How to find cheap flights: 9 techniques that work

Let's be honest: the price of the very same flight can differ twofold depending on when and how you search for it. The good news is that cheap tickets aren't luck, they're technique. Below are nine methods used by people who fly often and pay little.

Play with dates and departure points

The biggest savings hide in flexibility. Departing on a Tuesday or Wednesday is almost always cheaper than on a Friday or Sunday. If you can shift your trip by a day or two — shift it.

1. Open the search in "low-fare calendar" or "whole month" mode — you'll see the cheapest dates straight away.
2. Check neighbouring departure and arrival airports: sometimes the train to another city costs less than the difference in fares.
3. Compare which is better value — a direct flight or one with a connection; a stopover often cuts the price by a third.
4. Price up a multi-city trip (fly into one city, out of another) — for a trip around a region that's often cheaper than a return.

Low-cost carriers, aggregators and error fares

An aggregator shows prices from dozens of sellers at once — start your search there, but the final purchase should be checked on the airline's own site: sometimes it's the same price without the intermediary's fee and with human support if things are cancelled.

A low-cost carrier lures you with a low base fare but earns on the extras. Only count the real price with baggage, seat selection and check-in included. Sometimes a regular airline with a suitcase included works out cheaper than a low-cost carrier with three add-ons.

• Error fares (when an airline accidentally publishes a price that's far too low) are real, but they live for hours — catch them through channels and alerts, buy immediately, but don't build firm plans around them.
• Subscribe to price tracking for a specific route — you'll get a notification when the price drops.
• Clear your cookies or search in incognito mode if you want to rule out prices adjusting to repeat visits.

A cheap ticket isn't the one you found, it's the one you managed to buy.

When to buy

There's no universal "perfect day", but there is a working window: for popular international destinations it's better value to book 1.5–3 months before departure. In the last couple of weeks prices usually rise, and buying "this very morning" is rarely cheaper than a month of calm monitoring.

Frequently asked questions