As you prepare for the year ahead, you might be thinking about your travel plans. When booking a trip, the flights are often one of the biggest expenses. Fortunately, there are ways that you can make significant savings, meaning you have more wealth to enjoy on your holiday.
Read on to learn four clever booking tips to help you get the best deals on flights.
1. Be flexible about your flight times
Travelling can be stressful so when you’re booking flights, you might look for the most convenient times to fly. If you can get an afternoon flight, you’ll have plenty of time to travel to the airport and navigate security, without getting up in the middle of the night. Weekends may be easier if you’re still working too, as you won’t have to take as much time off work.
However, if you can be more flexible about when you fly, you could find a cheaper deal.
For example, Compare Flights reports that in Autumn and Winter 2024, Tuesdays and Wednesdays were the cheapest days to fly.
It’s also important to consider school holidays. If you’re travelling with children, you’ll typically have to fly during the holidays when prices are higher. But if you’re travelling without children, you could make savings by avoiding the school holidays.
The prices vary a lot and there is no fixed rule about the cheapest days or times to fly. Still, if you’re flexible and check different options, you might be able to find a better deal.
2. Book at the right time of the year
Considering how far in advance you book your flights could help you find more favourable prices too. Generally, being organised and booking far in advance might be beneficial because you’ve got more time to compare prices. However, the precise time to book depends on the location.
For example, a study from Which? checked the prices on flights throughout 2023 and 2024. The results showed that if you wanted to go to Paris in August, you’d get the best deal if you booked 26 weeks in advance.
In comparison, if you planned to travel to the Algarve in August, you’d be better off booking just five weeks before your departure date.
However, the advice changes if you’re travelling at different times of the year. If you wanted to go to Paris at Christmas time, for example, you’d only need to book 15 weeks in advance for the best price.
Forward planning is the key to taking advantage of these price fluctuations. If you can monitor the prices throughout the year, you may be able to buy your flights when the cost falls.
3. Use a flight tracker
It can be tough to find the best deals on flights when prices fluctuate so often, and the optimum time to book depends on the location and date of travel. Flight trackers such as Skyscanner can be incredibly useful here.
You can choose your location and chosen dates and then compare various deals from different airlines. More importantly, you can set alerts, so you’re notified when the prices change. If you set this up in enough time, you can monitor the prices and take advantage of the cheapest prices when they come up.
4. Consider an alternative location
While you can use the previous tips to find more affordable flights, some popular destinations will always be relatively expensive. If you’re trying to manage the cost of your holiday, you might consider some alternative locations.
There are many destinations that offer the same experience to popular cities, for a lower price. Also, they may be quieter during the busy season, so you can enjoy a more relaxing experience.
For example, instead of Venice, you might consider Annecy in France, which is known as the Venice of the Alps. Many travellers are choosing Valencia as a more affordable and authentic alternative to Barcelona too.
Visiting these destinations could give you a different travel experience and help you find cheaper flights at the same time.
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Please note
This article is for general information only and does not constitute advice. The information is aimed at retail clients only.
All information is correct at the time of writing and is subject to change in the future.