3 simple ways to score a cheaper airline ticket

I’ve been writing about airfare for more than a decade so I know plenty of ways to cut costs. But these three methods should be used by everyone, every time they shop. It will ensure you find the best deal possible.

1. Don’t go directly to Spirit

That’s right, don’t go directly to Spirit. Or Frontier or Allegiant or Wow or Ryanair or any of the discount carriers. I am by no means saying don’t fly these airlines; on the contrary, Spirit and the others often have incredible airfare deals. But no airline has the best deal all the time. Solution: Always compare ticket prices on an airfare comparison site. Recent example: prices for a flight from Newark to Seattle in October:

• Spirit: $496

• Alaska: $259

In this particular instance, if you had only shopped the discount airline site, you would have paid hundreds of dollars more than you had to. Again, this won’t always be the case; Spirit and other discounters often have the best price, but again, no single airline always has the cheapest ticket. Compare fares to be certain of getting the best price every time you shop.

2. Accept some aggravation

You know what’s aggravating? Taking two flights to a destination when you could have flown a convenient nonstop. The aggravation of traveling on a connecting flight, however, may not seem so bad if you can save $100+ per ticket and this sometimes happens especially on longer flights. A couple of examples for October travel.

Los Angeles-Paris

• Nonstop: $633

• One-stop: $493

Chicago – Frankfurt

• Nonstop: $589

• One-stop: $460

Note: There are plenty of routes where nonstops are as cheap or cheaper than a connecting flight; it all depends on airline competition and other factors. Another good reason to always compare fares and to at least consider a longer route.

3. Avoid rigid itineraries

You want to go away for the weekend so you make plans to depart Friday and come home Sunday. Many of us choose the same itinerary because it’s so darn convenient. The problem is, the airlines know we like to fly these days so they raise prices for Friday and Sunday travel. Next time you plan a getaway, avoid the rigid Friday/Sunday itinerary in favor of a Tuesday or Wednesday departure and a Saturday return. This example shows prices for different nonstop flights on different days, for New York-San Diego in October.

• Friday departure, Sunday return: $545

• Tuesday departure, Saturday return: $375

So there you have it: three important things to do to get cheaper airline tickets, easy to do and it really works. Give it a try.