With the increase in fuel costsand airline fees, the prices of airplane tickets have skyrocketed.Thankfully, there are some ways to decrease your costs if you want totravel by air. Knowing some of these tricks to cutting ticket costscan save you a bundle on your next trip.
Here are five of the best ways tosave when you travel by airplane:
1. Comparison Shop
There are several discount travelwebsites available for aspiring travelers – take advantage ofcompetition and check several sites for the best prices. Remember,the tickets are purchased for the airline itself, so the quality ofthe flight will not be any different if you purchase your ticketsthrough Bing rather than Travelocity, or vice versa.
2. Buy in Advance, But Not TooFar in Advance
The best time to purchase airlinetickets is a month or two before you want to travel. This is becauseairline tickets are listed at their highest prices when the flight isfirst scheduled. The longer the tickets go without selling, the morethe price is discounted, allowing you to take advantage of lowerprices. Wait too long though, and you will have fewer travel choicesdue to sold out flights, so be sure to book far enough in advance tosecure the tickets you want, especially if you are flying with agroup of people.
3. Try to Fly in the Middle ofthe Week
Commuting traffic is at its worstMonday through Friday because that is the typical work week. As aresult, traffic for travelers usually peaks on the weekends whenpeople have days off from work. If you are willing to take yourflight in the middle of the week, you can pay up to hundreds ofdollars less than a weekend flight because airlines have moredifficulty filling seats on those days.
4. Avoid Traveling Around MajorHolidays
Just as ticket prices increase onweekends because of increased demand, so too does the price increasesubstantially around the holidays because everyone else is travelingtoo. Try to avoid traveling with the pack and schedule your flightsat a different time of year than the major holidays, and your bankaccount will thank you.
5. Check out Nearby Airports
Airline tickets can vary greatlyfrom one airport to another. Oftentimes smaller airports will be lessexpensive than larger airports due to the smaller number of flights,and flights that are closer to capacity at one airport might havehigher prices than a nearby airport in need of filling seats. Checkaround; a two-hour car ride might save you hundreds of dollars.
Remember,your airline ticket is one way to cut down on travel costs. Checkbaggage fees, parking fees, and other charges to help you cut down onyour travel costs even more.
Heather Johnson writes for HoneymoonDestinations.org, the best honeymoon research and planning website. Discover some great honeymoon ideas today!
