Getting the Cheapest Airfare in 4 to 11 Easy Steps
The Four Critical Steps
1)
Search Engines. Visit all (not just one) of the search engine and meta-search engine sites—Expedia, Travelocity, etc. Plug in your departure and arrival cities and travel dates and see what price each comes up with. Regardless of which engine came up with them, write down the best three, including which search engine it was on and the airlines used. (Don't bother duplicating airlines; if Expedia will sell you a flight on American for $320 and Orbitz wants $370 for the same flight, chuck Orbitz.) The cheapest one should be considered the most you will end up paying. Now let's lower that ceiling.
2)
Major Airlines. Hit all of the major airline sites to see if special sales and such—things not usually included on the search engines—might beat that price. Start with the three airlines that turned up the cheapest fares from the search engines, but when I say hit all major airlines, I mean (a) check all the US ones, (b) check the national airline(s) of the country to which you're flying, plus (c) check at least British Airways, Lufthansa, Iceland Air, and Air France (all of which frequently have good rates to cities in Europe besides those in their countries of origin). Do both a standard airfare search on your flight dates/cities, but also poke around the site for any link that touts the terms "sale," "promotion," "special fare," "e-saver," or anything else that looks like a special bargain. Jot down the best you get. That's your new highest price.
3)
Consolidators. Now that you know the best you can do retail, go wholesale. Check out consolidator sites—you may have to call to get a specific price—and see if they can beat it. From major gateways, they usually can. Write that one down, too, and put a little box around it. It's probably the cheapest straight airfare you're going to find. There is, however, one last place to rummage for deals you might have missed.
4)
Newsletters. Sometimes, a "Sale!" page on an airline site was just too well hidden, or you didn't know that for some funky reason there's a fantastic fare to Rome on KLM Dutch Airways. Comb through the main travel newsletter sites—Arthur Frommer's Budget Travel (disclaimer: where I work), Travelzoo, Smarter Living, Frommers.com (disclaimer: our main competition)—for listings or archived articles about ongoing sales and deals that they've already announced to their readers. (Heck, you should sign up for these free newsletters anyway as soon as you decide you'd eventually like to take a trip somewhere.)
We'll get to that "4 to 11" bit in just a minute. First, the two Big Questions.
How far in advance should I buy my ticket to get the best price?Never more than about 2 1/2 months before your departure date. Why? Because no one is discounting those seats yet, so you'll pay top dollar—which is misleading called the "lowest published fare."
As a general rule, the cheapest tickets will sell out more quickly during peak travel season (summer, Christmas), and fire-sale fares will pop up closer to travel dates in low season (winter). In other words, wait a bit longer in winter than in summer.
My advice? Buy about six to eight weeks out from your travel date. That's when
consolidators lock in their fares, and most airlines will already be running sales by then if they plan to.
That said, during these crazy days for the tourism industry, it’s anybody's guess—travel is being affected daily by numerous factors: the US economy is in the toilet, travel numbers are down in droves, major airlines are in bankruptcy and/or mergers, there's a war on terrorism and in Iraq, fears linger over SARS (it only hit Asia and Toronto, yet European travel plummeted), there's that odd resentment toward the French...the list goes on.
How much should a flight to Europe cost?That depends on (a) where you're flying from and flying to, (b) when you fly, and (c) luck. In winter, you can fly from New York to London for as little as $170 roundtrip. In summer, $800 would be considered a reasonable price to get from Seattle to Madrid.
Where from: Flights to Europe are cheapest from the East Coast, especially New York/Newark (with Boston, Philly, and Washington/Baltimore right behind). Next lowest prices tend to come from other mega-hub cities and gateways (Atlanta, Chicago, LA). The way around this if you live elsewhere:
the Big Apple Switcheroo.
Where to: London is always the cheapest European gateway to fly into, because it's close (less fuel), among Europe's most trafficked (high volume), and, unlike the rest of Europe, actually has two hometown rivals (British Airways and Virgin Atlantic) vying for your custom—never discount good old-fashioned Econ 101 competition as a great means to lower prices.
When: Winter is cheaper than summer; spring and fall are the mid-priced "shoulder seasons." (For more, read about travel seasons.)
Luck: You can make your own luck. Here's how.
How do I find the cheapest airfare?Ah, the heart of the matter.
Remember that old travel truism: like as not, no two people flying in the cheap seats actually paid the same price for their tickets, even though they're going to the same place and getting the same service. The guy in 22B might have ponied up $800, while the person in 22C with whom he amiably chats during takeoff paid just $190 (note to person in 22C: don't break it to him; you'll ruin his vacation).
This site will help you be that bloke in 22C. (As for the Big Spenders up in 2A and 11B, well, bully for you. But this site will never discuss life up on the other side of that little curtain of social status that separates us normal travelers from the expense-accounted folks in Business Class or, God forbid, First Class.)
The next several pages, while working fine on their own as resources, also take you through the four most important steps in tracking down the lowest fare possible, which are summed up (and cross-linked) in that sidebar up on the right:
Search engines,
Major airlines,
Consolidators, and
Newsletters.
After those four steps, you will have found the cheapest regular airfare you can get. Now, whether a cheaper one will pop up next week is anybody's guess. But you know what? Life's too short to spend all of your time wondering and waiting for just the right moment to strike when meanwhile you could be having a lifetime's worth of moments on a European vacation—and life's too precious to fret endlessly about saving an additional $50.
The Other Seven StepsSome of you won't be satisfied with the price you get after those four steps. That's why this section opened with the phrase "4 to 11" steps.
If any of those methods or options floats your boat (er, flies your plane), click to those sections and keep trying to whittle down the overall price of your vacation. If you're happy with the regular airfare, then bon voyage! Book your tickets and then delve into other sections of this site to help plan the rest of your trip, from railpasses to picking hotels to saving money to speaking the lingo.
For more information see Reid Bramblett's article at:
Reids Guides
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