How to Get Cheap Air Fares

Airplane image by Elzbieta Sekowska from Fotolia.com

If you love hiking, biking, and sailing in the great outdoors, you probably have a large list of world destinations that you'd like to explore. Although your travel wish list is large, your budget is likely limited. To squeeze the most bang-for-your-buck from your travel dollars, search for the cheapest air fares to you destination. With the help of travel sites on the Internet, there is no reason you can't find a flight that fits within your budget.

Instructions

Difficulty: Easy

Things You’ll Need:

Computer with an Internet Connection
Computer with an Internet Connection

Step 1

Search ITA Software for your cheapest flight options at http://matrix.itasoftware.com/cvg/dispatch. If you don't have an account, click the guest link to view the Search Matrix screen. ITA Software is a comprehensive search program used as the engine for many major airlines, such as United Airlines, and airline fare sites, such as kayak.com. It searches 500 airlines around the world, and provides you with the cheapest fares.

Step 2

Enter your dates into Search Matrix window. If you are planning ahead and your dates are flexible, select a "Weekend Search" to find the cheapest weekend in any 30 day period or a "Month-Long Search" to find the lowest prices in any 30 day period.

Step 3

Note the airline names and cheapest fares from the Search Results screen. ITA Software only performs searches for fares. You'll need to go to the airline's web site to book the ticket.

Step 4

If you're concerned that the fare may become cheaper in the future, go to Farecast at www.bing.com/travel. Enter your dates and destination, and Farecast will search historical fare data and give you a probability if your fare will most likely increase or decrease in the future.

Step 5

Once you've found a cheap flight and are ready to buy, visit the airline website with the cheapest fares. Perform a search on this website to ensure that the fare is still available. If the travel times, layovers, and price is acceptable, reserve the flight directly on the airline's website.

Tips & Warnings

f you can leave mid-week, Tuesday and Wednesdays are generally the cheapest days to travel since there is less demand for seats from business travelers.

For peace of mind, try to book your airfare directly with the airline. If there are issues with your flight, such as changes in flight times or a cancellation, the airline will give priority service to customers who are ticketed directly with them over bookings from third parties, such as Expedia, Priceline or Orbitz.

Resources

Article Written By Veronica Summers

Veronica Summers is an Internet pioneer, creating websites for Fortune 500 companies since 1994. In over 15 years of writing for the Web, she has received awards for explaining complex topics in an easy-to-read manner. Summers holds a Bachelor of Science in technical writing from Carnegie Mellon University. She writes computer- and travel-related articles online.

Editor's Pick

5 Top North American Wildflower Hikes

Springtime brings a sense of new beginnings and new life as flowers begin to bloom and fill the air with their sweet and pleasant fragrance. Luckily we can see wildflowers all summer long, since spring hits at different times throughout North America. See flowering cactu...
More National Parks...
Popular Article

National Park Substitutes: Great Spots Without the Crowds

Coping with crowds at national parks can get tiresome, especially during the peak tourist season. If you want to escape from the herd, or just take a breather from the bustle of bigger attractions, the United States has plenty of less-visited but still worthwhile spots t...
More National Parks...
Featured Destination

Prevent Yourself from Getting Lost While Hiking

When you're hiking you're going to want to make sure you stay found. What I mean by that is that you've put an itinerary in the car, you know the area that you're hiking to, you know the route and the trail you plan on being on, you know what the trail markers are going ...
More Camping Basics...