Here’s what to do if you’re flexible about where you want to go (i.e., anywhere but home):
1st step: Navigate to Google Flights and then to the map:
Step 2: Enter your departure city and date next. You can now look at several possibilities on the map. If you don’t have a certain location or dates in mind, you can use the “Flexible dates” option to search:
The fact about airfare is that there is always a good deal going somewhere — it simply might not be your first option. However, if you’re willing to be flexible about where you want to travel, you’ll always get a good bargain and save a lot of money.
When you’re committed to one location at a time, you’re stuck with whatever pricing comes up. Nothing is going to change that. When you become flexible, though, the entire globe opens up to you, and you’ll be able to locate great inexpensive tickets!
Fly Low-Cost Carriers
Until recently, if you wanted to travel between continents, you were primarily limited to traditional, pricey airlines. That is no longer the case. Budget airlines now fly short and medium-haul routes all over the world. While most long-haul budget carriers canceled their routes during COVID, I expect some of them to reopen once the travel market recovers.
AirAsia offers ridiculously low-cost flights throughout Asia and Australia, including tickets from Australia to Thailand for around USD 150!
Indian and Middle Eastern airlines provide low-cost flights across the subcontinent and Africa.
You can now fly most of the way around the world on a low-cost airline. They may not be as comfortable, and extra enhancements such as checked luggage and meals may be required, but they bring the world to your home without breaking the wallet.
Whenever possible, flying inexpensive airlines is a better option than flying “the majors.” You get fewer benefits, but you can save a lot of money.
Just keep an eye out for costs. That is how they make their money! Checked luggage, carry-ons, printing your boarding pass, using a credit card, and everything else they can get away with are all common expenses on low-cost airlines. To ensure that the price is lower than a larger carrier, sum up the ticket’s cost and the fees.
It would help if you didn’t Always Fly Direct.
Being flexible with dates and destinations and the route you take is another strategy to acquire cheap airfare. For example, it may be less expensive to fly to London and then take a low-cost airline to Amsterdam than to fly directly to Amsterdam from your departure location.
When I was heading to Paris, I did exactly this. The airfare from the US cost USD 900, but I could go to Dublin for $600 and then to Paris for $60. Of course, it required extra travel time, but the USD 240 savings were worth it to me.
To utilize this strategy, first determine how much it will cost to travel directly to your destination. Then, open Google Flights and key in that destination’s continent to see prices to nearby airports. Then, assuming the difference is more than USD 150, I look into how much it would cost to get from the secondary airport to my primary destination (either by budget aircraft or train, if it isn’t too far away).
You can also do this upon leaving. It may be less expensive to travel out of a neighboring airport. I frequently look into alternative airports to see if it’s cheaper to fly/drive/train there and then fly to my final destination. It may be worth the extra time on long overseas flights!
If you book separate portions, allow at least three hours between connections. This will provide you breathing room in case of a delay because your second flight will not wait for you (you booked with a different airline, so they don’t care if you’re late or not).
Leaving a three-hour buffer will also protect you in the event of an insurance claim, as most insurance companies require at least a three-hour delay before filing a claim.
This strategy requires more effort because you must research numerous routes and airlines. However, it can reduce the cost of your flight, which is worth the extra effort if you end up saving a few hundred dollars.