Want to travel without spending all your savings? Yes, me too. Here is the infallible method, tested and approved, to find the cheapest flight.
1. Use a comparator
There is no secret, you are (very) unlikely to find the most affordable plane by going directly to the airline’s website. That’s what comparators are for.
I have been using Skyscanner for several years and I am satisfied with it. The site allows you to filter your search and offers you the cheapest flights, the fastest, the most direct… at the best price. You do not pay directly on the comparator, it sends you to the merchant site.
2. Anticipate
Ticket prices change… all the time. They can go up or down in a matter of minutes. A variation that can be explained by the number of people who consult the same flight, the date of booking and the time.
To be sure you have the lowest prices, you have to anticipate. Book your flight at least three to four months before and off-peak, or at night if you can. The closer we get to the departure date, the more the fares fluctuate because the companies want to fill the plane at all costs.
3. Switch to private browsing
You’ve probably already heard this rumor: airlines track you with cookies (files that record all your actions on a website, including the pages you visit, at what time, if you come back…) and take the opportunity to increase the prices of the tickets you are looking for.
Numerous investigations have been carried out, both by journalists and by government or independent agencies. The professionals assure that no, cookies are not used for this but, in fact, there are sometimes differences in rates when you switch to a private browser, without navigation data.
If in doubt, do not accept cookies, empty your browsing data or switch to a private window.
4. Be flexible on date or destination
Do you have a destination in mind but no scheduling requirements? Several comparators, like Skyscanner, offer you to select the month where prices are the cheapest of the year.
Conversely, you have a specific date but no specific destination? In the search bar, put « Everywhere » and Skyscanner will rank cities in order of price.