How to Get the Cheapest Airline Tickets

Flying can be either shockingly cheap, or ridiculously expensive. Sometimes it seems like flying one-way around the corner is more expensive than round-trip to Europe. I've flown round-trip to Europe for under $300, but at the moment, I cannot seem to find a one-way ticket from New York to North Carolina for under $1600! When I first began traveling independently from my parents or school, I noticed that although airfare is completely without rhyme or reason, there are ways to ensure the cheapest flight.

The first thing I always do, is decide what I am willing to spend, so I have a target price. If you don't travel often, ask family and friends what they pay on average for similar trips. Your target number should be based on reason. For example, deciding that a trip to Rome should be $50 is unrealistic. Once you get a sense of what the average cost is, set your maximum limit that you'd be willing to spend.

Flying domestically and internationally merit a different set of rules. Let's start with domestic flying. This is great, because you can start with your discount airlines like Southwest or Jetblue. While these discount airlines are great, and sell tickets on a one-way or round-trip basis, the cheap seats go fast. If you know far in advance what your travel dates are, then jump onto a discount airline. Once those seats go, you're sometimes better off with a larger carrier. If you missed your window of opportunity to bank on cheap tickets from a discount carrier, then you have to do some research. I typically start with a travel search engines, like expedia or travelocity. They don't always give the best fares, but they can give you an idea of what prices are going for at the moment. It will also show you which airline is offering the cheapest fare at the moment. Sometimes I check to see which airline is the cheapest, then visit that airline's website directly.

Another thing to consider is airports. I am fortunate enough to live in New York, so I can fly out of Long Island Islip McArthur, JFK international, LaGuardia or Newark. All are equally convenient, but the prices seem to vary. Flying out of Long Island often requires taking out a loan from the bank, whereas JFK usually offers cheaper fares. On the contrary, Southwest airlines goes out of Long Island, whereas Jetblue goes out of the city. If you live near larger and smaller airports, then you have more flexibility. If you live near a more obscure airport, you might have to pay more, or be more creative. One thing is to split up your journey. If you are flying from Charlotte, NC, for example, it can be expensive to fly into New York, specifically Long Island. I am trying to book flights from Long Island to Charlotte now, and have to be quite crafty, since Charlotte is not a major hub. One thing I noticed is that flights from New York to Baltimore or Pittsburgh are cheap, then from Baltimore or Pittsburgh to Charlotte are cheap.

I hate booking flights separately, but if it saves me over $100 it might be worth it. One thing to consider, however, when booking separately is that each airline is only responsible to get you to the final destination as booked on that airline. So if you fly Southwest to Baltimore, then Jetblue to Charlotte, you run the risk of missing your connection, or getting held up in weather. Since Southwest and Jetblue were booked independently, you might not be compensated if you miss your connecting flight. So plan accordingly. But I will write more on that later.

Now, let's talk international travel. This is a whole new beast. Flights overseas can be cheaper than expected. Europe of course is the cheapest, while Africa seems to be on the higher end of the price spectrum. Once you fly abroad, you lose the domestic discount airline options, so you have to fly a larger carrier at least for one leg of the trip.

The first thing, again, is to set your target price. If you want to spend less than $500 on a flight, then set your sights on that. Think about when you are traveling. Is it Oktoberfest in Munich or carnival in Brazil? These festivals will jack up the cost of any flight. With domestic discount carriers, booking far in advance usually begets lower fares. I've learned, however, that the longer I wait to fly abroad, the cheaper tickets get. Of course I run the risk of losing the flight, but flexibility is the key when saving money on overseas flights. I got a round-trip flight from New York to Berlin for $380. I was very flexible and literally booked within a week of my departure.

A good place to start is with the national carrier of the country you are traveling to. Airfrance for France, Alitalia for Italy, Aerolineas Argentinas for Argentina and so on. These will not always be the cheapest offers, but again, they give you a good base amount to reference to as you try other carriers. If the national carrier proves to be too expensive, then look at their partner airlines. Delta partners with Airfrance, Northwest airlines partner with the KLM Dutch airline. Sometimes these are cheaper than the national carrier, other times they are not. This seems like a lot of work, but it is worth it to save hundreds of dollars. Either way, you are getting a sense for what prices are going for around the dates you want to travel.

Setting your target price is important. Don't be greedy. When you see a fare that meets your target price, just buy it! And once you buy it, don't check everyday after just to see if you could have gotten a better deal. Prices fluctuate, often without warning. If you want to spend $500 and you see a fare for $490, just grab it. The next day it might be $290, but remember, the next day it could also be $800. If you really want to spend less than $500, then don't set your target price at $500. The target price is there so you don't get burned if fares suddenly sky rocket.

Another tip is to consider overseas discount carriers. In Europe they have Ryanair and Easyjet, which when booked in advance, are far cheaper than any discounted carrier in the US. I paid eight Euro (about $10.40 USDollars) on an Easyjet flight from London to Munich. My flight to London was about $183. In total, I flew for less than $200 to Munich, which was my final destination. London is a major hub. Flights from London to almost anywhere in the world (except the Americas) are cheaper, and the good news is that flights from the US to London are some of the cheapest international flights you can find.

Again, you must be careful when booking separately, though. Most international flights from the US go into Heathrow airport, whereas the discount airlines may only go out of Stansted or Gatwick airports in London. Leave yourself ample time to make your connecting flight. Just this February, I was flying home from Iceland. I got an email from Iceland that my Jetblue flight from Boston to New York was cancelled as a result of the infamous Valentine's Day storm that resulted in many cancellations on Jetblue. I went roundtrip to Iceland from Boston instead of New York, because the price was so much cheaper. So even after booking my Jetblue flights from New York - Boston, the overall fare was cheaper. While Jetblue did a fantastic job keeping me posted and compensating me accordingly, that did not change the fact that because I booked the flights separately Icelandair was only responsible for getting me to Boston, and no further. Luckily, my Icelandic friend was able to beg and plead to get me onto a direct flight from Iceland to New York.

While the recent storm was an anomaly in Jetblue's history, it still reminded me of the risks you take when booking flights separately in order to save money. Ultimately though, it was worth saving all that money!

I hope these tips help you to avoid the random, unexplainable and unpredictable airline pricing. Good luck and bon voyage!