Learn These Tricks Before You Book Flight Tickets

Who doesn’t want to cut down on flight tickets when they’re planning a trip? Here are some useful tips on how to get the best deals.

Some cities like London and New York have more than one airport. So, consider flying through alternate airports. Some of these airports are too far away from the city center, that’s why tickets will be cheaper on the flights that land there. I tried this one myself. Well, I landed at a place that looked like a cargo airport, but hey, there was a bus from there to the city center. Pros, the ticket was cheap; cons, I spent an extra hour on the road to get to the center.

What’s the prime day to book a ticket? That’s a heated debate. Apparently, Tuesdays are better for booking a flight. More specifically, ticket fees at around 1:30 p.m. can be the cheapest. So, if you have plans to buy tickets for your dream vacation, go for a hunt on this specific day and time.

There are great websites where you can compare flights and catch the cheapest ones, and I’ll get to them soon. But don’t ignore the official airline websites. Many of them announce private sales for those loyal customers who directly visit their pages.

If your agenda allows you to play with your departure time, do that. Traveling on an early-hour flight generally equals paying less for tickets. To catch a 6 am flight, you have to get up when most of the people in the city are still enjoying their comfy beds. In the early hours, you might have problems with how to get to the airport; not all public transport works 24 hours.

Another problem would be your cat “accidentally” turning off your alarm. This is why these flights generally come cheaper. The same principle applies to late-night flights too. People generally don’t want to fly after midnight, so prices drop accordingly. Look at the bright side; you’d have more time to wander around once you get to your destination.

Flying with a connection is another way. It’s a fairly cheap option, especially on longer-haul flights. This method has a downside. Your plans can be changed with one word: delay. You might have to say goodbye to your connecting flight. Another thing you can do with connecting flights is to search for flights from the same country. Tourist destinations, megacities, and capitals are generally more expensive. Travel to a smaller city and then depart to your destination.

Many of us love cookies but probably not the ones in our browsers. Staying incognito in the flight searching process will help you get cheaper flights. How? Ticket prices depend on demand, so companies use the data on how many people search for which tickets. Let’s say you look for tickets to London and regularly check the airline website to get a good deal.

Your data signals that you have shown an interest in particular dates and a location. That’s how you see that the same flight suddenly gets more expensive. The airline knows that you are likely to buy it. This can happen even if you refresh your browser. Either stay unidentified or clear your cookies to take yourself out of this situation.

Remember I recommended that you visit the airline websites directly? You can also sign up for alerts on price drops. If you think notifications are annoying even though they are useful, you can follow airlines on socials. Many companies use their social media accounts effectively, and they sometimes give customers some last-minute deals.

In some cases, it’s convenient to book tickets over the phone, for example, if you’re in a group. Be aware though that some airlines add extra fees for completing a booking via a call. It can be as much as $50! You could get a day trip on your vacation with that money instead of spending it on...words. If you must complete a booking by call, simply ask the person if they’re gonna charge you some additional fees for calling.

While searching for a ticket, you can pretend you’re in a different location. The best option is to change your location to the country you’ll visit or the airline’s home country. Let’s say you’ll go to Japan. Booking from the airline’s website and changing your location via VPN would be the key to seeing lower prices.

I said that I’d get to the flight comparison sites topic, and here I am. These websites are gems for giving you the best fares from several airlines and options. They recommend alternative routes that you haven’t considered. Yet again, before clicking the confirm button, take a few seconds to check the airline’s website. Booking directly and cutting out the middleman’s fee can be a wiser option. The other potential benefit is reliable customer service. In some airlines, booking via a third party will turn this process into a tangled headphone cable like there’s no tomorrow.

I’ll share a strategy for getting the entire row for yourselves! Imagine you’re traveling with your BFF. One of you should book the window seat, and the other one book the aisle seat. Other passengers will likely go for other seats and avoid the middle seat. This method cannot always work, though.

If the plane is fully occupied, there’ll be some unlucky person in between you. If someone books that middle seat, you can always offer them the aisle or window seat and continue to sit with your BFF. The second option is booking seats in the 13th row. Well, 13 doesn’t have a good reputation as it is superstitiously considered unlucky. Chances are, no one else books a seat from this particular number.

This one is a gift to you for all your efforts to get the best possible deal. Good job, you’re in the airport. You are watching your favorite show while waiting for the gate to open. Boom. An hour of free airport Wi-Fi is over. Here’s a loophole to double it! Roll back the time on your device. When you change the time zone back an hour, the system won’t understand it and will allow you to use it for another hour.

My 14th point is about safety. Did you know that you shouldn’t swap seats before the plane takes off without letting the flight attendant know? This rule applies to changing your seat with a person from a different row, not to the person next to you. This can cause the plane to make an emergency landing.

The reason is related to weight and how it is distributed. Every plane has a takeoff weight limit. This number comprises things like fuel, luggage, and passengers. Flight attendants look out for the potential weight distribution.

A pilot explains it like this; If you move some seats without asking them, you might cause an imbalance on the plane. If you ask the flight attendants if you want to change seats, they’ll let you do it after takeoff. I mean, people get up and move in the plane all the time, so this isn’t like you can’t change your position at all, but it can be dangerous to do so without confirmation.

Here is a fun fact. The black box, as its nickname, is not black. It’s bright orange. Flight Data Recorder is its official name, and it’s orange so that in case of an accident, the rescue team can spot it easily.

Where do you think is the dirtiest place on the aircraft? Not toilets, not seat holders, it’s table trays. There are more. The cozy blankets you asked for from the flight attendants aren’t so clean either. According to a report, some airlines wash their blankets only once a month!

Now that you know the tricks, you can plan your trip at a perfect price and-uh...maybe bring your own blanket to the plane. Sit back and enjoy the flight! Good things come to those who wait.