How to Find the Cheapest Airline Fares
By Chad Buleen
Finding the cheapest air fares is not unlike hitting a good golf shot. It sometimes requires creativity and almost always requires patience. When searching for the cheapest air fares, it is important to understand that the fares are sometimes cheaper for a reason. The flights might not always be at the most convenient times or depart from the most convenient places. However, if it is your goal to find the cheapest airline fares, you can do so.
Instructions
Difficulty: Moderate
Buy the tickets early. If you buy tickets just a few days before your flight is scheduled to leave, you can end up paying more money. This is particularly true if you are traveling during a peak season. The prices of airline fares go up 21, 14, 7 and 3 days before a flight departs. The optimal time to buy is at least three weeks before the flight departs. For international golf trips, you will want to book even earlier--at least three months ahead of time.
Buy the tickets late. Although this seems to contradict what was just said, the truth is that airlines will sometimes offer large discounts on flights that are nearing their departure dates but are not yet sold out. You can find some of the deals for last-minute flights listed on specialized websites. Of course, waiting until the last minute might make it more difficult to book the rest of your golf trip, including tee times and rental car pickup times.
Know when the best time to buy is. Many airlines update the prices of their flights on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Therefore, if you decide to buy a ticket on a Sunday or Monday, there is a possibility that when Tuesday comes, the fares will have dropped.
Be flexible when choosing airports. In some cases, the destination that you are traveling to or from only has one airport, but this is not always the case. For example, if you are traveling to or from Southern California, there are several airports from which you can choose. Take the time to find out what the price for airfare would be if you search for flights to your second or third choices in airports. You might be able to find significant savings by doing this.
Choose the proper days to fly. Just as Tuesday and Wednesday are good days to book flights, they are also good days to fly. Airlines often offer discounted prices on these days because they are not high-travel days. Airlines would rather sell 50 tickets for a discounted price than have a half-empty plane fly to its destination. Cheaper flights can also be found if you fly on Saturdays. If you arrive at your destination in the middle of the week, you can book a couple of mid-week tee times when the courses will be less-crowded than they would be on the weekends.
Tips & Warnings
If you wait until Tuesdays or Wednesdays to buy plane tickets, there is also a possibility that the fares could go up.
About The Author
Chad Buleen is a Society of Professional Journalists-award winning newspaper and magazine writer and editor with more than 10 years' experience. He has been published in "Utah Spirit," "Charleston Gazette," "Idaho Falls Post Register" and numerous other publications. Buleen holds a Bachelor of Arts in communications with an emphasis in print journalism from Brigham Young University-Idaho.
