If you are accustomed to using online search engines to find the cheapest flights, consider yourself on the right path to finding cheap air tickets for holiday travel. If you are able to bend on times and dates, you can find cheap air fares whether you buy far ahead of your anticipated travel, or if you’re in the market two days before a scheduled departure date.
Save Money With Connecting Flights
Traveling in a family group often requires more planning. If you are headed to a city or town far removed from the beaten path, researching available routes and fare options can start months ahead of time. With less flights needed to serve these areas off of the typical tourist or business person’s map, cheap airplane tickets are harder to come by.
There is less competition for empty seats on flights to rural communities. There are ways to get cheap airline fares to communities that are accessible from a carrier’s hub. By purchasing a flight that connects in a carrier’s hub city, a passenger can find cheap airline flights that beat the price of direct flights to that city. The connecting flight takes off with one less passenger, as the connecting point was an ultimate destination.
Choosing hub cities that are also headquarters, fares can be cheaper due to often-contracted services being conducted by airline employees.
Book Ahead With Airline Miles
If you are using airline miles, start booking way ahead. Carriers frequently will reserve a block of seats on selected flights for redemption with frequent flyer awards. There are several websites that set aside seats in this manner. They are well worth a visit when planning in advance.
If you do find a flight that is perfect for you, and no seats are available, call on a travel agent. Through ongoing business dealings with specific carriers, travel agents have access to information and options not available to the general public. It will be worth the service fee that you will be charged by the travel agent.
Take Advantage Of Fare Wars During Off Season Travel
Throughout the year, fare wars are conducted between competing carriers to generate customers during periods that conventionally have low volume. If you can craft a route that gets you to your destination by using one of these fares, jump on it while it is available.
If you are heading off over the Thanksgiving season, know that the current economy is cutting into the number of cheap airline flights available. Adding an extra day to your vacation can give more leeway in scheduling, reducing the chance of missing a connecting flight, and spending hours in a crowded airport looking for another flight.
If you can avoid traveling on the Tuesday and Wednesday before Thanksgiving, and circumvent returning the weekend following, the options for finding cheap airline tickets increase. Because this is such a busy time of year, crowds will impact your comfort level, no matter when you travel. Look for flights departing the weekend before Thanksgiving and returning on Thanksgiving eve or the following Friday.
