Cheap Flights 101: Where and when to get the cheapest flights
Don’t your wonder how come you find it hard to scrape enough money together to go on one holiday a year while Joe Smith across the street seems to be off on yet another trip every few months? And he’s got 5 kids too! How does he do it?
The emergence of cheap airlines has done a lot to reduce the price of flights over the years, but even so, you can still find yourself handing a fair whack of your holiday budget over to the kings of the air. The bad news is that as fuel resources become scarcer, we may once again see flight costs soar out of reach, which is why it is doubly important that you read this information I’m about to share with you.
You see, airlines are just like any other industry. At certain times of the year they have ‘quiet patches’ when they have to lower their prices just to cover costs to get enough sales to cover costs; at other times of year bosses start nagging about profits and competition and the pressure goes on to really ‘do’ something and get bums on seats.
If you are privy to the inner workings of the airline industry, that gives you a lot of power. It enables you to tell almost exactly when you can get the best deal.
So without further ado, let’s get into the nitty gritty of how and when you can get cheap flights.
September: The Month to Remember
September is special because this is usually when the airlines have their trade fairs. Anxious to inject new life into their businesses and gain new customers, and to generally prove to everyone that they are the ‘best airline ever’, this is the month that you will find some of the cheapest airfares available! From around September to early December airlines will engage is a bit of competitive one-upmanship and you will notice airlines trying to better each other with prices. If one airline announces cheap flights to London for $400, the next day you will find every other airline is offering some sort of similar deal too. If you are going to book a major holiday, wait until this time of year to do so and you will save your bank account a great deal of agony!
Packaged Deals
Some people smell a rat when packaged deals are mentioned: ‘there must be something wrong with the hotel if they are offering accommodation for that price’ and so on. But in reality, packaged deals are one of the cheapest ways you can get a holiday! Let me explain why airlines and hotels join forces to offer too-good-to-be-true packaged deals: It guarantees both of them money – selling a flight or a room for less than the full price is still better than not filling it at all! We have the perception that hotels and airlines are so rich that a few empty seats or rooms don’t matter. Wrong! Airlines and hotels are expensive to run (quite a few go bust on a regular basis!) and they need to take desperate measures every now and again just like any other business.
So next time you see those packaged deals advertised, snap one up! They are one of the cheapest ways of having a holiday.
Go With a Group
Ah – the power of the group! If you can turn your vacation into a group holiday by going with another family, relatives or friends you can get big discounts and may even be able to travel free yourself. 10 is generally the magic number – it’s actually not that difficult to get a group this size together for a holiday and the savings on both flights and accommodation will be worth it. Don’t be afraid to bargain with the airline when you are booking your holiday!
Booking Online
If you are not travelling in a group, the best way to get cheap flights is by booking online. Because there are less staff overheads involved in online bookings, prices tend to be a bit cheaper. So, unless you have a particular issue and need to speak to the airline face-to-face, book online and save yourself some money.
Sign Up to Airline Newsletters
This is the best way of getting alerted to hot new deals before everyone else! Sometimes airlines will also give their newsletter subscribers special discounts unavailable to everyone else too.
Here are some of the best:
Emirates (Click Register for Special Offers)