Summertime is a busy travel time and the airlines will be capitalizing on it. As a former airline employee, I've noticed that there are specific trends in the industry that allow for better fares. Below are my top ten ways to save money on your airline travel this summer and throughout the year.
1. Be Flexible: Flexibility is the ultimate money saver when it comes to airline travel. Being flexible can save you hundreds of dollars. Always check the day before or the day after your desired departure and arrival dates. Also check for alternate airports. For example when flying to Southern California for your
Disneyland ® Resort vacation, you'll want to check LAX, Orange County, Long Beach, and even Ontario for the best deal.
2. Fly Early or Late: Most business travel happens on the 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. flights. After that, the first flights to fill up are the “best travel times”
—late afternoon and early evening flights. The airlines usually charge more for the “preferred flight times” which helps to fill the less popular flights. Take the first or last, “red eye” flights. Most people tend to avoid these, so the prices tend to be better.
3. Travel on Tuesday or Wednesday: Business travelers typically travel on Mondays and Thursdays, leisure travelers commonly travel on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. Therefore, airlines find it harder to fill seats on Tuesday and Wednesday flights, and usually price those much lower.
4. Book Early: Most of the best rates
have a 21 day advance purchase. And as a general rule, airline prices do not go down. Airlines will charge, say $50 for the first 10 seats sold, then $100 for the next 10 seats and $150 for the next 10 seats. So, generally the earlier you book, the better price you can get.
5. Keep Watching: Even after you have booked your airline tickets, keep watching the prices, especially the Tuesday prior to your departure. If they are having trouble filling flights, they will drop the prices. Most airlines will allow you to downgrade to the lower fare for a much smaller fee than your $150 change fee. However, if you wait to book, the prices could go up, never come back down and you could end up paying for a full fare, fully refundable ticket that is $300 to $700 more than you would have paid had you booked early.
6. Do Not Make Changes: Book your hotel. Book your activities. Book your transportation. And
then book your fights. Most airlines charge a minimum of $150 to make any changes, even for something as simple as changing to another flight on the same day. But change fees are not always what will get you
—the difference in fare can be outrageous. Airline fares can jump $300 or more in just a couple of hours. On the other hand, most activities, transportation and hotels have minimal to no change fees if done within 72 hours of check-in. If you book your package with Get Away Today, our
$30 Peace of Mind Plan allows you to make any changes or cancellations necessary to your hotel and tickets outside of the 72 hours before checkin without incurring any change or cancellation fees.
7. Book Separately if Needed: Referring back to Tip #4 and the way airline fares work, if you have 4 people in your party, try pricing all four, then price just one. If there are only 2 seats left at $150, then the airline systems will automatically jump your entire party into the next booking class (price bracket) and you would pay $200 for all 4 passengers. But if you were to book 2 passengers first and then the other 2 passengers you could pay $150 for each of the first two and $200 for the second two, saving yourself $100.
8. Fly on the Holiday: If you are traveling for a holiday getaway during Christmas, Thanksgiving, 4th of July, or Mother's Day, plan your flight on the actual holiday. Most holiday travel happens on the Friday before and the Monday after. Avoid these days. Flights on the actual holiday are frequently near to empty and often a lot less expensive for that reason.
9. Prepare to be Bumped: Most airlines overbook their flights to allow for an approximate 11% no-show rate. As a ticketed passenger, the law requires airlines to tell you if your flight is overbooked. Call the airline the day prior or the day of your flight to find out if your flight is overbooked. Then, prepare yourself to volunteer to be bumped to the next flight if they offer. Airlines will usually offer airline vouchers and often a meal if you will volunteer to be bumped to the next available flight. They will also put you up in a hotel over night if the next flight does not leave until the next morning. Don't be afraid to ask them to up the offer as well. If they are offering $150 vouchers, volunteer but ask for a $200 voucher and lunch.
10. Friend, Follow and Join: Social media is quickly becoming the best way to keep up-to-date on anything you want to know. Airline specials are no exception. I get regular Tweets from Jet Blue with flights as low as $5 each way! Every Tuesday I get an e-mail from Delta letting me know about their last minute weekend specials. And Southwest updates their status on Facebook with amazing deals often. If you like to travel, join these sites, add them as a friend on Facebook, follow them on Twitter, and sign up to get their weekly e-mail specials. You'll be amazed at how low the fares can be. And don't forget to find Get Away Today on
Twitter and
Facebook and follow us on
our blog. We'll be sure to fill you in on the great deals we find as well!
Get Away Today can help you in your search for the lowest
airfare around! In addition to great airfare deals, we can help you find the best deals on hotel accommodations, attraction tickets, and car rentals, and more. Whether you're looking for a vacation to the
Disneyland ® Resort,
San Diego,
Hawaii,
Mexico,
cruises,
the Caribbean, or any other destination worldwide we're committed to helping you make the most of both your dollar and your vacation!
