Insider Secrets to Uncovering the Web’s Best Flight Deals
Insider Secrets to Uncovering the Web's Best Flight Deals - Uncover the Best Flight Deals the Airlines Don't Want You to Know
The airlines don’t want you to uncover their best flight deals - it cuts into their profit margins. But with some insider knowledge, you can find cheap flights that they hoped you’d never discover.
The first secret is knowing when to search. The airlines load their cheapest fares into booking systems late Saturday night or early Sunday morning. Few leisure travelers are up searching at 2am on a weekend, so airlines are trying to fill seats without initiating a fare war. Set calendar alerts and be ready to pounce when deals are loaded.
Checking prices in incognito or private browsing mode is another must. Airlines use cookies to track your search history and won’t display their lowest fares if they know you’re a repeat searcher. Open a new browser window so they can’t identify you.
Be flexible with dates, airports, and routes. Airlines want you to pay a premium for your perfect itinerary. But traveling a day earlier, using a nearby airport, or adding a connection can unlock huge savings. Don’t limit your options if you want the best deal.
Leverage flight alerts and fare calendars. Sign up for alerts on Google Flights and use their price graph to visualize trends. Set Hopper alerts to notify you of price drops. And check airline fare calendars to pinpoint cheapest departure dates. Use technology to stay on top of price shifts.
Check international websites and OTAs. Fares displayed on a U.S. airline site may be higher than on its Canadian or European sites. And OTAs sometimes undercut published fares, especially on international routes. Don’t assume your home airline’s website has the lowest price.
Finally, call the airline directly. Booking online is convenient, but speaking with an agent can reveal unpublished discounts. Be friendly and flexible when describing your ideal trip - you may just score an amazing deal over the phone.
What else is in this post?
- Insider Secrets to Uncovering the Web's Best Flight Deals - Uncover the Best Flight Deals the Airlines Don't Want You to Know
- Insider Secrets to Uncovering the Web's Best Flight Deals - How to Spot the Best Flight Deals Across Multiple Booking Platforms
- Insider Secrets to Uncovering the Web's Best Flight Deals - Timing is Everything: Discover the Optimal Booking Window for the Cheapest Flight Deals
Insider Secrets to Uncovering the Web's Best Flight Deals - How to Spot the Best Flight Deals Across Multiple Booking Platforms
Hopping between booking sites is a must if you want to find the lowest fares. Prices can vary drastically across platforms, so limiting yourself to one airline website or OTA will leave money on the table. I always check at least 5-10 sites when flight searching.
Google Flights is my go-to for its intuitive calendar feature. The color-coded graphs visualize price trends at a glance, helping pinpoint the cheapest travel dates. But Google doesn’t always surface the absolute lowest fares, so it’s just the starting point.
Next I’ll search on the airline sites directly. Sign up for frequent flyer accounts with each carrier so you’re accessing member-only deals. Check both the U.S. and international sites if booking an international route. United's Canadian site once had Montreal to Tokyo fares $800 cheaper than united.com!
The online travel agencies (OTAs) are up next. OTAs have huge booking volumes, so they can negotiate discounted fares not available directly through airlines. Expedia and Orbitz are owned by the same parent company, but I check both since pricing algorithms differ. And don’t skip Priceline - its “Name Your Own Price” tool has scored me crazy lowball fares.
For domestic U.S. flights, be sure to comparison shop Southwest. Since Southwest doesn’t share fares with OTAs, you have to book directly on their site. Sign up for Rapid Rewards to access web-only sales. And use their ‘Low Fare Calendar’ to visualize cheapest days to depart.
Momondo and Skyscanner are excellent metasearch engines for uncovering cheap international fares. They aggregate offers from hundreds of sites worldwide. I once found an $800 roundtrip fare to Europe on a Ukrainian OTA via Momondo - not available anywhere else!
Finally, check with a traditional travel agent. They can leverage industry contacts to access unpublished consolidator fares. I sweet talked a local agent into booking me the below-cost 'ZT fares' on Air Canada when no public fares existed.
Insider Secrets to Uncovering the Web's Best Flight Deals - Timing is Everything: Discover the Optimal Booking Window for the Cheapest Flight Deals
Contrary to popular belief, Tuesday afternoons are not the ideal time to book flights. While old travel agent wisdom says airfares are most affordable midweek, the reality is fare availability shifts day-to-day and hour-to-hour. Savvy travelers know flight prices are highly dynamic, with deals that appear and disappear in the blink of an eye. Being strategic with your booking timing is critical to uncovering the lowest fares.
Through extensive personal testing, I’ve learned economy fares are typically cheapest 57 days to 21 days pre-departure. This booking window contrasts with the old rule of thumb to purchase tickets 6 weeks out. Airlines now hold back sales fares until 2-3 weeks before takeoff, hoping last-minute travelers will pay higher walk-up prices. Set calendar reminders to search for your trip during this 21-57 day pre-departure period.
For premium cabins, the ideal booking window is wider at 2-3 months pre-departure. Airlines release unsold business and first class seats to discount closer to departure, but there’s more certainty of availability further out. Procrastinators can still score deals inside 30 days on less trafficked routes. Flexible travelers who can route through less popular hubs like Charlotte or Phoenix unlock greater long-haul premium class bargains.
Booking timing also varies by destination. Flights to Florida follow very different patterns than Hawaii or Europe given seasonal demand swings. Leverage airfare predictors like Hopper which analyze historical data to recommend ideal booking timeframes. And never rely on one magical date to purchase - set recurring calendar alerts to monitor price drops as your dates approach.
Equally important as day-to-day timing is the time of day you search. In my experience, the best deals are loaded between 10pm and 1am local airport time. Scheduling flights is an around-the-clock operation for airlines, and overnight is when they inject new sales fares after west coast hub operations wind down. Don’t limit your searching to business hours - set alerts for late evenings as well.