do not make false assumptions. The common thought is flights returning on Sundays are less expensive than flights returning on Saturdays. Although this may have been true in the past, there is now no noticeable difference between flight costs on Sundays and Saturdays.
Step 4
Search for flights that return and depart on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. Most travelers fly on weekends, and airlines know they can charge more on these days because some travelers have no other option. If you can fly during the middle of the week, your chances of finding a cheaper flight will increase.
Step 5
Consider buying round-trip tickets, even if you are only going one way. There is not an easy way to explain why round-trip tickets are often less expensive than one-way tickets, but it doesn't hurt to check on what may be a price-saving option.
Step 6
Do not travel on busy days if you can avoid it. Traveling the day before Thanksgiving or Christmas Eve is such a time. Leaving a day or two earlier might result in a more-reasonable fare. Similarly, if you wait a couple of days after the holiday to return, your chances of finding a less-expensive flight increase.
Resources
About the Author:
Chad Buleen is a Society of Professional Journalists-award-winning newspaper journalist and magazine editor with more than 10 years experience. He is a senior magazine editor at an international children's publication. Buleen holds a Bachelor of Arts in communications with an emphasis in print journalism from Brigham Young University-Idaho.
