How to Get the Lowest Air Fares

Joshua Davis Photography: Flickr.com

Modern air travel involves lengthy amounts of time on the ground as you endure extended security lines, interminable check-in procedures and flight delays. However, once you're in the air, this mode of transportation gets you to your destination more quickly than any other and in safety. High ticket prices may seem a barrier to flying but many methods exist for getting the lowest air fares.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Step 1

Travel off-peak. For the lowest prices, travel on the days and months that people avoid to get to your destination. For example, flying to Europe in the winter offers the lowest prices, while mid-week travel is generally cheaper than weekend travel.

Step 2

Get an airfare baseline. The only way to know what constitutes a cheap airfare is by finding out the range of fares from a travel website like Travelocity.com. Entering a date and destination gives you a list of flights and costs. Select "My Dates are Flexible" for the best prices.

Step 3

Sign up for a fare alert service such as Farecompare.com. You enter as many city pairs as you want and can specify alerts based on price drops of a certain amount or ones that have hit their lowest point. You then receive e-mail when the prices between your pairs meet your criteria.

Step 4

Check the website of the airline that boasted the lowest airfare from the travel site. Many companies only post their lowest price on their own pages. You also can sign up for their frequent flyer program, which will alert you to members-only specials via e-mail and award you with free trips, upgrades and merchandise in the future.

Step 5

Go "ethnic." Travel agents specializing in a particular country often buy up tickets wholesale to offer the best prices to fellow natives. However, they also sell these tickets to anyone who books with them. For example, if you plan on visiting Cancun, go to a Mexican travel agent. If you want to travel to Rome, look for an Italian travel agent.

Step 6

Factor in costs for transporting your sports gear. Charges for outdoor gear such as skis, bicycles and surfboards can range from zero to hundreds of dollars. It won't do you much good, if you save money on airfare, only to spend it all on extra baggage charges. You typically can find this information on the airline's website.

For example, as of September, 2009, bringing a bicycle to Europe cost $200 each way on United. On Virgin Atlantic, bicycles are free as long as they do not exceed 70 pounds and are also within the total baggage allowance of the seat class that you bought.

Resources

Article Written By Aurelio Locsin

Aurelio Locsin has been writing professionally since 1982. He published his first book in 1996 and had his first play produced in 2005. He is now a playwright, director and actor in Southern California. Locsin holds a Bachelor of Arts in scientific and technical communications from the University of Washington.

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