3 Tips to book flights like a pro
- Pierre-Alexandre Schellekens
- 9 mrt 2017
- 3 minuten om te lezen
We’ve all been there: big dreamy holiday plans, but then comes the struggle of booking plane tickets. You could go to a travel agency. It’s easy and fast, but you often end up paying a lot more than you should. An other option is the internet. Problem is: the price you saw this morning will probably not be the same tomorrow. Here are 3 key tips that will save you time, frustration and most importantly: money!
1. Be discrete
When you search for plane tickets e.g. from Brussels to Dubai on the internet, chances are you’re going to visit different web pages. You will probably notice a gradual increase in price during your quest. This is caused cookies your web browser stores when you are walking the same path over and over again. Prices increase because the sites want to scare you into booking immediately.
So what can you do about this? Well, when booking plane tickets, be sure to always do open an incognito or private browser window. The incognito or private mode resets your cookies with each new page you open. The websites have no idea you are searching for the same destination over and over again and you will receive the lowest prices.
Pro tip: Use a VPN (Virtual Private Network) to fake an IP-adress from another country.
This can play in your advantage if you know prices are different abroad.
For a good, free VPN, download CyberGhost.
(I'm not being paid by CyberGhost, I'm just telling you what works for me)
2. Find the best dates for your destination
There are many theories about the best days to fly or to book tickets, but this is not an exact science, it can vary based on destination or season. A one day difference can easily cost hundreds of euros (or whatever currency you're using) more. When you search for tickets on Google Flights, the search engine will tell you if there are cheaper tickets on days before or after the submitted departure and return dates. You can also ask Google Flights to make suggestions on destination or dates. So if you know you want to go somewhere, but you haven’t figured out when or where, Google Flights is a good option.
Pro tip: Try to search on another nearby airport than you’re used to. If you live near Brussels, try Charleroi airport or Deurne airport too. Small airports are often dominated by budget airline companies like Easyjet, Ryanair or Wizz Air. This can be cost efficient for relatively short flights.
3. Consult a good flights search engines
After deciding on your dates and destinations, consult different flights search engines to compare prices. My search engine of choice is Kayak, most of the time they find the cheapest tickets.
Don't forget to also use the VPN to get even cheaper prices. You should keep in mind that not every website features all the airlines companies, this is certainly true for budget airlines. I have listed some other great flights search engines for you:
I hope this post will help you be more efficient at booking flights online. If possible, book a good amount of time before your departure date and your wallet should be fine!
If you have groundbreaking tips or sneaky techniques to fly cheaper, be sure to leave a comment!
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