GETTING YOUR TICKETS CHEAP

The era of low-priced travel is gradually  going over. These days air fares represents the biggest fraction of trip expenses, and somehow finding a cheap deal can be very difficult. Below are few tips that i have found to work for me:

BE REALLY FLEXIBLE WITH YOUR TRAVEL DATES

If you're rigid with your dates, you might not be able to get cheap fares. Ticket prices always fluctuate depending on day and time of the week. For example its always cheaper to fly mid-week. Flight prices also drop a bit on Tuesday nights. Since more people fly and book during the weekend, airlines raise prices, then drop them down mid-week as they all compete for weekend fliers.

Early morning or late-night flights are also usually cheaper, as fewer people want those flights. When searching for flights, be flexible-you'll definitely catch better deals.  Flying out very early in the morning can save a few hundreds or even thousands of Naira.

FLY TO MAJOR AIRPORTS WITH LOW-COST CARRIERS

Most major cities have a smaller, secondary airport. This is the airport most low-cost carriers (LCC) fly into because its cheaper and helps keep costs down. Airports charge landing fees, and smaller airports charge smaller fees, which helps keep prices down for you. Check out which airlines fly into these smaller airports.

In America, there are over 20 different LCC's. In Europe, there are even more and competition has kept prices there very low. In Asia, Air Asia has led to a huge drop in fares and is a great budget airline to fly. Flying the budget airlines is a good alternative to flying the 'majors' whenever possible. You get less perks, but you can save a bundle in ticket costs. Be sure to check out how far the airports are from the city centre, sometimes transportation from the airport to the city can make a budget airline more expensive. However, low-cost carriers are a good deal most times.

BE FLEXIBLE WITH YOUR ROUTE

Not only does it help to be flexible with dates, but try being flexible with the route you take too. Sometimes, its cheaper to fly to London and take a LCC to Amsterdam rather than flying directly to Amsterdam. There are so many low-cost carriers around the world that taking advantage of a good deal to another city and then hopping on a LCC to your destination is sometimes the best way to go. Moreover, direct flights are always more expensive than connecting ones depending on the airline. Just by picking a connecting flight route, you might be saving money.

BOOK EARLY

What used to be the best booking window was 6-8 weeks before your flight, but now I think its better to book as soon as you  know when you're going. You can bet that if  the aviation oil keeps going up; fares will keep rising too. It''s important to book as soon as you know when you want to go instead of playing the waiting game.