We could say that Easter is just around the corner and there are many people who are already starting to organize their next trip. Given the drastic rise in the price of gasoline, the price of plane tickets seems to remain the same, and in some cases, it will be cheaper to travel to a European or Spanish city by plane than to take the car to reach our next holiday destination. .
The concept of booking a flight on a specific day of the week to save money has become one of the most widespread tips among travel lovers. The truth is that with the pandemic, the price of flights has been directly related to the sanitary measures adopted by each country. It seems that little by little countries that had closed their borders to tourism for almost two years are beginning to receive visitors again.
There is no magic trick that guarantees that entering an airline’s website or a flight search engine like Google Flights to book a flight at a specific time or day guarantees to have the lowest offer. The internet is full of strategies that supposedly work, but to what extent are they true? There is no perfect formula that works in all cases, but there are some tips that will make it easier for the next plane flights you buy to be cheaper.
Tips for booking cheap flights
Nowadays there is a lot of competition and options to buy cheap plane flights. Low cost airlines are the queens in this sense, and although sometimes flights are cheaper on other websites, in my own experience, there are times when it is better to book them directly on the airline’s website. Why? Because if the flight is canceled for some reason, dealing directly with the airline to solve a problem is easier than going through an intermediary like Kiwi or eDreams. Here are some of the tricks that have worked for me personally to get cheap flights.
Use incognito mode
In the world of flights, prices change depending on the time of year or the demand for a particular route. What today is a bargain of 30 euros round trip to Rome can become 150 euros tomorrow. One way to prevent them from detecting your interest in buying a flight is to do it through the incognito mode of your browser, which will prevent you from leaving a trace with cookies.
Flexibility is key
We are aware that this advice is not always easily applicable, but the more flexibility you have regarding the date of the trip and the destination, the more likely you are to find flights at a good price. For example, the Skyscanner search engine allows you to select the departure airport and choose “any destination”. With this function you will be able to check which places are the cheapest from your departure city.
best day of the week
In my experience, the idea that a flight is cheaper on certain days of the week at a specific time does not always work. It is possible to book flights on a Friday night at a good price that does not exceed 50 euros round trip to a European city from Spain. According to a Wall Street Journal study of 30 airlines, approximately 3:00 p.m. would be a good time, in addition to avoiding booking flights on the weekend.
book in advance
What does not usually fail is to book the flights with some advance. On short-haul flights, it is advisable to buy the flight between 6 and 8 weeks in advance. However, on long-distance trips, it is advisable to do it 5 to 7 months before. In turn, it is also possible to find bargains for short-haul flights well in advance, so if you are sure that you want to travel to X destination, test the terrain ahead of time or activate the alert option that some websites have available.
Cheap months to travel
Obviously, it is not the same to travel in July or August, when the demand is very high and the vast majority of the population is on vacation. The cheapest months to travel are usually January, February and November. While July, August or December are usually the most expensive. September is also a good month to travel in which you will notice substantially that the prices of flights have dropped quite a bit compared to the previous summer months
travel light
Learning to travel with what is fair and necessary has its advantages. Traveling only with hand luggage without having to check in a suitcase greatly reduces the price you can pay for a flight. If you have chosen to fly with a low cost airline, pay attention to their baggage restrictions because if you exceed the measurements and the stipulated weight, it will be expensive. If you are one of those who prefers to travel with checked luggage, the cost of the flight is quite likely to increase.