![ita matrix ita matrix](https://live.staticflickr.com/8453/8024337960_796088cabf_n.jpg)
Google Flights is one of the easiest to use search engines, with plenty of visual options for flexible searching by day or route. There are plenty out there, but here are a few of our favorites (which we use for examples in this guide). Searching, flexible or not, is made easier with a good flight search engine. Image: Google Flights The best flight search engines This can be useful when planning to see how far in advance to book. Google Flights shows price history for the past 60 days for most routes. It can also show price trends for the past 60 days for many routes. Google Flights offers this and will email price changes to you. It is also worth signing up for flight price tracking. Budget airlines, in particular, tend to increase prices dramatically in the days before departure. There can be good savings offered in sales, but in general, looking a few months in advance will provide the best fares. Book early, but not too earlyĪnd finally, when thinking about travel flexibility, what about the issue of when to book travel? There is a lot written on this, but in reality, this depends a lot on the airline and route. The UK, for example, has some of the highest departure taxes of any country, so traveling first to another European country could save (this is especially true if buying premium cabin tickets). The price reductions could make extra travel worthwhile. Photo: Getty Imagesįor long haul flights especially, you might want to consider traveling further to a departure airport. Taking a train to another departure city could save money. And in Europe, moving to another city or country could introduce other options for connecting carriers. For example, in the US, it is often more expensive to fly from an airline hub city. Airlines price tickets for different markets, so a change of origin could make more difference than you think.ĭeparting from another city may bring in options for other airlines.
![ita matrix ita matrix](https://www.creditdonkey.com/image/1/550w/ita-matrix-minconnect.png)
The same idea for traveling to a different airport applies, but are other opportunities. And think about your starting point as wellĭeparture airports can make a difference too. A cheaper destination may have increased transport costs – public transport into London from Stansted is more expensive and time-consuming than from Heathrow, for example. Make sure you consider additional costs, though. ITA Matrix allows you to add all airports close to your chosen destination easily. Likewise, Google Flights offers an option to show ‘Nearby Airports’ for your chosen flights. This can be combined with other search options, such as flexible dates, for some very powerful searching. ITA Matrix has good functionality here, allowing you to search all airports within a given distance range. Searching for other cities (or in Europe, other countries) is a bit more complicated. For London, for example, you can usually select something like ‘London All Airports (LON)’ rather than ‘London Heathrow (LHR).’ Google Flights has an excellent map display of other destination options. Searching for different airports in the same city is easy with most search engines. If you don’t have enough flexibility for this, try just changing either your departure or return – it can still make a difference. Simply changing your preferred departure date by a day or two can significantly improve the price. Airfares vary with demand and finding a less popular time, route, or airport can make a big difference to the cost. While there are some great ways to get lower fares using search or hacking techniques, the best approach is simply to travel when it is cheapest. Choose a loyalty program that fits your travels.Want a deal? Try scouting out for error fares.Change the currency in which you’re paying.
![ita matrix ita matrix](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/cuca_14B2R8/maxresdefault.jpg)
Airlines will track your searches – use an incognito window.And think about your starting point as well.Be mindful of your destination, but be aware of hidden costs.When is the best time of year to fly for cheap flights?.