Booking Cheap Flights
Getting Cheap Flights Flying within Europe
- The best and easiest way to find value for money flights across Europe is to use comparison sites such as Skyscanner and Liligo. Both pick up both budget and mainstream airlines and link you to the airlines website.
- The earlier you book the cheaper you can find tickets. Occasionally mainstream airlines such as British Airways will have cheaper tickets available at last minute but best not to count on that. The budget airlines generally get more expensive with time.
- It can also be worth checking out holiday operators Thomas Cook that charter their own planes to many holiday destinations across Europe as well as other locations internationally and can often offer cheap flights.
The main airlines that fly from London Airports across Europe are British Airways, Easy Jet, Norwegian, Ryan Air, Wizz Air. It can be worth following these companies on social medis.
Getting Cheap Longhaul/Round the World Flights
- If the long haul flight you are looking for is fairly straight forward use comparison sites such as Skyscanner and Liligo to find the best deal and flight for you. They should be your first point of contact.
- If you are looking for a Round the World ticket or stop over flights than it can be worth using the services of a travel agent after you have checked prices using Kayak or Momondo which have a multi-city option when comparing flights. Travel agents are also able to give you more flexibility in terms of booking stopovers which can be handy when flying to long haul destinations such as Australia.
- Students under 26 should look at STA travel who can often get them further discounted travel. Compare with other agents and using Skyscanner and Liligo.
- Travel agents that are usually very competitive price wise include Travel Pack, Trailfinders and Travel Bag.
Other worthwhile money saving tips for flying
- Does the airline you are flying with have a free loyalty reward program? If so you maybe able to score a free gift for yourself after the flight. Always check particularly long haul.
- The British Airways Executive Club American Express card gives you an opportunity to acquire rewards points and can be excellent value if managed correctly and get you great value flights/upgrades and discounted flights.
- Particularly when booking with budget airlines factor in cost of airport transfers. A flight out of Heathrow will be less expensive to get to than one flying out of Stanstead. Factor this into your flying costs. It may work out cheaper in the long run to choose a slightly more expensive flight.
- The other thing to factor in when booking flights mainly within Europe is the fees the airlines charge for large/extra baggage etc. Once again depending on your needs it may be cheaper to choose a more expensive flight once these charges are factored in.
- Look to book flights outside school holiday times and other peak periods. If you need to book during these times book early as early as possible. E.g Booking flights to Australia during Xmas period early can save you as much as £400 than if booking them three months prior. Look out for deals.
