CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION 💥
The plane ticket is often one of the biggest costs of a trip 💰. Of course, it depends on your destination: the budget won’t be the same for a 2-hour flight as for a 12-hour one. We all want to pay less for a plane ticket. Since the end of COVID, plane ticket prices have risen sharply 📈 because of inflation and airlines’ high operating costs (fuel, raw materials, taxes).
For example, when we went to Mexico, we paid €380 round trip for our ticket to Cancun ⛱️. It will be extremely difficult to find those prices on today’s market; you’ll be looking at more like €800/€1,000 for the same route.
If you’re reading my article, it’s to get a few tips to pay less for your plane ticket 💸. These are tips I use when searching for cheap plane tickets. They often let you save tens or even hundreds of euros on your trips 😉.
BOOK AHEAD 👊
It’s one of the first things to do to have the best chance of getting the best prices! Booking your trip ahead ✈️ means you’re sure to get the best prices. It works just as well for your plane ticket as for your choice of accommodations/hotels.
It also helps you deal with inflation, because the plane ticket you bought 6 or 8 months ago will often cost much more a year later (inflation has been very high in recent years). For me, 5 to 6 months ahead is a good time to book your cheap plane tickets. It lets you follow the trend over a few weeks and see prices go up or down 🤟 If you know your dates, now’s the time to get ahead and book!
INFO: According to some studies, it’s wise to take flights before 3 p.m. to reduce the risk of cancellation. According to statistics (Expedia). Flights after 3 p.m. have 60% more cancellations than morning flights. These are just figures, but it’s always good to know 💡.
PRIVATE BROWSING & VPN 🕵🏼
It’s an essential thing to know how to use when you want to buy products or services online. It works for any website, and these are good habits to get into so companies don’t pressure you and play with prices 💲!
PRIVATE BROWSING
First of all, you need to understand what private browsing means:
It’s a common feature in most web browsers that lets you browse the internet without browsing data such as history or cookies being saved on your device once the session ends.
It’s one of the things you’ve surely been told many times to pay less for a plane ticket. And those people are right: it’s essential to use private browsing so you aren’t tracked and see the right prices on the different sites 📱.
Yet sometimes, not being in private browsing can be useful to get better prices 🙃. Let me explain: if you’re in no hurry to buy (several weeks of searching without buying), some airlines may tempt you with short promotions 😎. That’s when you should buy, if the offer is of course worth it! It’s up to you to weigh the pros and cons of the offer ⚖️.
VPN
As with private browsing, you first need to understand what a VPN is, because while it may seem simple to many, that’s not necessarily the case for everyone:
A VPN is a service that secures your internet connection and protects your privacy online. VPN stands for “Virtual Private Network”. VPNs create an encrypted tunnel for your data, keeping your online information confidential. They also protect your online identity by hiding your IP address, and let you browse safely on public Wi-Fi hotspots.
This system gives you an IP address different from your home router’s, so you can browse the web completely anonymously. It’s always useful to use a VPN together with private browsing. There are many VPNs; personally, I use the best-known one: NordVPN 🔎. It meets my needs well, its reputation is well established and it gives you lots of IP addresses in France or abroad!
The advantage of using private browsing + VPN is that you’re invisible to websites and won’t see your plane ticket price go up a few hours, days or weeks after your search, forcing you to buy quickly 😏!
NordVPN also lets you see plane tickets from another country, where at certain times you can get the same tickets at a much better price than on a French IP 😱. It’s another advantage of going through NordVPN to be 100% anonymous and maybe save money on your plane ticket.
INFO: There are many VPNs; it’s up to you to find the one that suits you best and could be useful for your everyday use 💻.
BE FLEXIBLE WITH YOUR DATES 📅
It’s the basis for getting good prices on your plane tickets, and many flight comparison sites now let you choose a “Flexible” filter! Flexibility on a trip often lets you pick the cheapest round trip. Being flexible with your dates often saves you a few hundred euros compared with fixed dates 📅.
I often take 2 to 3 weeks of vacation, then I look at different arrival and departure days to see the price difference. The differences are often huge! In short, flexibility is very important for getting cheap plane tickets 😏.
FLIGHT COMPARISON SITES ⚖️
Now we’re getting to a key topic, and this may be where you’ll manage to find the best prices for your plane tickets ✈️! It’s simple: there are several flight comparison sites on the market, like Expedia, Skyscanner, Kayak, Google Flights… Personally, 95% of the time I use GOOGLE FLIGHTS 😉! For me, it’s the best flight comparison site, with the best prices on the market and an excellent user experience 👍. Skyscanner is also a very good comparison site for a second check. You may ask why these two and not the others 🧐? I’m less keen on the others, and I mostly check them just to be sure, comparing the prices I have for the same dates.
In short, lots of things make me very happy with Google Flights right now, and I keep using it for all my trips 💻! No comparison site is perfect, because each one earns commissions on your plane ticket purchases. Rest assured, they all do it, but the advantage is that you save time and money on your trip and your plane tickets. As long as everyone gets something out of it, that’s the main thing!
INFO: If you search on GoVoyage and similar sites, you’re making a mistake 😵. These sites belong to airlines and are therefore in cahoots with them 😡. It’s simple: if you’re unsure, search on another flight comparison site to see the difference for the same dates; you’ll probably be surprised! It’s the same for accommodation comparison sites, so be very careful ⚠️.
DIRECT FLIGHT OR WITH A LAYOVER 🤔
It all depends on the length of your trip! If you want to go to London, Budapest, Rome… it’s better to take a direct flight, since the goal is still to get to your accommodation as quickly as possible 💨. Some layovers can be very long and make you lose a lot of time on your trip. Then again, it’s a matter of opinion; it’s up to you to decide what’s best when you search 😶.
On the other hand, for long-haul flights, adding layovers can lower the price of your plane ticket, although it isn’t required. A flight with or without a layover is a very personal choice that depends on your preferences, time and budget 😉. For long-haul flights, I often look at options with 1 layover to see the difference (never more). For flights under 4 hours, I always fly direct, because there’s no point spending 12 hours in transit to save €50. It’s still a personal choice, so it’s up to you when you book.
CHOOSE SEVERAL AIRPORTS 🛂
Depending on your city, it’s smart to check several different airports to see the price difference 🧾. For example, in my case, being from Avignon, I always look at Marseille, Montpellier, Nîmes and Paris. The first 3 airports because they’re only 1 hour from home. As for Paris (Roissy and Orly), they’re the two biggest airports in France, and they can bring the price of your plane ticket down a lot depending on your destination 🤑.
You can easily save hundreds of euros depending on your departure airport ✈️. Some have lots of low-cost departures and others fewer. That’s why it’s smart to take a quick look at different airports: you may get some nice surprises and find cheap plane tickets!
INFO: You also need to factor in the transportation to get to the airport. If you spend €40 on transportation for one airport and €150 for the other, the plane ticket needs to make up for that difference for you to come out ahead 💪. Calculate everything carefully to get the best prices on your plane tickets 😜.
LAST-MINUTE FLIGHTS ⏳
Last-minute flights are double or nothing 😂. 95% of the time, that’s when plane ticket prices are at their highest, but there’s still 5% left for great deals. It’s often because some airlines want to fill the plane, as there are probably very few bookings and lots of empty seats 🤫.
All you need is to be flexible and look at flights in the coming days or weeks. In that case, you won’t have much choice of flight, but on the other hand, with this tip you’ll get a cheap plane ticket ✈️.
LOYALTY PROGRAMS 💘
If you often fly with the same airline, it can be useful to join its loyalty program 🛫. You earn points or miles that you can use on a future trip. Especially since it’s very easy to join 😉! Why miss out 😂. It’s often underestimated, but for some people it means real savings, and in the current economic climate, every little bit helps.
INFO: If you fly for work, try to put the loyalty points on your own account and maybe get a few free trips. Combine business with pleasure.
IN CONCLUSION 🏁
In conclusion, if you want to save money on your trips and pay less for your plane tickets, there are several tips you can use 😊. You can consider traveling off-season and booking a few months ahead to get the best prices. It’s also useful to be flexible about your departure and/or arrival airport and to use flight comparison sites like Google Flights to find the best deals.
Using private browsing with a VPN is highly recommended. Of course, you should check your flight on the airline’s website and the refund and cancellation conditions before booking. Finally, keep an eye 👀 on the regular promotions on specialized websites to find great deals. By following these tips, you’ll be able to enjoy your trips without breaking the bank 😇.
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