One of the things we take the most careful consideration is when purchasing airline tickets. And this is because this is usually the most expensive part of our trips.

It is known that an air ticket can be priced today and literally, the next day or even the next hour, it can be priced very differently up or down.

Therefore, we put into practice some strategies which we will summarize as tips in the following article.

 

Where to buy tickets

 

There are three ways to buy tickets: online, directly at the airport and through travel agencies.

The cheapest is online. At the airport, tickets are usually bought at the last minute and tickets are more expensive. In addition, buying at the last minute has the additional disadvantage that you may not find flights for a certain date.

On the other hand, agencies apply a service fee and it is more expensive to purchase tickets through them. That is why we always buy online.

To purchase our tickets, we use the comparators: Expedia, Kayak and Despegar.com. At first it may seem that they give you the same price ranges. But a deeper look can lead you to find special offers.

Search multiple comparators at the same time. Some can offer an airline that others do not offer and you diversify the offer.

Which airline?

 

We do not have preferred airlines. We choose the one that is most economical. And if it is one that we do not know, we do an extensive search for reviews and comments about it.

Possibly an airline offers you a lower price, but at the cost of a greater number of stopovers on the flight to your final destination.

It is important to check the number of scales. Yes there are many. You should budget for meals between transfers if they are not immediate. Stopover flights are cheaper but can be more expensive.

Check if your economy airline is including the suitcase. Because it may not be and you have to pay separately.

 

Check the destination airport

 

There are cities that have more than one international airport. Like Berlin, which has 3.

It is important to know which airport we will arrive at because they may have different prices. Evaluate that the “cheapest” airport is not too far from your accommodation, and if so, how much you will have to pay to reach your hotel or accommodation.

Be careful with taxes before buying

 

Look at taxes and other costs that are charged at checkout.

It may even be that optional services are charged by default, such as luggage insurance, if you want a window or hallway.

Some airlines give you the opportunity to choose your seat on the plane at an extra cost. We usually negotiate at the check in of our flight to stay together. He even negotiates with passengers.

Check if the final price includes departure tax or not. It is better to pay departure tax online and you avoid doing it at the airport on time.

 

Look at the price fluctuations

 

There are applications like Google Flights where they show you a graph with the price fluctuations of flights according to the days of the week. A flight can vary greatly in price from day to day, subject, among other things, to demand.

Also evaluate the schedules, many cheap flights are at terrible times, such that when you arrive at your destination by the hour it can be difficult to find a transfer to your hotel.

If you place your route in Google Flights, place the route tells you if it is a good time to travel, if it is very expensive, cheap or intermediate. It is a price evaluator.

Travel in low season

 

If possible, travel in low season. Check if the travel season is high or low at your destination. Keep in mind that not all countries handle the same peak seasons.

In China the peak season is the Chinese New Year and it is February. In Europe, the low season occurs in March-April and September-November and they are good times to travel: ticket prices go down and the weather is cooler.

Purchase to depart from the same international airport

Maybe you live in a city without an international airport. In this case, if you go abroad, they will calculate the air transfer from your city to the closest city with an international airport.

If you can, move by land to the city with the international airport. But take the precautions to sleep near the airport or with easy access to it, so as not to run the risk of being late for your flight.

 

Buy your ticket “incognito”

 

Always do your searches and purchases with the browser in “incognito mode”.

The cookies on the airlines’ websites save the data of your visits, in such a way that if you visit them several times to buy tickets, they will “recognize” you and could detect that you are looking for cheaper flights.

Since the airlines want to earn more, they may change their prices at the moment that they detect that you have re-entered.

It is a practice that airline ticket sales websites usually do. Airline pages can offer interesting options, but always use them from incognito browsing.

For this reason we prefer “comparators” like those recommended above.

 

Other tips

 

Be very rational and precise about luggage. If the price of your ticket includes a suitcase, it will be more expensive if you carry a heavy one.
Flights are often expensive on weekends. Tuesdays are usually cheap.
Buy at least two months in advance, even three, because as the travel date approaches, the tickets become more expensive.

Conclusions

 

As we have said, for those of us who travel within a limited budget, it is essential to maintain strict control over travel expenses.

And the strongest point in terms of cost of a trip are, along with long stays, air tickets.

By following these recommendations, along with the ones we have given on accommodation, you will be able to keep your travel costs within your budget, without sacrificing comfort, safety and enjoyment.

If you know of another tip that can help keep airline ticket costs low, d