How to Find Low Prices on Air Fare

extranoise: flickr.com

The Internet has provided us with information and choices. We can compare prices on nearly anything from a pair of shoes to a mansion in Los Angeles. Airlines know that budget-savvy travelers will look for the best price on tickets, and if they can't provide it they will lose your business. That's why there are plenty of deals to be had when looking for discount travel options. You only need to do a little research.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Search Engines

Things You’ll Need:

Computer Telephone
Computer
Telephone

Step 1

Use Internet search engines to find the best deals. Popular websites such as Travelocity.com, Orbitz.com and Expedia.com have become one of the most popular way of booking flights and hotels. The websites instantly compare prices on all the leading airlines so that you can find the best deal. Enter in specific information like dates, time of flight and destination. One bonus is that you can find special deals when you book flights and hotels together.

Step 2

Take your airfare search to the next step with aggregator sites. When you execute a search, it will pull prices from almost all of the leading search engine sites as well as the actual airline websites. This is helpful because some airlines, especially budget ones, often don't display prices on the search engine websites. Aggregator sites, like Quixo, SideStep and Mobissimo do all the comparison work for you.

Step 3

Compare the deal you found on search engines and aggregator sites with the prices on the airline's website. Sometimes, airline websites will guarantee the cheapest ticket prices. If you find a better deal on the same flight on a different site, try calling the airline to see if they will match or beat the price.

Step 4

Look at prices on the budget airline websites. Airlines such as Southwest cut costs by only flying to certain destinations and offering no-frills flights. Check the websites of these airlines directly because they often don't list their prices to search engines. Also, they usually have weekly deals on specific destinations.

Step 5

Hop on a last-minute flight for some steep discounts. If a flight is not totally booked and there are only a few days left until takeoff, the airline will usually offer these seats at a discounted price. Check search engines and airline websites a few days before your desired departure date and you might find some great deals.

Tips & Warnings

If you are flexible about travel dates or even the airports you use, look for prices for different times of the year, different days of the week and alternate airports. You might be surprised by the price differences.

Resources

Compare flight and hotel deals

Article Written By Emily Brown King

Emily King holds a dual Bachelor's degree in English writing and business, along with a minor in studio arts from the University of Pittsburgh. She has written for a printed monthly magazine, has experience in the financial and health care industries and has published numerous online articles.

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