Thanks to all the information available online, getting great deals on plane tickets has never been easier. With summer vacations approaching, here are some tips for minimizing airfare spending, so you can maximize your fun.
• Watch out for hidden ticket costs. Although the fare displayed online includes all fees and taxes, some economy tickets come with restrictions that can cost you money, such as limitations on carry-on items and pricey change fees.
• Choose your luggage strategy carefully. Some airlines include a checked bag. For those that don’t, carry on to save money if you can—but again, watch for ticket restrictions on carry-on luggage.
• Use an aggregator site to compare airfare costs. These are meta search engines that look across many airline sites for the best deal. They can give you the range of what a given flight generally costs and alert you if prices on a route you’re tracking have changed.
• Additionally, search for flights on airlines that don’t show up on aggregators.
• Choose your flight dates wisely. It’s generally cheapest to depart on Tuesday, Wednesday, or Saturday, and most expensive to fly on Friday or Sunday.
• Be flexible. Choose the “flexible dates” option on search sites to see if leaving or returning a day earlier or later is worth it. Some search sites display a full-month calendar that shows what fares on different days are.
• Consider flying into or out of an alternate airport—departing from Burbank instead of Los Angeles or LaGuardia instead of JFK could provide additional savings. Reducing your air travel expense takes a little research, but it can be well worth the effort. Safe travels!