Some people scroll on social media to pass the time; I scroll for cheap flights. Okay, and I also scroll on social media. But finding cheap flights is one of my favorite pastimes, and I can easily get lost in an imaginary, spontaneous flight somewhere and find myself just one click away from booking it.
Oh, a flight to Denver is only $58? I mean, at these prices, I can’t afford it not to go.
Before you start packing your suitcase, let me help you navigate the wonderful world of finding cheap flights. If you are a double platinum, million mile airline member, this is not the article for you.
This article is for my budget travelers. Those who are chased by wanderlust, but their wallet keeps them from the next adventure. You, my friend, are my people. I’m behind you.
If you’re willing to put in the time, you’ll be rewarded with a cheap flight to wherever the wind takes you.
How to find cheap flights: flexibility with location and dates
All too often, a friend of mine will contact me with some variation on this question:
I need to go to (city) from (specific dates). Can you find me a cheap flight?
No. No, I can’t. That’s not how it works. If you are tied to the location and date range, you are at the mercy of the airlines. If you want to fly to New York for Thanksgiving, you’ll pay top dollar for it. Free yourself from at least one of these variables, and a whole new world of possibilities will be available to you.
Suppose you want to go on holiday from November 2 to 12, but you don’t care where you go. With a little help from Google flightsyou can find out where the cheapest places to go (in the world!) are for those dates. You might surprise yourself with your search results and end up on a vacation you never imagined!
My home airport is New Orleans. When I entered those dates into Google Flights, I got the following:
- Flights to Vegas, Denver, Chicago and Miami each for less than $200
If I would like to expand with international flights for the same dates:
- Flights to Aruba and Toronto each for less than $500.
On the other hand, suppose your heart is set on the location, but your dates are flexible. You can use Google flights to see flight prices every day and see when those cheap flights appear.
A calendar will appear showing the price of the flight for each day of that month, which is very useful. The flight may be $50 cheaper on Thursday than on Friday; knowing these little tips and tricks will put more money in your pocket.
Understand your airport and use it to book cheap flights
Understanding your airport is really the most important ingredient in finding cheap flights. Not all airports are equal, and even if an airport is an international airport, it may not fly to the places you want to visit. I’m looking at you, MSY.
Let’s use the Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport (MSY) as an example. MSY has 15 airlines and operates more than 50 direct flights per day.
The more direct flights an airline flies to a location, the cheaper the airfare will be.
There are 7 to 8 flights per day from New Orleans to Dallas. American Airlines flies this route 7-8 times a day, and Spirit Airlines has one flight a day.
Let’s look at some others:
- New Orleans to Chicago: 4-5 per day (American Airlines and United Airlines)
- New Orleans to Boston: 2-3 per day (Delta and JetBlue)
- New Orleans to Miami: 3 per day (American Airlines) and 4 per week (Spirit)
- New Orleans to Newark: 3 per day (United) and 6 per week (Spirit)
- New Orleans to Los Angeles: 4-5 per day (Delta, Southwest and Spirit)
Why is this important? More flights per day means that flights are usually cheaper, that you have more flights to choose from and that you don’t have to wait as long for the next flight in case of delay.
Your final destination will probably not be a direct flight from your home airport. I like to spend my winters traveling through Scandinaviaembracing the Arctic weather and chasing the Northern Lights. Unfortunately, New Orleans doesn’t fly directly to anywhere on that side of the world, so I have to do some tinkering.
I do know that Play Airlines has a direct flight to Iceland from Boston every evening around 7pm. So I just have to be in Boston by 5 p.m. Luckily for me, there are 2-3 flights a day from New Orleans to Boston, so catching that international flight is pretty easy.
Many websites track direct flights. FlightsFrom And Direct flights are my favorites to tinker with.
When you merge your own flights, it is important that you form a team just keep going. If you purchase two separate airline tickets, your checked baggage will not arrive at your final destination until you pick it up and check it in again during your layover. Save yourself the headache and just travel with carry-on luggage and a backpack. I promise you don’t need all the extra stuff.
What is the best day to book cheap flights?
You’ve probably heard that Tuesday is the best day to book flights. Historically, that’s true! Airlines published their sales on Tuesday, and that’s where that came from.
Now the truth is: it depends.
It depends on when the airlines put their sales online. Expedia and Google both did research on this topic, and the results were that there really isn’t much difference.
Don’t confuse the best day to book your flight with the best day of the week to fly. Mondays and Fridays are the busiest days of the week for flying, so keep that in mind when booking your flight. The airport(s) will be busier and flights are more likely to be full.
Tuesday and Wednesday are generally less busy days for flying.
All of this goes out the window when you fly around the holidays. Thanksgiving will always be one of the busiest times to fly. The same goes for Christmas, New Year’s, and every other major American holiday.
The most important factors when finding cheap flights:
- Do not fly during high season (public holidays)
- Be flexible regarding your date and/or destination
- Insight into your home airport
- Book directly with the airline
Book directly with the airline
There are many websites that will do the hard work for you. Kiwi, SkyscannerAnd Dollar Flight Club are the most popular. I have used Kiwi and Skyscanner in the past to buy cheap flights, and I was lucky and had no problems. Now that I’m a more seasoned traveler, I don’t know if I would let a third party book my flights again.
When you use a third party, you are gambling. If your flight is delayed or canceled, you cannot discuss this directly with the airline. You must do this through the company you booked your flight with. It’s not just travel agency websites like Kiwi, GetYourGuide or Viatoralthough. This also applies if you use your credit card travel portal to book flights/hotels.
Everything works fine until it stops working. If not, the hoops you have to jump through will quickly outweigh the money you saved in the first place. Since I tend to limit my travel to winter, storms play a bigger role in my travel than I would like. If a flight is delayed due to a storm, I am at the mercy of a third party to determine my itinerary. And they typically don’t offer hotel credits, food stamps, or anything like that you would get from an airline.
If you’re going for a spontaneous weekend away, I’d say go for it. If this is an important trip that you have been saving and planning for for six months, I wouldn’t risk it.
If possible, book your flight directly with the airline. Once you’ve found a flight on sites like Google Flights, go to the airline’s website to book it.
Once you snag that cheap flight, use the money you saved for adventures during your travels! You can use it to choose your favorite seat on the plane (window, duh) or use the extra money to get a nicer hotel.
Good luck and safe travels, my friends.
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