How to Find a Cheap Airfare – start by shopping around.

You can find a cheap airfare:

• On the internet

• Through a travel agent

• In the travel section of your newspaper

• Directly from an airline itself

However since you are looking for the best budget airfare, check all of these sources and then compare prices. Comparing prices between different websites is especially important because they may vary for airline tickets online.

The following websites are always worth visiting for discount air travel: Kayak, Travelocity, Hotwire, Orbitz and Priceline. Kayak searches multiple searches multiple sources but it is by no means complete. Some regional airlines may have been excluded. Spend some time checking these out for bargain airfares as well.

Obtaining a cheap airfare is small compensation if the airline is unreliable. This is especially unnerving if your travel includes a connecting flight. Before you book any airline tickets, check the reliability of your airline.




Tips for Finding Bargain Airfares

• Utilize historical airfare data and seasonal trends.

• Use Priceline and bid for a bargain airfare.

• Use discount airlines

• Fly on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday with a Saturday stop over for the cheapest airfares.

• Avoid flying on Monday, Friday and Sunday as these are more likely to have expensive airfares.

• Do not fly between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. as airfares are more expensive because of the business travelers.

• Round trip airfares are often cheaper than two one-way airfares.

• Non-stop flights are more expensive than connecting flights. Non-stop flights may land one or more times en route but you do not disembark the plane to another flight.

• Consider alternative airports when flying to your destination i.e. rather than using La Guardia or JFK Airports in New York, try Liberty Airport in Newark.

• Make use of hidden cities when flying to your destination. Compare the airfares of flights where your destination is the terminus to those where your destination is an intermediate stop – a stop where you would otherwise board a connecting flight. If the latter was cheaper, don’t board the connecting flight. In order to accomplish this successfully you must have carry-on luggage.

• Use your frequent flier miles

• Try to get bumped from your flight.


When you purchase your ticket on the internet, you will often be able to choose your seating as well. Before you book your tickets, review the plane’s seating pattern (use link seat expert) and choose a seat that best suit you.

As a traveler in the United States you have certain rights. Both My Travel Rights and Air Consumer outline these rights. Remember that your rights will likely vary to some degree in other parts of the world however.


Additional Airline Fees

A number of airline fees may be added later. These may negate what you originally thought was a good airfare deal. However you can minimize some of these with a little advanced planning.

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