We are now in the middle of summer (finally) which means only one thing for those lucky enough, jetting off abroad.
Whether you're travelling with family or friends, you'll want to make sure you get the cheapest deal possible.
However, as you have probably experienced before, it's not always that simple.
With that in mind, we've drawn up a list of some handy top tips from travel agents who we feel have cracked the code for getting the best deal:
Fancied a pizza so instead of spending £40 on Domino’s I paid £19 for return flights to Milan on Cheap Flights Club and £8 for the best pizza I’ve ever had 😂😂 pic.twitter.com/6IjUSwnFEb
— Liam Bond (@liambond89) July 29, 2024
Incognito
According to Travelsupermarket.com, fares start to increase when you make repeated searches for similar flights – something that happens when airlines (or at least, their tech) realise you’re keen to bag a certain flight.
“By turning on incognito mode on your browser, you avoid cookies, which hike up the fares you’ll see,” says frequent flyer Jeremy Clubb, founder of Rainforest Cruises.
"Equally, a VPN (virtual private network) can be helpful when you're booking a flight. You can take advantage of the inconsistencies airlines have when pricing their flights in different currencies.
“If you use your VPN and search as though you’re in another country with a lower cost of living than your own, you might well find the prices of your ideal flight are lower.”
Recommended reading:
Flight booking mistakes that end up costing you £115 or more
Warning to Ryanair, EasyJet, Jet2 & other airline passengers
TUI customers slept on conference floor amid IT outage
Booking too early
We’re all for being prepared, but booking flights too early could see you miss out on a last-minute bargain.
“Unless you’re planning a trip during known high demand periods, booking more than eight weeks before your departure date means you risk missing the fare drops that typically come along four to six weeks before the flight departure,” says Dr Volodymyr Bilotkach, Associate Professor in Aviation Management at Indiana’s Purdue University.
Booking on a Sunday
According to Expedia’s Air Hacks report, travellers can save up to 13% when making a booking (note: making the booking, not taking the actual flight) on a Sunday instead of a Friday.
The report also found that flights departing after 3pm are 50% more susceptible to cancellations than the earliest flights, which brings us to our next tip…
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