How to buy cheap flights?

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Airplane flight

Literally 10-15 years ago, air travel in our country was considered a way of transportation not for `` mere mortals '', ticket prices relative to the average salary were exorbitant, and the number of air carriers left much to be desired. The situation is much better now, but in some directions the price is still high. Many are wondering – is it possible to legally get a big discount on air tickets?

There is such an opportunity. Modern systems for booking and searching for tickets are imperfect, and sometimes – unnecessarily confusing to suggest the most expensive routes to potential passengers.

We will offer you to get acquainted with several ways to get around the cunning schemes of fees and additional fees, as well as to make the most of all kinds of Internet resources.

Use search engines correctly

Services for finding `` cheap '' There are a lot of air tickets now, but not all of them offer really cheap offers. Finding a price lower than in an advertising banner is real – you just need to be able to correctly use the search engine of this or that site.

Non-specific search

Most often, the search query on the site is specific – we want to fly from a specific city to another specific city and even an airport. However, from the point of view of elementary economy, such requests are not the most correct. The result will be very convenient for you, but not too cheap.

It would be more correct to search for `` flight to the country '', without specifying the city and airport of arrival. There will be several times more results for such a search query, but it is among them that the cheapest flight will be found, and not among the large ads on banners.

Low price calendar

Categories with this name are increasingly appear on search sites. Basically it is – color highlighting on the calendar ribbon indicating the best offer. The only negative – you need to `` get '' these offers because they are valid for a small number of days and have not been announced yet.

Subscribe to the newsletter

Many people dislike mailings and refuse them, openly calling such a service `` spam ''. In fact, in sms-mailings or letters to your e-mail, there can be very advantageous offers for specific directions of the flight. Also, the newsletter often informs about current promotions and even last-minute tours, depending on the airline.

Composite or `` forked '' route

It's no secret that direct flights without transfers – the most expensive, because all airlines are used to charging extra money for convenience. Connecting flights are popular with those who fly long distances. Forklift – this is a flight in which the return flight will be carried out from another city. For example – the purpose of your trip was Munich, but you are flying back home to Russia from Berlin. The price of tickets will be cheaper.

Also, fork or multiple routes can have such a nuance as `` stopover ''. This term in the professional jargon of carriers means a long wait for a connecting flight. Long means – longer than 24 hours. And this factor also reduces the cost of the ticket.

Tickets `` on holidays ''

Tradition of `` Christmas discounts '' I got to the airlines, but you need to treat it with a reasonable degree of caution. Usually, great deals on holidays come from domestic airlines, therefore, the specifics of the holidays will play a role here – on May 9, on March 8 and so on. But, as in all cases, such offers are limited in time, so you need to book your tickets on time to get the long-awaited discount.

Low Price Cards

The last item in the menu of flight search sites. which few people use, and completely in vain. Banners with profitable directions are often hung on the map. You don't need to ignore them – often among the 20 ads there will be the cheapest one on the day you opened this card.

Follow the promotions

Each airline, in addition to holidays, organizes various promotions for passengers. They can be associated with important dates (the company's birthday) or a banal sale of an `` unpopular '' directions. They are often announced in mailing lists (which were mentioned just above), commercials, or not announced at all.

Airport in Moscow, Vnukovo

Choose the `` correct '' dates

Many people know that the closer the departure, the more expensive the tickets become, but this rule does not always work so unambiguously. For example, tickets purchased six months in advance may suddenly be more expensive than later offers. There are a lot of reasons for this, and it is impossible to predict the airline's pricing policy, but if you take the risk, that is a chance to save a lot.

The best deals on tickets are offered 3-4 months before departure. These are statistics that can change, but so far the results of most search engines are exactly the same.

Fly away from neighboring cities

An obvious rule, which, however, few people use. Flights from major regional airports are often much cheaper than from the periphery. The main thing is that the transfer from your city is not more expensive than the difference for which you choose this option. If you get by public transport, then almost always the benefit is on your side.

Use low-cost

Low-cost – a new phenomenon for our country, but actively gaining momentum. This term means special companies, often – subsidiaries of well-known carriers that offer low-cost flights. As a rule, such flights have more disadvantages than advantages. For example, even for long flights, the ticket price will not include food, and in order to get it, you will have to pay extra directly in the aircraft cabin. If this does not scare you – feel free to buy in low-cost companies.

Buy a ticket on the VipGeo website

Here you can buy a ticket with excellent benefits to the best resorts and not only.

Airplane cabin

Fly all family

The so-called `` family flights '' have become a separate promotion or program for group tours for many airlines. Everything here is simple – the more tickets are in one hand, the cheaper the total cost of one ticket will be. By the way, this works not only for families, but also for large companies. Under the word `` big '' airlines mean groups of 4-5 people.

Buy a ticket for a `` baby ''

This method cannot be called absolutely honest, but it allows you to absolutely legally get a tangible (up to 20%) discount on the ticket. Most companies make this very discount when booking tickets with children under 2 years old, besides, the child seat is not paid. Arriving on the day of registration, you can simply say that the child will not fly with you for a good reason.

This rule does not always work, everything will depend on the agent. Some, too principled employees at registration will demand to refund the discount in favor of the company. Some – believe a word, depends on the circumstances.

Place of registration

Suddenly stay in the hub

Relevant only for transit airports with connecting routes. Hub – this is the so-called `` home '' airline airport. For example, you are flying with a German airline to Italy via Berlin (or to any other Schengen country), while a direct flight to Berlin will be more expensive. On the day of arrival, you have every right to refuse a flight to Italy – Schengen visa on hand, so you – absolutely legal tourist. All that remains is to smile at the customs officer at the border control service and say in good German that you have decided to stay in Berlin.

Find a price bug

A method that will test your personal luck. The technology is not perfect, and it is possible that the disruption will result in flight prices being shown in error. Typically, a staff of programmers makes sure that this does not happen, but precedents do happen. If you see a low price without a discount announcement - book without hesitation. By law, you will not need to pay extra, and the rest - these are airline problems.

Get a voucher

The last way to save money for those who use the services of a search engine for the very first time. Condition one – book a flight immediately after registering on the website. As a rule – the voucher is valued at 10 euros (dollars) and can be used to pay fees for the purchase of two tickets.

But you can bypass this system, but you will have to search long and hard for cheap flights to around 10 euros. More often – these are intra-European destinations, but ideal for long journeys. For example, you are officially arriving in Prague, and already there you register on one of the sites. Further – already your zeal, but it is quite possible to exchange a voucher for one real inexpensive ticket.