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Flights4 min readReviewed

Cheap flight tips: 12 practical ways to save

Saving money on flights usually comes from many small decisions rather than one big hack. These twelve tips cover timing, routes, luggage and booking, plus a few popular tricks that are best avoided. Use them alongside our step-by-step guide on [how to find cheap flights](/blog/how-to-find-cheap-flights).

Timing tips

When you travel shapes the price more than almost anything else. Demand rises and falls with seasons, school holidays and events, and fares follow it.

  • 1. Travel in shoulder season. The weeks just before and after a destination's peak season often bring lower fares, fewer crowds and still-pleasant weather. Our destination guides cover the best time to visit places such as Japan and Italy.
  • 2. Avoid school holidays and big events where you can. Flights around holidays, major festivals and sporting events fill up quickly. If your dates are flexible, shifting a week can make a real difference.
  • 3. Consider less popular flight times. Early-morning, late-evening and midweek flights are often less in demand than Friday and Sunday afternoons. Check that the timing works with public transport at both ends before you commit.

Route tips

Changing how you get somewhere can matter as much as when. These tips widen the set of fares you can choose from.

  • 4. Check every nearby airport. Smaller or secondary airports can have cheaper fares, but add the cost and time of getting to them before deciding.
  • 5. Be open to one connection. On longer routes, a connecting flight is often cheaper than nonstop. Keep connections on one ticket and leave sensible time between flights.
  • 6. Try an open-jaw trip. Flying into one city and home from another, for example into Rome and out of Venice, can save backtracking and sometimes money. Our Italy guide explains classic routes between cities.
  • 7. Use positioning flights with care. Sometimes it is cheaper to take a short flight or train to a bigger hub and start a long-haul trip from there. Book generous gaps, because separate tickets do not protect you if the first leg is late.

Luggage and extras tips

Extras are where a cheap fare can quietly become an expensive one. Planning them in advance keeps the total under control.

  • 8. Pack light. If you can travel with only the free personal item or a cabin bag, you avoid checked bag fees altogether. Check your airline's size and weight limits and measure your bag at home.
  • 9. Skip paid seat selection when you can. If you are happy to sit anywhere, the free seat assigned at check-in is fine. If sitting together matters, compare the cost of seats against a fare that includes them.
  • 10. Check in online and keep your boarding pass ready. Some airlines charge for airport check-in or printing boarding passes. Read the rules for your fare in our guide to budget airline fees.

Booking tips

A little preparation before you pay helps you recognise a good deal and keep it.

  • 11. Set price alerts early. Watching the same route for a while shows you the normal price range, so you can book confidently when a fare drops instead of guessing.
  • 12. Use points and loyalty schemes sensibly. Airline and credit card points can cut the cost of a ticket, but compare the taxes and fees on reward bookings with a paid fare, and avoid spending more just to earn points.

Tricks to avoid

Some widely shared tricks can backfire. Hidden-city ticketing means booking a flight with a connection in the city you actually want to reach and skipping the last leg. Most airlines' conditions of carriage prohibit it, checked bags go to the final destination, and airlines may cancel the rest of your booking, including the return.

Be wary, too, of very cheap fares on unfamiliar booking sites with unclear terms. If something goes wrong, recovering your money can be difficult. Booking with the airline or a well-known agent, and keeping your confirmation emails, gives you a much stronger position.

Finally, a cheap flight is only a good deal if the trip works. Once you have fares, our AI trip planner can draft a day-by-day plan around your flight times.

Tools that make these tips easier

You do not need special software to save on flights, but a few habits help. Use a search tool with a flexible-date or month view to see prices across many days at once, and set alerts for the routes you care about so you hear about drops without checking every day.

Keep a simple note of the prices you see for a route over a couple of weeks. It takes a minute, and it turns a vague feeling about whether a fare is good into something you can actually judge.

Finally, plan the trip around the flights you find. Our AI trip planner compares flight options for your dates and drafts a day-by-day plan around the times you choose, so a cheap but awkward flight does not quietly cost you a day.

Draft your itinerary in minutes

Our AI trip planner turns your dates, budget and interests into a day-by-day plan you can refine. Check practical details with official sources before you travel.

Create your personalized trip plan

Frequently asked questions

How far in advance should I book a flight?

There is no single right answer for every route. Start watching prices early, especially for holidays and popular events, and book when you see a fare that is good compared with what you have been tracking.

Is hidden-city ticketing allowed?

Most airlines prohibit it in their conditions of carriage. It can lead to checked bags going to the wrong city and the airline cancelling the rest of your booking, so it is not worth the risk.

Are connecting flights worth the saving?

Often, on longer trips, as long as the connection is on a single ticket and leaves enough time between flights. Weigh the saving against the extra journey time and how you would cope with a delay.

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Destination guides

Official sources and further reading

Practical details such as entry requirements, prices, timetables and opening days change. Always confirm them with the official sources below before you travel. Last reviewed by the AIFlyTrip editorial team on .