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Everyone wants to travel by air, but whenever we open a flight ticket booking website or app, we often have to postpone our plans after seeing the skyrocketing airfares. Whether going on a business trip, traveling with family on holidays or traveling for some urgent work, everyone wants to get a confirmed flight seat at the lowest price. If you too have been troubled by expensive tickets again and again, then now you do not need to spend too much money. After analyzing the data of travel industry and aviation sector, it has become clear that there are certain days and times of the week when airlines reduce the prices of their tickets significantly. Along with this, there are some smart and secret hacks by adopting which you can save thousands of rupees every time on your flight booking. Let us know on which day the cheapest flight is available and which 5 magical tips will make your next trip very economical.
#1 On which day and at what time is the cheapest flight available? Know what aviation data says
Often people book their flights or plan to travel on weekends i.e. Friday, Saturday and Sunday. According to travel experts, due to high demand on weekends, airlines use Dynamic Pricing Algorithms to suddenly increase fares by 20 to 40 percent. Data analysis of international and domestic flights has proved that the week’s Tuesday and Wednesday These are considered to be the most favorable days to book the cheapest flights. Airlines usually update their new rates and discounted seats into the system on Monday night or Tuesday morning, resulting in the lowest ticket prices from Tuesday afternoon through Wednesday. Also, if you opt for early morning (Red-Eye Flights) or late night flights, you can get a much cheaper ticket than at normal times.
#1 Hack 1: Use ‘Incognito Mode’ and Always Clear Browser Cookies
Have you ever noticed that when you repeatedly search for a flight fare, its price keeps increasing every 10 minutes? This happens because of web cookies of airlines and booking aggregators. By tracking your search history and your behavior of repeatedly viewing the same route, the algorithm senses that you have an urgent need for a ticket, thereby increasing the fare. To avoid this problem, always use your web browser Incognito Mode (Private Window) Search the ticket only after opening it. Apart from this, use a different browser or a different device (like mobile instead of laptop) and do not forget to delete your browsing history and cookies before searching. With this you will always see real-time and lowest fares.
#1 Hack 2: Set up ‘Price Alerts’ and make the most of airline credit cards/rewards points
If you’re booking 2 to 3 months before your trip, turn on ‘Price Alerts’ on platforms like Google Flights, SkyScanner or MakeMyTrip instead of buying tickets right away. As soon as the fare of any airline on that route drops, you will get an instant notification on your phone or email. Apart from this, the reward points of credit cards and co-branded airline cards (Co-Branded Travel Credit Cards) are no less than a boon. Many major banks offer facilities like 10 to 15% instant discount on flight booking and free web check-in. If you have accumulated ample Air Miles or credit card rewards, you can get tickets completely free or at very nominal prices just by paying taxes and convenience fees.
#1 Hack 3: Opt for ‘Flexible Dates’ and understand the math of ‘one-way’ vs ’round trip’
If you have some flexibility with your travel dates, use the ‘Flexible Dates’ calendar view (Month View) when booking. This will show you the fare for the entire month on a single screen, so you can choose the cheapest day. Many times people assume that a round trip is always cheaper, but this is not always true. On many occasions, purchasing two separate ‘one-way’ tickets from two different airlines proves to be much more economical than a round trip with the same airline. Therefore always proceed to the payment gateway only after comparing both the combinations.
#1 Hack 4: Try smart booking technology by using ‘Fare Lock’ feature and changing country currency
Nowadays almost all the big travel portals offer the feature of ‘Fare Lock’ or ‘Price Lock’. If you find a flight that is very cheap but your holiday or plans are not 100% confirmed, you can lock that fare for 48 to 72 hours for a nominal fee. Even if the ticket price increases due to this, you will get the ticket only at the locked rate. Another modern hack is for international flights—if you’re booking a ticket from the official website of a foreign airline, sometimes using a VPN or searching by changing the currency to the local currency of that country can result in a much cheaper ticket due to currency conversion differences.
#1 Hack 5: Avoid ‘Hidden Charges’ and Compare Directly on Airline Websites
Third-party travel apps sometimes show very low initial fares, but on reaching the final payment page, they add huge ‘Convenience Fee’, seat selection charge and auto-apply insurance. After viewing deals on any third-party app, once you visit the official website or app of that respective airline, directly search for the same flight. Often, airlines provide exclusive discounts and extra luggage allowance to students, senior citizens and armed forces on their websites without any intermediary charges. By adopting these 5 easy and tried hacks in your next trip, you can save thousands of rupees without any hassle.