Saturday, August 23, is National Cheap Flight Day — the unofficial start of the end of the summer travel season. Today may be the best time ever for travelers to visit the country. It signals the start of “shoulder season,” that other sweet spot between the swell of summer tourist activity and the wave of holiday fun. During this low travel time of the year, demand for flights is at its lowest, leading airlines to look for ways to fill their flights.
With the end of the summer crowds, travelers can look forward to some all-time low airfares. Airlines are all too happy to get any customers they can during this slower travel time. It’s not too late to book those last-minute vacations or plan that once-in-a-lifetime adventure!
Tips for Finding Cheap Flights
Travel experts recommend taking advantage of all of these tools to save big on airfare dollars. Tools like Google Flights are great resources for monitoring historical pricing trends and establishing alerts when prices reach a new low. Passengers are similarly afforded the opportunity to plan ahead to know when to buy their tickets by tracking constantly changing trends.
This is where browser extensions like Points Path come in handy. What they do is help users figure out the best ways to use their award points. Julian Kheel, founder of Points Path Travel Advisors, advises not just being open to changes. He states, “The more options you leave open, the more chances you give yourself to catch a low fare.”
Kheel further recommends including nearby airports as potential alternatives. Airlines tend not to make the least circuitous routes the lowest fare choices either. Searching across various airports can lead to significant savings.
Creative Strategies for Budget Travel
Kheel urges incentives seekers to get creative when putting their trips together. “The more willing you are to be creative when you’re piecing together your journey, the better your odds are of uncovering a cheaper path,” he advises. This might involve booking two separate tickets on different airlines or adjusting travel dates to take advantage of lower prices.
Even slight variations, like flying out a day earlier or coming back on a Wednesday, can save you hundreds on your airfare. Kheel highlights that employing fare alerts and flight monitoring tools is “the best way to consistently find cheap flights.” With these strategies, travelers can make seasoned airfare fluctuation nonsense their sidekick rather than their nemesis.
Understanding Pricing Context
When measuring flight prices, context is paramount in figuring out what is considered a “good” price. It is essential for travelers to compare current prices with historical rates for specific routes during this time of year. These kinds of comparisons will empower them to spot real value—not just deceptive offers—to uncover the best options.
Tracking fare trends can reveal whether the current price of a flight is at its lowest, highest, or somewhere in between. That information allows travelers to understand the best times at which to buy their tickets.
