Airfare search secrets to save money


Here are the things that travel search engines or airlines won't tell you about searching for the lowest airfare...


I have earned a reputation for being able to find low airfares for family and friends. So I thought I would share some of my secrets in how I am able to do so.

You don't need to search round trip
Most travelers, by default or by habit, search for airfare in a round trip mode.  Truth is, you are not required to search in round trip mode - even if you are leaving from and returning to the same airport on the same airline.  In fact, you might find that the combination of the round trip default travel times don't work well for your trip.  Instead, try searching from your departing airport to the destination airport one-way first; repeat for the return flight.  This way, you will see what times the departing or returning flights on those days offers the cheapest air fare.  Then piece your departing and return flight based on your preferences of price and time.


You don't have to fly the same airline departing and returning

When you search in one way mode, you do not have to choose the same airline for your departing and returning flights.  You can pick one airline going there and one airline returning.  Search engines make it easy for you when they show all airlines headed from your departing airport to your destination on a particular day.  Just choose the one in each direction that best meets your preferences of price and time.


You don't have to fly in and out of the same airport

Although it takes a bit more time to search this way, you may find that flying into one airport and then returning out of another makes a difference in your airfare.  Now this might pose a problem if you are returning to a different airport, but you parked your car at another.


It's usually not cheaper to search at each airline's own website

The travel search engines can usually buy up blocks of seats at a discounted price and the resell them to you.  You will note that when you are searching, you might see "1 seat left at this price" and then once that seat is gone the price almost always goes up.  When you search for flights on an airline's website, you don't have the privilege of comparing those rates with other airline offerings.  Some airlines rarely participate with travel search engines - such as Southwest Airlines or Virgin America.  So you may have to go to their sites and specifically search what they have to offer.


Watch for the connecting or change plane stops on non-direct flights

If you have one or two connecting or change plane flights, consider whether you simply want to stop your airfare travel at that point and take a shuttle or rent a car to complete your trip.  What I mean is this, if you are flying from Detroit to Miami and the airfare is X, but the flight from Detroit to Ft. Lauderdale is Y, and the difference between the two would more than cover a 25-minute shuttle ride to reach Miami, then choose to discontinue the flight portion of the trip and opt for the latter scenario to save money.  


Here is another example.  I searched for flights from Miami to Detroit - only to find out that the plane stopped in Indianapolis and then Chicago before going to Detroit.  It was cheaper for us to stop the flight portion of the trip in Indianapolis and rent a car back to Detroit than it was to stay on the prescribed flight route.  AND, we got into Detroit before the plane from Chicago did.


Another example is when flying from Detroit to Los Angeles, it was cheaper to take the Megabus to Chicago and then fly to Los Angeles from there. (Same goes for the reverse route.) When I say cheaper, I mean by a lot.  I wouldn't go through the trouble if it wasn't worth it, but when you can save more than $100 per person, it is worth it.  You just have to be a good judge of timing.


Search for airfare using different search engines
You may find different deals among the different travel search engines.  Although some of the search engines offer you a side by side comparison among some travel search engines, they DO NOT cover all options.  I always include bing.com/travel/ in my searches because they have a predictor tool to indicate whether they expect the flights you searched for to increase or decrease going forward.  Kayak.com is another popular site, but I have become less happy with them in the past year.  Expedia is fairly good, but its site is not optimized for smart phones.  Orbitz and Travelocity would be my next favorites. 


Luggage fees factor into airfare cost
Take the time to calculate in the cost of your luggage with the airfare.  If an airline is charging you $25 per bag, add the cost of one or two bags to your airfare and see if it is still cheaper than flying on the airline that doesn't charge for luggage (hint hint Southwest Airlines).


Search engine travel packages
If you are planning to stay in a hotel at your destination, don't rule out including searches for Flight+Hotel.  You may find that bundled together, these would save your overall cost of traveling by $50 to $200 on average than if you booked each separately.


When to search and fly
You will hear many people say that airfare is always cheapest when you search on Tuesdays.  I haven't always found that to be true.  BUT, if you are able to depart or return on a Tuesday, the airfare is generally less than any other day of the week.  It isn't always true anymore that including a Saturday night stay means your airfare is cheaper.  This doesn't even apply if you are booking in one-way mode or using different airlines per flight segment.


I hope that you find these tips helpful and I welcome any questions that you may have.