Air travel has become really cheap in India if you compare it with the international market.
We can appreciate the government of India for its efforts in making flights economic and taking initiatives like UDAN (Ude Desh Ka Aam Nagrik), which has led to the reason for flights becoming inexpensive.
All seems good but, there is another side to all this.
The tickets are expensive on major routes and are super expensive if you need it urgently. So, let’s check out some tricks that can help you land a cheap ticket the next time you fly.
1. Decide The Days You’ll Fly
Friday, Saturday and Sunday are the three most important days in a week for most of us. After all, Friday marks the beginning of our much needed weekend breaks!
However, things turn upside down when it comes to booking flight tickets on these three days.
Usually, most people fly on these three days, which obviously causes the airline to raise those airfares.
However, travel experts say that if you travel during mid-week, say between Monday-Thursday, you can easily get a discount of Rs 500 – Rs 2,000 on your booking.
2.Book Your Flight In Advance
Booking a flight ticket has become easy these days. A few minutes on the internet and your booking will be confirmed in seconds!
But have you ever thought about the best time to book a flight?
Ideally you should book a domestic flight 7 weeks prior and an international flight around 12 weeks prior to your date of travel.
This can save you as much as Rs 3000 on your next flight ticket.
3.Keep A Track Of Your Flight Schedules & Fares
Airlines often use the term ‘Airfares are subject to change’. So why not make the most of it!
Before making your next booking, keep a regular track on the flight schedules and fares.
Since the airfares are subjected to change, there is every possibility that you might get your tickets at the best possible price.
In fact, you can even get it at half of the actual price.
4.Keep Your Travel Plan Flexible
Sometimes taking a direct flight is much more expensive than taking a flight to an airport near your final destination and then travel by land or water.
It is observed that the flights to the major cities or the airports usually comes with a hefty price tag.
If you aren’t too rigid on traveling on a direct flight to your destination and are ok with a little detour then you should definitely try this.
This will not only help you save on your flight ticket but will also allow you time for a trip within a trip.
5. Try Different Airlines
Most frequent flyers prefer this, especially those who fly internationally.
As mentioned above, direct flights might be very expensive, however, if you break your journey into multiple parts, your flight cost might reduce to a certain limit.
For instance, if you’re travelling to New York from New Delhi, a direct flight might cost you more than taking a detour to a European country and booking a flight from there to New York on a different airline.
Also, considering the fact that not all the airline carriers offer the same price from a particular destination, you can always opt for the most reasonable flights and complete your journey.
6.Split Your Travelling Group Into Multiple Small Groups
It’s a common myth that booking flight tickets in bulk always results in low cost or an added amount of discount!
But sometimes airlines do offer group booking discounts on certain occasions, that too for smaller groups.
In case, you’re travelling in a large group, split it into smaller groups and book tickets individually for those groups.
Sounds a bit complicated, but it definitely does the trick and helps you save money.
7.Use The Right Website/App To Book your Flight
With the evolution in the digital world, things are now only a click away from us.
Even when it comes to booking flights, a small application in your mobile phone can help or guide you through the entire process.
On top of this, these applications and websites not only help you in booking, but also analyses the cost of the flights from different airlines and offer you the most reasonable price.
Sites and apps such as Skyscanner, MakeMyTrip and GoIbibo can get you the best flight deals from across the globe.
8.Subscribe To An Airline’s Newsletter/Website
Airlines, quite often come up with some early-bird offers, off-season sale and discounts.
Though these offers come for a short duration, they do allow the flyers to book their tickets at a discounted price.
Do subscribe to all these promotional offers and newsletters, and get the right offers at the right time!
9.Use The Right Card To Pay For Your Ticket
Debit or Credit Cards have replaced the common trait of dealing with cash. Even while booking flight tickets online, we now prefer using our cards.
In case you didn’t know, now a days credit/debit card companies offer special travel offers exclusively to their customers.
So keep an eye out for this or you can simply ask your bank’s representative what all offers do they have for frequent flyers .
10.Join Frequent Flyer Programmes
Whether you are a frequent flyer or fly just twice a year, sign up with different frequent flyer programs.
Join rewards programs with different airlines. You can use your accumulated points to save up on your airplane seat or better, upgrade it.
Airlines always have discounts and promotional offers for their frequent flyer program members.
Use those saved up miles to travel to that destination in first class or a business class seats on long, expensive flights and fly stress-free.
If you want to know more about different airline policies, look no further. Simply download the AirWhizz App to get all the information about you airline and airport, along with real-time weather and flight updates on the move.
