The ability to find cheap air tickets and catch flight ticket campaigns is one of the specialties of frequent travelers. Because we love to travel and we don’t want to pay a fortune for it. Today, airfares cover a large part of our travel. If we improve our ability to find suitable flight tickets, we can reduce the travel budget and allocate more budget to vacation, entertainment and activities.
Many readers often ask me questions about how to find cheap airfare . Some of them even ask me to find out the flight ticket prices of their destination without doing any research and send me an e-mail. Rather than answering each one individually, it was essential for me to prepare this article and reference the questions. Let’s learn to fish!
Should you book the best flight tickets months in advance, or chase last-minute deals?
There are many factors that affect flight ticket prices. Finding cheap airfare doesn’t take luck or extraordinary skill. All it takes is some knowledge and action. For this, it is enough to keep a few basic rules in mind and of course apply them.
If you see that I have mentioned similar information in several titles in the list below, it means that these topics are interrelated and also very important. Flexibility and time are the most important issues.
Ways to Find Cheap Flights
Flight ticket prices vary depending on the season. Many people prefer to go on holiday in periods such as New Year’s, Christmas, Sacrifice and Candy Feasts. Again, in the period between June and August, when schools are on holiday in our country and the most permits are used, the planes are full due to high demand. Let’s not forget that plane tickets are higher during these periods. If you have the flexibility for travel, plan travel for dates outside of holiday periods.
If your flight dates coincide with the start and end periods of these periods, it means that you will probably fly more expensive. If you are certain to travel on these dates, review the campaigns and flight ticket prices frequently. In order to fly cheaply, you need to buy tickets early.
If your vacation time is approaching and you haven’t bought tickets yet, don’t say why the ticket prices are so high. During these periods, you can find the relatively cheapest tickets only on flights that are quite early in the morning or late at night. If you think that transportation from the airport to your hotel or home will be practical and hassle-free, choose these hours.
Summary to keep in mind ; go wherever and whenever there are cheap tickets, use the permission in those date ranges. Don’t pin it because I’m going to Paris to Amsterdam. Of course, one day, when you find a ticket to Budapest for 99€, go to Budapest first and then go to the others whenever you have the opportunity.
📍 What are the Ways to Buy the Cheapest Flight Tickets?
2. Buy your ticket when prices are most affordable
Flying midweek is cheaper than flying on the weekend, because most of us prefer to go somewhere on the weekend. Experts say flying mid-week can save up to 10%. The day we will look to find the most suitable ticket is Wednesday and Thursday afternoon; watching this on Tuesdays and Saturdays.
The period to catch the best prices for domestic flights is 21 days before. Prices during this period are 8% cheaper than the average price. In the last 2 weeks, ticket prices have increased by 5% compared to average prices, and this rate has increased to 30% in the last week.
International ticket prices do not fluctuate as much as local airline ticket prices. Prices 34 days before the date of travel are 4% lower than prices 6 months ago (Source: Kayak ).
Ticket prices are almost the same until 28 days before the trip. The prices 18-28 days before the trip are the best prices. (Source: Expedia ).
May stands out as the most suitable time of the year to travel from Turkey. Prefer weekday flights and non-holiday dates
All data above are prepared according to average data. It may vary depending on the date, city and day you will fly. If there is a festival, sports match or convention that will attract crowds, prices can rise very quickly due to increased demand, regardless of many other reasons. Or vice versa, a negative situation in the city you are going to (political impotence, weather conditions, distrustful news) may cause a decrease in air ticket prices. Keep the above information in mind though.
Summary to keep in mind ; Start your search for cheap tickets 20 days before your trip at the latest. Treat this as a daily chore and keep track of prices regularly.
📍 How Are Flight Ticket Prices Determined?
3. Use flight ticket search engines
Try the flight ticket search engines that do this for us instead of entering the pages of the airline companies and entering where you will fly and the dates one by one. Airfare search engines, which offer the most affordable comparisons for all airline tickets, should be the sites you should add to your favourites.
They do the painstaking research to find tickets for us practically and incredibly quickly. They find and compare the most up-to-date deals and thus offer us the most up-to-date deals.
Enuygun ranks first among the sites you can use to buy cheap flight tickets in Turkey . Among those providing international flight ticket search services; Expedia or Orbitz give good search results if you are looking for cheap tickets for the USA, and Momondo or Skyscanner for Europe.
📍 Turkey’s Best Airline Ticket Comparison Sites
4. Get your ticket early
On most airlines, the remaining seats are sold at higher prices after the cheapest seats have been sold. If you make your reservation late, especially during peak travel times, it can cost you dearly. Airline companies can apply daily or even hourly changes in ticket prices. Generally, ticket prices increase as the flight date approaches.
Since I don’t know when and where to go, sometimes I have to buy a one-way ticket to Istanbul-Antalya more expensive than a round-trip flight ticket to any city in Europe. Although the date of my trip to Northern Europe with my sister was known months ago, I had not bought the ticket. The one-way Izmir-Istanbul ticket I bought a week before the trip cost 241.98 TL for both of us. However, there were times when I bought the same ticket for 44TL round trip.
In order to find the most affordable flight ticket, it is necessary to start searching an average of 27 weeks in advance, considering all destinations. Unfortunately, we still haven’t learned how to make an early reservation . 57% of Turks miss the best prices due to late booking (Source: Skyscanner).
Summary to keep in mind ; Airfare prices usually skyrocket in the last 2 weeks. If your travel date is certain, start looking for tickets at least 3-4 months before this date. Don’t miss it when you get the right price.
📍 When to Buy the Cheapest Flight Ticket?
5. Get your ticket late
Of course, airline companies want to fill their planes. If they do not reach the targeted ticket sales and occupancy rates at the foreseen time, they immediately start lower-priced ticket campaigns. If you are one of the lucky ones who are looking for tickets during this period, it means you have the opportunity.
If you want to catch the best flight ticket prices on the route you have chosen, use the price alert option applied by some flight ticket search engines. Create a price alert instead of constantly refreshing the page or checking ticket prices every day . You enter your destination and date. You will be instantly notified by an automatic e-mail when the price of the ticket you will buy decreases. Good idea.
Airlines companies organize last minute deals and announce them to their members on their mailing lists. If you are flexible on routes and dates, you can buy your ticket late in order to catch these offers in order to take advantage of last-minute deals. The key word here is to be flexible about the place, date and time you will fly. However, in recent years, almost everyone is looking for cheap tickets and many of the planes fly almost full. Let me remind you that the chances of seizing such opportunities are getting less and less.
Summary to keep in mind ; In rare cases, prices may decrease as the flight date approaches. Waiting until the last minute to buy tickets means leaving it all to chance. If you like to take risks, get your ticket late. Get in the habit of using price alert options if you don’t have time to research.
📍 Those Who Want to Fly Cheap: Use Price Alert
6. See alternative airports
Today, almost every major city has a second airport. It is generally cheaper to fly from these airports preferred by low-budget companies. It can be preferred if there are such airports in the destination. Sabiha Gökçen is a good example of this.
I have a flight from Izmir to Istanbul next week and although my accommodation is on the European side, I fly to Sabiha Gökçen Airport, where I found cheap tickets. I will go to Milan next month and I am looking for tickets to the airport, which offers the cheapest ticket prices from the 3 airports of the city. Cheap ticket search engines do this for us, though.
For example, since AirAsia , one of the airline companies offering cheap tickets in Asia, uses the low-budget airports of the countries, it is sometimes possible to find tickets for even 30 TL. It may be cheaper to go to Amsterdam from Istanbul and fly to Iceland from there, rather than flying directly to Iceland from Istanbul.
Summary to keep in mind ; Make it a habit to find cheap tickets. If there are airports that offer cheap ticket deals in the city you are going to, without being stuck with incoming flights, research them and see if there are cheap tickets there. If you can get cheaper by transferring, try this route without being told.
📍 Airlines Offering the Cheapest Tickets
📍 Cheapest Airlines in Europe
7. Try alternative routes
Instead of flying to an expensive city that you want to see, by buying an expensive plane ticket, fly wherever there are offers and cheap tickets (I can write this 10 more times). Follow the campaigns of the airline companies constantly, and when you catch a campaign offering cheap flight tickets, grab the ticket and plan your travel according to that date.
Some of these campaigns last 24 hours. Get your ticket without fear. You do the rest of your planning (hotel, transportation, places to visit) later. Some of us may not be that flexible, but I’m sure there are some flexible ones. The decision is even easier if you have a Schengen visa or green passport. Otherwise, you will get your visa anyway.
Find the cheapest destinations with the “all destinations” option using cheap ticket search engines or apps like Skyscanner.com and Kayak and fly there. Enter your city or Istanbul, and tick the “Everywhere” option in the destination section. Information showing the cheapest destination you can go to and the cheapest time to get there will start to line up in front of you. Buy a ticket wherever it is cheap and appealing to you. Of course, do not forget to get information about that city from one or two people.
Summary to keep in mind ; Famous touristic destinations are expensive not only in terms of flight tickets, but also in terms of other travel expenses. Redirect your routes to different places. Go wherever you find a ticket under 100€.
📍 10 Sites You Should Visit Before
Going On Vacation 📍 Best Airfare and Hotel Search Apps
8. Sign up for airline mailing lists
Always be on the alert for the cheapest campaign flight ticket prices. It is necessary to hurry, as the number of seats on which promotion is applied is usually very few. Sign up for the e-mail lists of airlines and ticket sales websites to be notified early about the campaigns . This is the most important thing you need to do to find cheap tickets!
Get your tickets without delay when promotional flights are announced for a destination that interests you. Likewise, follow the social media accounts of airline companies. Sometimes campaigns are announced first/only on Facebook or Twitter accounts.
The other day, a friend of mine called and said there was a campaign to Madrid for 105€. He learned the news from the campaign e-mail announced by the airline company. He decided in 10 minutes and bought his ticket. The same ticket is 70 TL more expensive after the campaign (for now).
9. See one-way tickets from different airlines
It’s usually cheap to buy a round-trip ticket. On the other hand, it can sometimes be cheaper to take one way round trips and return from different airline companies. Many flight ticket search engine applications can do this for us, try it. Keep this in mind especially in destinations where competition is very high.
Turkish citizens living in Europe come to Turkey for a holiday with the start of the long public holidays. Charter planes from these countries, which mostly carry Turkish passengers, cannot find enough passengers on their return, and therefore it is much easier to find cheap flight tickets during these periods. When you look at a ticket from Dalaman or Antalya to Europe in the summer period , you will understand what I mean.
In some cases, it may even work for you to take the departure and the return separately, or to buy two different tickets from different airlines. I had a flight from Izmir to Bari (Italy) and I missed the Izmir flight on the first leg of my trip. I had the opportunity to go to Istanbul with the other plane and catch my flight to Italy, but since I bought the only connecting ticket, when the first leg burned, the whole ticket was burned.
Summary to keep in mind ; connecting flights, although sometimes you have to linger at the airports; Prefer flights from different airlines. Buy a round-trip or transfer ticket separately in cases where there may be problems on your travel dates or when you risk catching the plane.
10. Use debit cards that accumulate miles
Other than that, I flew miles to many places. I was using my credit card, which saves miles for all kinds of spending. Banks that implement mileage programs sometimes offer campaigns for you to fly half the number of miles for some destinations periodically; don’t miss it.
In summary; Let flight ticket prices always be on your radar. Decide quickly when promotional ticket opportunities arise with cheap flight ticket campaigns ; Use technology to find the most affordable airfare . We can now easily buy tickets with mobile applications; Don’t forget to delete the history of the web browser you used while searching for tickets!
