The first major step in planning your international travel or vacation is to find affordable plane tickets. There are many Internet companies that claim that they offer the cheapest flights. But are you really getting the best deal? Here is a quick guide for finding cheap plane tickets.
When choosing international flights, these cost-saving tips will be helpful in finding the most affordable plane tickets.
1. Use the Internet
Due to convenience and easy access, using the Internet is the best way to find the cheapest flights when planning international travels or vacations abroad. This seems rather odd when it seemed to make more sense to call an airline directly and book a flight. A few airlines would offer discounted flights but the majority of them would simply give you a quote that is a few hundred dollars higher than the ones published on the Internet. None of them would also offer you alternatives. For example, on a Sunday, the cheapest flight from Chicago to Frankfurt would be $300, but since the customer on the phone is asking for a Monday flight, the cheapest that the airline could give on that day is $800.
For customers who are flexible with vacation dates, the cheaper flights on a Sunday would have been valuable information. Therefore, international passengers turn to various Internet companies when searching for affordable plane tickets. The three major companies are Orbitz, Expedia, and Travelocity. But there are also other companies that offer affordable tickets, such as Kayak, Hotwire, and Priceline. There are instances when Priceline and Hotwire could offer the cheapest of all international flights, but the flights must be booked immediately, within a few minutes. Otherwise, the prices would go up. This means that booking through these Internet companies is advantageous only if the passenger is 100% certain, to the point of being obstinate, about the travel dates.
If the passenger wants to take time planning on the vacation dates, then the other Internet companies must be considered. Based on personal experience, when booking flights to Europe and Asia, Orbitz often lists the cheapest plane tickets. But it is prudent to also check Expedia, Travelocity and Kayak, just to make sure that you do have the cheapest of all flights.
2. Choose other airports
Flying out of airports with smaller international capacities, such as Port Columbus Airport (CMH), is usually more expensive than flying out of larger and busier international airports, such as LaGuardia Airport (LGA) or Los Angeles Airport (LAX). If it is possible to drive to a bigger airport, then this would cut the cost of the plane tickets. But busy international airports don't offer the same prices.
When we were booking a flight to Manila, Philippines, we discovered something odd. A flight from Detroit Metro Airport (DTW) costs about $1300 while a flight from Chicago O'Hare International Airport (ORD) is only about $900. The distance between these two international airports is roughly five hours of driving. If there were three or more adults traveling internationally, the approximately $400 difference for each passenger will be significant. The extra hours of driving might be worth taking.
Thus, when trying to figure out which international airport to fly out of the US, passengers should consider all nearby and surrounding international airport. One of them, which could be a couple of hours farther, might be offering significantly lower prices. But there is one caveat: the flight from such airports might take longer or have more stopovers.
3. Check airline promos
Airline companies, especially during this recession, are looking for ways to attract more passengers. One way is to offer promos and discounts. Some promotions are strictly on fare prices while others include vacation packages. These packages include roundtrip tickets and hotel accommodations. Some would include car rental and/or transfers between hotel and airport.
Most airline promos are offered at very cheap prices but these are given only within a certain period of time and for a few vacation destinations. For example, an airline promo would be about a vacation getaway to the Bahamas. If you wanted to explore the nearby Caribbean Islands, the promo will no longer apply. Thus, in planning an international vacation with a limited budget, it might be a good idea to consider several vacation destinations and be flexible about where to go.
4. Book early or late
And finally, the proven technique in getting the cheapest plane tickets is to either book early or book late. Booking your flight early (about three months ahead) guarantees you the lowest prices that an airline offers. Many airlines offer a certain number of seats at the lowest costs just to attract passengers. These low-cost seats are bought first. At the same time, when the scheduled flight is just a week or several days ahead, the airline would again offer the lowest prices just to fill up the plane. Booking early is best for passengers who are meticulous in planning their international vacations. Booking late is best for passengers who can afford to be flexible when it comes to their schedule.