So you want to find the best available airfare? Check the following list to ensure you are not paying too much. You may have heard of some before (we covered a few) and some will definitely come as a surprise….
Buckle up and make sure next time you check through the list.
1.Nearby airports: Always check nearby airports! Different airport fees, different countries, low cost carriers, different airlines and lots of other reasons why checking nearby airports is the number one money saver! Some flight searches (Kayak, Skyscanner, Tripcombi) automatically check surrounding airports for you. The screenshot below was a flight search from Cologne to New York, where actually the cheapest route in the surrounding was to fly from Dusseldorf.
2. Split-tickets: When connecting unconnected carriers from different flight alliances tremendous savings can be unlocked. By including a nearby airport, this can easily generate savings of over 50% (automatically done by tripcombi). For example a flight from San Francisco to London might be a lot cheaper when booking 2 separate flights with Spirit Airlines and Norwegian Airlines as in this example: Link
3. The “cultural tie” trick: For long distance flights try to find a country with cultural, colonial or economic ties to another country/ continent e.g. flights between Spain — South America are consistently cheaper, than elsewhere in Europe. Read last bullet “special tricks” at the bottom to find more.
Thus, even though you live in e.g. Netherlands and want to go to Argentina, check flights from Madrid and try to get to Madrid with a Low Cost Carrier.
4. Open jaw: Look for open jaw flights (= “multistop flight”) from A to B and from B to C. Booking these flights separately is a great way to save money. This works well when multiple airports exist within a small radius. tripcombi finds these flights for you.
5. Avoid holiday and peak times: Summer is usually less favorable for cheap tickets, as well the Christmas season. This also holds true for national holidays that might result in an extended weekend and therefore, pulling prices up.
6. Separate bookings (even for simple return flights): Some routes are cheaper when using different airlines for the same original route. So if you know the low cost carriers that price each flight leg individually, rather than bundling them into a return flight, you might me able to find a much cheaper flight. In the flight below $50 can be saved by flying with different airlines on each flight leg (in this case Ryanair and Norwegian).
Example: Berlin to Málaga / Normal price: $203 / tripcombi price: $160
7. Best months for transatlantic flights: February/ March/ April/ May/ October/ November
8. The cookie myth: Delete your cookies after all your flight searches. Users reportedly witnessed increasing flight prices when returning at the same flight search for booking. You can also use the incognito/ privacy mode of your browser.
9. The currency trick: When your found a suitable flight, try changing your country of residence directly on the site or through switching your IP address. Also, change the currency and use a currency translator to compare the prices for different currencies. The results might surprise you.
10. Special tricks that have worked in the past:
- Europe to Central Asia, specifically the “Stans”: e.g. Kyrgistan, Tajikistan → Best through Istanbul as many of the residents speak Turkic languages
- USA to South America: Best departing airports from Miami, New York and Los Angeles → Book a separate flight to these South America hubs first
- USA to Brazil: Good deals from Boston due to large Brazilian community in Boston
- Nepal to Europe: Cheap through Dubai, as many Nepalis live there
