How to buy cheap flights: 9 proven ways

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

The cost of air tickets depends on the time of booking, the city of arrival, the number of transfers. When these and other factors are taken into account, travel is no longer a luxury.

1. Follow the promotions

Sign up for airline notifications

Do not forget to monitor carriers' sites. Usually, sales are held in February - March and October - November. During such periods, the servers may be down. But a little patience and a cheap ticket in your pocket. And some airlines also offer to send messages if the price drops. Agree to have time to buy the required ticket.

Subscribe to Telegram channels

Use Telegram channels to find great deals. Information about discounts comes in the form of a personal notification. It is better to subscribe to several at once and monitor them by comparing prices. Here are three useful channels for cheap flights: Samokatus, Travelradar and PassOnBoard.

Subscribe to the channel "Samokatus" →

Subscribe to Travelradar channel →

Subscribe to PassOnBoard channel →

Use aggregators

And of course, use cheap flight aggregators such as,,,. They are not tied to a specific airline, but compare prices from different sites and give you the best option. And these search engines have convenient price charts and calendars. With their help, you can shift the date of your trip and save a significant amount.

Most of these search engines have mobile applications.

Aviasales →

Skyscanner →

Application not found

OneTwoTrip →

Momondo →

Flights and Hotels momondo KAYAK.com

2. Clear cookies and cache

If you have already searched for cheap flights, the aggregator or the website of the airline remembered both the country of departure and the approximate cost of the road. As a result, you may display the old price, even if the tickets are cheaper. In addition, the site will rush you and assure you that there are almost no seats left on the plane. Even if it is not at all true.

Therefore, clear your cache and cookies every time you go to check prices.

3. Fly with transfers

Choose connecting flights. They usually cost much less than direct flights. For example, to London with one stop is three times cheaper than a direct flight.

Direct flight price - 18 827 rubles

The price of a connecting flight is 5 656 rubles

And do not be afraid of long transfers that take a day or more. This is a great opportunity to see another city. Usually the road from the airport to the center is inexpensive and takes no more than an hour. It is important to research local transportation prices in advance. For example, in Europe, travel by train is much more expensive than by bus or minibus.

A night in the city of docking can be spent in an inexpensive hostel or, if health permits, right at the airport. Some airlines provide tourists with a hotel absolutely free.

Lilia Sharafutdinova travel blogger

Don't turn your nose up on connecting flights. With an average price tag for the direction Moscow - London and back at 12-15 thousand, I made the journey much cheaper. I bought tickets Riga - London and back for 2,000 rubles. It remains only to get from Moscow to Riga. But even taking into account these investments (train, taxi), it turned out much cheaper than a direct flight.

4. Remember low-cost airlines

The most obvious way to save money on flights is with low-cost airlines. Tickets for flights of such airlines are several times cheaper than usual. There are two problems that frighten novice travelers: the lack of food on board and the ban on the carriage of baggage.

If you cannot go without a snack on the plane, bring a sandwich or container of prepared food with you. The flight attendants will warm up your food on board without question. Just remember the limitation: no liquids. And by the way, eating at an altitude of 10,000 meters is not so useful.

The second problem is the lack of luggage. Most airlines allow you to carry quite impressive hand luggage with you. Average weight - 8 kg. But carefully read the requirements of carriers for the size, and sometimes the shape of the bag. Most often, problems arise with backpacks. But an ordinary travel bag is quite suitable for traveling for several days or even a week.

In addition, luggage can be carried at an additional cost. The price tag is usually sane. So a low-cost flight will be cheaper, even if you include paid baggage.

I often use the Hungarian low-cost airline Wizz Air. He has very good suggestions. From Moscow, he flies only to two cities. And from there it is already easy to travel around Europe with other low-cost airlines.

Lilia Sharafutdinova travel blogger

By the way, low-cost airline tickets are usually non-refundable. But if you are confident in the trip and all your documents are in order, there is nothing to worry about. Moreover, in case of force majeure, the ticket can still be returned.

5. Buy tickets in advance

It is more profitable to buy tickets in advance. Airlines usually open sales 330 days in advance. But, as practice shows, the most optimal booking time is 50-60 days before departure.

The fact is that at the start of sales, the program is guided by the prices of the previous year, and then the demand forms the cost and, as a rule, it decreases. There are not many bookings a couple of months before departure. And the more free seats on the plane, the lower the price.

When buying a ticket, it is worth considering the time of day as well. Most buy tickets in the middle of the day. So book your flight late at night or early in the morning. There are not so many visitors on the aggregators, the demand is falling, prices begin to creep down.

6. Keep your documents close at hand

Have your passport details with you at all times. It is not necessary to carry a passport with you. It is enough to take a photo of the necessary pages or write out the data in notes. Special offers usually come at the most inopportune moment. And cheap tickets probably won't last until the evening. So when planning your trip, be prepared to book your tickets whenever you want. And, of course, don't forget about the money on your bank card.

7. Avoid high seasons

The ticket price directly depends on the flow of tourists. During holidays, school holidays and high season, the cost of flights usually increases. Therefore, be sure to check prices for other dates. Sometimes a flight with a difference of a couple of weeks is several times cheaper.

For example, a ticket to Asian countries with a departure at the end of December is almost twice as expensive as at the beginning of the month.

And don't hesitate to travel in the off-season. First, it is much cheaper. Secondly, there are no crowds of tourists and no queues for museums. In Europe, for example, everyone goes on New Year's holidays. It is much more profitable to fly there at the beginning of autumn.

8. Buy round-trip tickets

Buy tickets in both directions at once, do not postpone it. Firstly, when buying round-trip tickets, you save about 20%. Secondly, remember: the closer the departure, the more expensive the ticket. For example, tickets Moscow - Paris and back cost 14,000 rubles, and if you take them separately, you will have to overpay more than 2,000 rubles.

Ticket price Moscow - Paris - 7 685 rubles

Ticket price Paris - Moscow - 9,030 rubles

Round-trip ticket price - 14 423 rubles

9. Don't be limited to the capital

If you want to go to France, for example, you don't have to fly directly to Paris. Check tickets to neighboring cities: sometimes you can get there much cheaper than the capital.

Further you can move on trains, electric trains, buses or planes. Just remember: it is better to book tickets for intercity trains and buses abroad, at least a couple of weeks in advance. It will be cheaper this way. In Europe, this can be done online, through the carriers' websites.