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Finding Cheap Flights Guide
When to look for the cheapest flights?
Flight prices change dynamically depending on demand, season, and booking time. The best time to book is Tuesday and Wednesday when airlines update prices. Be flexible with dates - shifting by a day or two can significantly lower the price. Travel Wednesday to Thursday if possible - these are the cheapest days to fly. Avoid Mondays and Fridays which are more expensive on weekends. Book in advance, but not too early - optimal is 6-8 weeks before departure for domestic flights and 2-3 months for international.
How to use search engines?
- Use "incognito" mode - prices may be higher on repeated searches
- Check connections - connecting flights are often cheaper than direct
- Compare results - use several search engines to be sure of the best price
- Check smaller airports - in the region it might be cheaper than the main one
Hidden costs
Low ticket price is not everything - pay attention to additional fees. Checked baggage is often charged separately, as is seat selection. Baggage prices depend on airline and route. In low-cost airlines, every item costs extra. Also check return and change policies - if plans may change, buy a flexible ticket. Compare total costs, not just the base ticket price.
A 39 fare becomes 129, and the 95 fare becomes the cheap one
Budget airlines unbundle everything that can be unbundled, so the advertised fare is the price of a seat and nothing else. Add a bag and a seat assignment and a 39 ticket bills at 129 — at which point a 95 fare that already includes them is the cheaper flight, despite looking more than twice the price.
How it works
- Adds every ancillary fee to the base fare: cabin bag, hold bag, seat selection, priority boarding.
- Doubles the fees for a return, since almost all of them are charged per direction.
- Compares the true total against a fare that bundles the same items in.
true fare = base fare + bags + seat + boarding + payment fee return = true fare × 2, because ancillaries are charged each way compare totals, never base fares — the base fare is the one number designed not to be comparable
Worked example
A 39 budget fare with the usual extras, against a 95 fare that already includes a hold bag and seat.
- advertised 39
- cabin bag 25, hold bag 45
- seat selection 12, priority boarding 8
- budget total: 129
- full-service fare including bag and seat: 95
The 39 fare bills at 129, a 231% uplift, and the 95 fare is 34 cheaper. Return, that is 258 against 190 — the fees, not the fare, are what scale.
Reading the result
- The comparison flips on what you carry. With only a cabin bag the budget total is 64 and it wins by 31; with a hold bag and a chosen seat it loses by 34. Neither airline is cheaper in general, which is precisely why the fare alone tells you nothing.
- Cabin bag rules are where the sharpest charges sit. Several carriers include only an item that fits under the seat, and gate fees for an oversized bag are typically several times the price of adding it online beforehand.
- Ancillaries are per direction, so a return doubles them while the base fare may not. That asymmetry is what makes cheap outbound fares look better than the trip they belong to.
- Count the journey to the airport too. A fare 30 lower from a secondary airport an hour further out rarely survives the transfer cost, particularly with more than one traveller.
Common questions
- Are budget airlines actually cheaper?
- For hand luggage only and flexible dates, usually yes — 64 against 95 here. Once you need a hold bag, a specific seat, or a checked-in family sitting together, the bundled fare frequently wins.
- What is the single biggest avoidable cost?
- Paying for a bag at the gate. Adding it during booking is the cheapest point, adding it later online costs more, and doing it at the airport costs most — the same bag, priced by how little time you have left.