Top 5 Ways to Find Cheaper Airfare on Any Airline

Call the airline directly

Airline agents who work behind phones are often given more leniency when setting the price of tickets. Ticket prices are firm online, but can sometimes be negotiated by phone. Booking a flight over the phone is also ideal if you have a specific seat location in mind.

Number 4:

Sign up for fare alerts

An increasing number of travel search engines and individual airlines are now offering "fare alerts." Fare alerts are incredibly useful in planning trips. Signing up for most fare alerts is as easy as filling out a form with your takeoff and landing point, desired dates of travel, and an email for alerts to be sent to. Some websites will even alert you if an airfare drops below a price you set. Because fare alerts are sent immediately after the fare drops or is updated, you will have first shot at the fare before other travelers scoop up the cheap seats on the web.

Number 3:

Use a travel search engine such as BING Travel or Kayak

A recent trend in search engines has drastically changed the way most people search for airfare. Instead of having multiple internet windows open with different airlines looking for the best deal, travelers can now come to one site, enter all travel details and preferences they may have and in a matter of seconds they are presented with all travel options available, with the lowest prices at the top of the results. Most travel search engines allow you to set up fare alerts for your flights as well.

Number 2:

Don't always assume bargain airlines like Southwest and Delta have the cheapest flights

A common mistake among people who rarely travel is to assume that large, bargain airlines always offer the cheapest flights. While steals can be had, especially for travel between major cities (SFO to LAX or LAX to JFK), flights to obscure airports can often be hundreds more than the same flight on a flagship airline like American or United. Using a travel search engine or calling large airlines is often the best way to compare flights on a budget airline to a flight on a flagship service.

Number 1:

Don't wait until the last minute to book air travel

One of the biggest mistakes and most common myths of finding low cost airfare is trying to book flights at the last minute. Sometimes last minute travel cannot be avoided and the cost is unavoidable, but the days of airlines filling seats at the last minute for rock bottom prices are gone. Part of the reason for this is simple economics. One example of this explained to me by a travel agent while I booked a last minute trip to Phoenix. Let's say an airline has 3 seats left for a flight from SFO to PHX. They could sell all three seats for the rock bottom price of $100 round trip and make a total of $300. However the airline could sell one ticket for $500 to the frantic traveler trying to get to his grandmother's funeral and still come out on top. Book in advance and you're sure to avoid getting trapped by the airline with an expensive flight.