Booking air tickets have become a monthly affair in many homes. We often have to fly from one place to another due to our job. Sometimes we choose flight as our preferred method of travelling. It saves time and is a fast and effective method of travelling.
However, the main problem happens when it comes to airfare. Generally, airfare is higher than the other modes of travel, but people are ready to a pay quite a price to travel from one place to another via flight since it saves a lot of time. In this fast and competitive world, no one really has an extra minute to spare, and hence, people prefer to go for airways bookings rather than other cheaper options.
You will often find people looking into various hacks to land a cheap airfare. There are indeed ways to get a perfectly pocket-friendly airfare deal if you simply keep a tab of certain things. Let’s take a look at some of the Dos and Don’ts to consider when you go for airfare booking:
- Check out a lot of sites: We mostly do our airline bookings ourselves online. Yes, you can get agents to get your work done, but why spend extra money when you can actually do it yourself? Thanks to the wide accessibility provided by the Internet, you really have the option to check out various sites. Look through no less than 5-6 travel sites, which offer you options for flight bookings. Check out different flights of different air companies because airfares will vary. But go through all the options in hand before taking a final decision.
- Plan ahead: If you are going for a trip with your family and need fair priced air tickets, it is best if you plan ahead and book your tickets early. It is true that air prices become quite cheap and affordable if you get your booking done well ahead in time. If you are lucky enough, you often get prices at a 50% slashed rate when it comes to domestic flight fare. However, when you are going for international booking, then the fare remains more or less the same throughout. Well, if you want to travel internationally, you will have to shell out quite a few bucks.
- Reroute your route if need be: When you book your flight tickets, be flexible about the route. It will always be helpful to remember that generally flights from one major metropolitan to another cost less since they are more frequently travelled and that too by a large number of people. Flights to comparatively less travelled metropolitans or cities have a slightly elevated flight fare. This is mainly because of the fact that the most frequent flyers are the ones, who fly for their jobs, and they, generally, do so from one major metropolitan to another. The flight fare is not proportional to the distance covered in most cases. So, if need be, you can change your route a little and book your tickets in such a way so that you travel from one frequently travelled city to another. This will help you in getting a comparatively reduced flight fare.
- Keep a tab on the sites on a daily basis: When you are hoping to get your hands on perfect as well cheap deals on airways bookings, you will have to keep a regular tab on the various sites that offer you deals on airfare bookings. Most of the companies do come up with deals on certain days. This is a little weird but, on some days, the rates are lower than the others. It is done strategically, following the company’s policy, and hence, all you can do is keep on checking the flight fares on a regular basis to see if you can get it at a reduced rate. Don’t, however, wait to too long since the airfare will rise drastically a month or so before the departure date.
- Don’t be impulsive: Do not book the first air ticket that you come across. Wait for a few days, search a few other online sites and then go for the best deal that you think suits you the best. If you are impulsive and buy the first air tickets that seem okay to you, you just might end up regretting it when you see a better offer elsewhere! So be patient and search thoroughly before you make your flight bookings.
- Book a return: Generally, in the case of both domestic as well as international flights, it costs quite a few bucks less if you book a return journey. When you are going on a trip, it is easier to know the return date, and you can book your return ticket along with the ticket for your departure. However, it has to be with the same airlines. When you are going to visit someone for some time or going for some work and don’t have a clear idea about when you will return, then you have no other option but paying a little extra when you book your return ticket.
- Travel on holidays: The airfares, generally, go a notch down on the holiday. Suppose you are travelling on Thanksgiving, then you will find to your surprise that the airfares are a little less than the day prior to it!
- Go for the off-season tickets: Well, the best time to travel is definitely during the offseason. Not only do the hotel prices get hacked by at least half, but the airfares are also considerably cheaper. You generally get great deals and combo offers during this time if you get your air tickets and hotel bookings done together. The flights remain comparatively less crowded and the destination that you are travelling to remains basically tourist free, allowing you to enjoy the place as well as your travel at a really affordable price.
These are some of the hacks that come really in handy when booking airways tickets. Airfare tickets are not cheap, so make sure that you apply one of these methods to get yourself a great deal!
