But how to make a comfortable trip affordable for the average traveler? Before buying an air ticket, you need to know and remember a few rules that will help you save a lot of money.
1. You should buy air tickets in advance. Most often, the price increases closer to the departure date, and the rate of increase sometimes reaches 200-300 percent. Therefore, if the travel date is finally chosen and will not be changed, you should consider buying a ticket two to three months in advance.
However, there are downsides here too. Often, buying a ticket several months before departure is associated with special fares and discounts. That means returning such a ticket if plans change will be costly. Refunds for discounted tickets are made on terms unfavorable to the passenger, and sometimes such tickets are not refundable at all. In this regard, you should clarify all the conditions for purchasing a ticket at special fares in advance to protect yourself from unnecessary expenses.
2. Buy round-trip tickets from the same carrier. In this case, the cost of air travel will be significantly cheaper than if you choose different airlines. Also, do not forget that when buying tickets from different airlines, you will have to coordinate flights with each other by airport and arrival time, which can sometimes be extremely difficult (either a very short time to go through all checkpoints, or vice versa – too long, when you have to spend half a day at the airport waiting for your flight).
3. Use the services of low-cost carriers – budget airlines. And now you can see for yourself how big the difference is for air travel on the same route with different carriers.
4. Choose the 'right' days for travel. The cost of an air ticket is also affected by the day of the week on which the flight will be made. Moreover, the price can differ several times: whether you fly on Monday or Saturday. So let's choose 'profitable days':
– weekdays (Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday) – the most profitable days for air travel, so try to schedule your trip on these days;
– Friday, Saturday – the most profitable days for the return trip;
– Sunday – an unprofitable day for the return trip;
– holidays – it is better not to plan air travel at all, as the cost of air travel 'skyrockets' several times. The exception is 'hot' flights, various promotions and special offers from airlines.
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