Travel Tips: No Magic Formula For Finding Low Airfares
We’ve all heard the travel tips and tricks for booking the lowest price for airline tickets. Tuesday morning, George Hobica of Airfarewatchdog.com offered great insight with 14 Tips for Finding Low Airfares, 2015 Edition for USA Today.
Yet, while there are plenty of travel tips on the Internet, and others floating around through world of mouth telling you when and where and how to book your next flight, Hobica cuts to the chase with the best piece of advice – or maybe it’s more of a bust-your-bubble truth:
Jan 25, 2015; Phoenix, AZ, USA; A Delta Airlines 767 airplane flies with the Seattle Seahawks over downtown Phoenix during the team arrival in preparation for Super Bowl XLIX at Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
"1. There’s no ‘magic’ time to buy airfareA lot of airfare experts think they’re clairvoyant, so they know where airfares are headed or how far in advance you should start looking for a fare. The latest myth is to buy exactly 54 days in advance. Others say buy on Tuesday at 3:00 p.m. or Wednesday at midnight or when the moon is full (just kidding). But airlines are unpredictable, and anyone who claims he or she knows that airfares will be lower or higher in the coming months or the coming days should trade in their crystal ball. No one can accurately predict where airfares are heading any more than we can predict the stock market. Think about it: If they really knew, they’d put every other airfare search operation out of business, and that hasn’t happened."
This isn’t exactly a travel tip per se, but more of a necessary fact one must accept before we get to the tips themselves.
Of course we can’t just expect to find the cheapest deals at 3PM Tuesday and it’s silly to think that airline pricing fits some simple formula. The price of an airline ticket depends on many factors, including the number of seats already purchased for the particular flight in question and where you are headed.
However, once we’ve accepted the fact that there is no magic time to find low airfares, Hobica does offer some solid advice to find a great deal, including checking booking sites early and often, as well as social media, and pouncing when you see the flight you want in the price range you prefer.
You should also widen the scope of your search to include airline sites, discount sites and online travel agencies as well as taking off and/or landing at other nearby airports in order to make the most informed decision.
Basically, like most everything, if you want to find low-priced airline ticket – and you can – you’re just going to have to work for it.
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