How to save on air tickets?

Technologies for finding and buying cheap air tickets.
Author: I flew from Kyiv to Dubai and back for $99, to Bangkok for $399, and I have many such examples. I know very well that frequent travel is not synonymous with high prices. When traveling long distances, it is air travel that makes up the lion's share of the travel budget.
In this article, I will talk about how to search for the most budget offers from airlines, how to track promotions, tell you the technology of buying air tickets online, talk about air passes, the secrets of choosing seats in the cabin and much more.
And as a bonus, a great tip on how to make a FREE stop in the Maldives to swim in the turquoise Indian Ocean!




How do I find out which airlines fly to/from the city you need?
Usually, when planning a trip, I always go to the airport website, look at the schedule there, the availability of additional services (for example, I found a spa and a swimming pool at Dubai Airport with a long connection, an amazing excursion tour of Frankfurt Airport), maps of terminals, how to get to/from the airport, etc. Where mainly low-cost airlines fly.
Here is an example of the website of Memmingen Airport, it is a former military air base in the south of Bavaria, now there are several flights of WizzAir and Ryanair. The airport's website marks the cities with which there is a connection.





The Wikipedia page about the airport, in many cases this way is even faster, for example, I want to know which airlines fly from Hong Kong to Singapore.
The advantage of this way is simplicity and clarity, I see all the airlines, I can find out where each of Hong Kong flies. After all, not all airlines are represented on flight search aggregator sites.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hong_Kong_International_Airport



The airline's website, where there is a flight map.
For example, here are the WizzAir destinations from Kyiv:



I really like the route map (including low-cost ones) on the SkyScanner website — www.skyscanner.com.ua/cheap-flights-map
Just select the airport and see all the flights from it.



Another map based on google maps, looks nicer than lowcostmap.com:



Search on sites like "what flies from city A to B". Example: www.whichbudget.com
I don't use this method, I didn't find a nice site.

How do I track airline stocks?
1. Subscribe to the newsletters of all major airlines / low-cost airlines that fly from your city. Living in Kyiv, I am subscribed to the following email newsletters: UIA, AeroSvit, WizzAir, Lufthansa, AirFrance/KLM, Czech Airlines, LOT. These are the ones that interest me. Global airlines usually offer promotions that are applicable in a particular region, so it's not enough to just "like" the airline's general social media page. But, for example, British Airways, AlItalia from Kyiv never offers anything interesting in their mailings. This is the way that will allow you to be the FIRST to know about the airline's promotion. If you don't need to fly anywhere, just delete the email, BUT almost all my travels start with an interesting promotional tariff in the newsletter, because the world is huge and almost all is created for traveling :)
Of course, promotions are different. Lufthansa Airlines periodically offers very pleasant fares to Mexico, South America, Asia, and sometimes Africa.
For example:



From Europe to the United States (especially to New York) you can usually always fly for 500-700 dollars, except for the summer period with peak load and the work-and-travel period from April 15 to September 15.

And in West Africa, the former colonies of France, there are practically no shares, since they are usually connected with Europe by 1-2 airlines.
There can be many such examples.

2. Monitor the thematic sections of forums, read news on the websites of travel agencies, follow the mailing of aggregator sites for searching for air tickets, etc.
Here you will find some unexpected news and promotions of airlines that you missed from the original source, interesting finds of other users, etc.

3. Once you look for something for a long time or fly something somewhere and then for a couple of months see a Google ad with banners of this airline.

Features of tariff setting:
1. The cost of air travel with a low-cost airline consists of separate ROUND TRIP + RETURN fares, which are summed up.
For a one-way flight, the fare does not change.

2. A one-way flight with a traditional conventional airline costs only a little cheaper/just as much more expensive than a round-trip flight.

3. A direct flight with a traditional airline from A to B will almost always be more expensive than the options with a transfer that competitors offer.

4. Be sure to read the terms and conditions of the tariff!

What to pay attention to:

– refundable fare or not, if so, with what conditions, with what fine.
– penalty for failure to appear for departure
- Using a sequence of segments: In the cheapest fares, you will NOT be able to use individual segments or use the route incompletely.
Example: Kyiv-Frankfurt-Singapore and Singapore-Frankfurt-Kyiv. In this case, when flying there, it will not be possible to "get hooked" in Frankfurt and the entire ticket will be canceled.



– layover – stay at the transit point for up to 24 hours. It's usually free.
Example: You are planning to fly from Kyiv to Bangkok via Istanbul, Turkish Airlines operates two flights a day to Istanbul. That is, when choosing a flight, you can plan your route so that you arrive in Istanbul on a morning flight, walk around the city for a day and fly in the evening INSTEAD of choosing a short connection.
Keep this option in mind when choosing a travel route, it is a free opportunity to at least drink a cup of coffee with a view of the Bosphorus in the case of the example above :)

– stopover – staying at a transit point for more than 24 hours. It can be paid or free.
Example:
– Emirates Airlines provides the opportunity for a free (!) stopover up to 96h in Dubai on the way there or back, if you fly through Dubai.
— Some tariffs provide for the possibility of a paid stopover (usually 50-100 dollars), i.e. the opportunity to stay for some time on the road at a transit point. This can be a great idea for a combined route.







A case from experience about my free stay in the Maldives:

During the search on the site SkyScanner.net found a very interesting option for traveling to three countries at a very good price!
Emirates does not fly to Kyiv, BUT has an agreement with Aerosvit, UIA and FlyDubai on the Kyiv-Dubai segment for further connections with Emirates flights.
Entering Kyiv-Colombo, I got this route at a price of $ 650 per person in both directions:



After looking at the www.emirates.ua website , it turned out that there are 2 flights a day from Dubai to Colombo.
There are direct flights, and there are flights through the Maldives (Male Airport), i.e. with an intermediate stop of the plane. (There are also Dubai-Bangkok-Hong Kong flights, Dubai-Colombo-Singapore, etc.).
That is, if the passenger flies to the final point in the intermediate one, he simply sits on the plane for 1 hour during the departure and landing.

I looked at the fare rules and saw two interesting things - a free stopover to Dubai and a paid one in the Maldives :)

— SO. STOPOVERS

FOR DEFAULT CONDITIONS
04 STOPOVERS PERMITTED USD100 — 04 STOPOVERS FREE OF CHARGE DXB.

PE. PENALTIES
FOR DEFAULT CONDITIONS

REFUND BEFORE DEPARTURE:LESS USD75.

"I called an Emirates representative and found out:

– layover, i.e. staying at an intermediate point until 24 hours – free of charge, i.e. in this situation you can fly to the Maldives in the morning and fly in the evening, or spend the night.
– stopover – more than 24h + $100, i.e. you can stay in the Maldives for a few days.

That is, for $ 650 for one ticket you can visit Colombo, Dubai, Maldives.

About the stopover in Dubai:
www.emirates.com/ru/russian/plan_book/dubai_stopovers_on_arrival/dubai_stopovers_on_arrival.aspx

Online visa request on the Emirates website:
www.emirates.com/ru/russian/plan_book/essential_information/visa_passport_information/uae_visas.aspx

I did not dare to buy this ticket online with a subsequent change in booking and purchased a ticket from an agency where a qualified employee could 1) first choose the Kyiv-Colombo route, and then 2) arrange flights so that we arrived in the Maldives in the evening, and continued our journey in the morning, i.e. we did not stay a day absolutely free!!
As a result, the route looked like this:



And the Maldives is absolutely free!







Where can I buy air tickets?
1. At the airline's ticket office
Usually, airlines charge 30-100 euros for their services at the ticket office. Modern people do not go to the cash register with one word.

2. At the ticket office of a travel agency
Travel agencies have the opportunity to search for tickets in the global booking systems "Amadeus" and "Galileo".
Global booking systems were invented a long time ago, specifically for agencies and ticket offices at a time when there were no sales on the Internet.
Low-cost airlines are not represented in these booking systems, this is another cost-cutting option for them. Flight search aggregator sites are a kind of online agencies that are also connected to booking systems.
Sometimes you can't buy certain destinations on the airline's website, but you can buy it through an agency. (For example, most UIA and Etihad flights)
Sometimes agencies have certain agreements with airlines and buy through them cheaper than directly through the airline's website. So keep this option in mind.

In travel agencies, you can buy tickets for both regular flights and "last-minute" free seats for charters. Keep this option in mind.

3. On the Internet:
— on the airline's website
Usually I buy a ticket on the airline's website directly. In this case, in case of any nuances, I know that I will deal directly with the airline, and not with an intermediary.
Low-cost airlines sell their tickets ONLY on the Internet, their flights are not present in global booking systems, and therefore are not displayed on most aggregator sites.

— on the aggregator site for searching for air tickets
I usually use such portals only to search for tickets, until I had a situation when the cost of tickets from them is significantly lower than directly on the airline's website, but such cases are not uncommon, judging by the messages in the forums.

My algorithm for searching for air tickets:
1. Search for air tickets on the aggregator site
2. Search and purchase of the found flight on the airline's website
3. Purchase from a travel agency in the absence of other options.

Aggregator sites:

www.anywayanyday.com
www.kayak.com
www.expedia.com
www.onetwotrip.com
www.skyscanner.net
www.pososhok.ru
www.aviasales.ru
as well as:
matrix.itasoftware.com/
www.airtickets24.com/

There are a lot of aggregator sites, each has some advantages, disadvantages and its own features, I will tell you about those that I use.

I love cool design, so anywayanyday is my favorite :) Huge numbers and letters, a flying airplane, an iPhone app that recognizes a voice search query.
Let's try to look for a flight from Kyiv to Colombo on April 4-11:





There was an option for $1087:



The second search engine that I love for its design is onetwotrip.com



Also more than 1100 dollars, in general, in this test, the beauty and elegance of the design showed its complete inconsistency, and it's a pity :(



Highly recommend a great website pososhok.ru!
Of course, it has an outdated design, but there is a great feature - the "tariff matrix", i.e. the distribution of a lower tariff to neighboring days on the calendar.
Usually, this option is available only on the website of the airline that sells tickets for its flights, but here it is possible according to the search results for all available airlines:



There is also a tariff matrix on www.buruki.ru and here: avia.travel.ru/
In general, a cheaper option was found!



Another popular Russian site aviasales.ru
I don't use it, I don't see anything special in it, BUT he found a good tariff!



SkyScanner, on the other hand, offers search to low-cost airlines, and thanks to this, after clicking on the offers "Are you flexible in your choice", I got the option to fly even cheaper - for $551!
FlyDubai :) Option



But the most popular Western resource kayak.com found the same flight for $559.

An interesting hint with a kayak: there was 1 hour left before the end of the Lufthansa action (until 24.00 on Monday), when I decided to buy a ticket. After filling in all the fields, at some point the transaction did not go through, I called the bank, waited a long time for the operator's response, etc...
At 24.00 all tariffs changed upwards, then I went to Kayak and found a tariff even 50 dollars less than I planned to purchase, the kayak redirected me to the American (!) Lufthansa website, where a good promotional price was available (after all, it was still Monday day in the USA).
After that, I came across a couple of more tips to switch to the American version of the Lufthansa website for purchases, as cheaper rates are possible there.



The above shows that there is no perfect search engine, each traveler has his own preferences in this regard.
Therefore, I recommend trying several options. Even with such a simple example, the first searches gave a cost of 1180 dollars, better options were found for 680 dollars, and after playing with the dates for 550 in general!!

And I can now buy the ticket I found on the website of the airline flydubai.com. However, if the difference in price is significant, you can also buy it on the search engine site, here the choice is at your discretion.
This is a low-cost airline, but the connections offer excellent in this direction!



And a couple more tips:
— Another important advantage of search aggregators is the creation of an interesting route, taking into account partnership agreements between airlines, for example, SkyScanner offered the route Kyiv-Beijing-Guangzhou and back by Aerosvit Airlines on the Kyiv-Beijing shoulder and two different airlines on the Beijing-Guangzhou shoulder. The total cost was about $650.

— When looking for air travel in the United States, be sure to use the website bing.com/travel
He offers a price forecast - take a ticket now or wait. When choosing the New York-Chicago flight, I waited 3 weeks and bought a ticket 2 weeks before departure at the lowest price.
Moreover, 3 airlines offered an identical price, I looked at the websites of all three airlines and settled on Delta Shuttle, which at that time on the flight offered free beer and sandwiches, I really love pleasant little things!



What should I do if a transaction fails?
— call the bank, enable the ability to pay with a card on the Internet
– call the bank and raise the limits for conducting a campaign on the Internet
– call the bank and disable the CVV2 code check, if possible, since sometimes the operation does not go through, even if there is a field for checking it, sometimes there is no CVV2 field at all.

What are airline bonus programs?
These are programs within the same airline or association/alliance that allow you to earn miles both for flights and for other services.
My tips:
— Always study the terms of the bonus program before flying, even if you are using the airline for the first time.
– Check-in and present your membership number at check-in at the airport AND/OR during online check-in
– check out the list of partners (hotels, car rental companies, travelsim, etc.) Your free flight may be much closer than you think.
– ask if your airline is a member of one of the airline alliances, as their bonus programs are mutually compatible, BUT ask BEFORE entering your membership number in the booking, as it is better to send miles in advance to the airline where you have more / or where the conditions for saving miles are better.
"Somewhere miles have an indefinite time of accumulation, somewhere you need to use them once every 2-3 years or fly with this airline to save your account.
– for a domestic flight, you usually need 10-15 thousand miles, for a flight within Europe 20-30 thousand, for a transatlantic flight 50-70 thousand.

The notorious, but often uncontested "those f***ers" © make their bonus system worse and worse from year to year. But my Ukrainian airline UIA has a very pleasant and transparent system of accumulating miles without any unexpected write-off and several partners, despite the fact that it is not part of aviation alliances.
The accumulation and use of miles is the topic of a separate report, it is a very interesting feature.

Major airline alliances:
The Aviation Alliance is a partnership of airlines that allows you to achieve a higher level of international cooperation in commercial air transportation. Airlines within the alliance retain their legal independence, but at the same time unify such elements as the booking system, the bonus program for air passengers, introduce joint flights and agree on flight schedules.
For us, passengers, this is important when choosing an airline according to the current participation in a particular bonus program, all other things being equal.
As well as the ability to use air passes (AirPass)







Here is an example of an Austrian Airlines aircraft in Star Alliance livery:



What are Airline Passes?
It is a single travel card within a region, continent, multiple continents, or even a round-the-world pass.
Each aviation alliance has quite a lot of them with many options and conditions, if you want to know more, then you are here:

www.staralliance.com/en/fares/regional-fares/
www.oneworld.com/flights/round-the-world-fares/
www.skyteam.com/en/your-trip/Travel-Passes/

An example of a round-the-world air pass to 6 continents, the estimated cost is 4-6 thousand dollars with all fees and taxes.



From my personal experience of traveling, I was interested in the airpass only in South America, but I did not buy it, since by going through dozens of different combinations, the route was made 30% cheaper than a similar airpass.
I concluded that air passes are an option for lazy people or travelers who are not limited in budget.

My example is 6 flights in South America for $750, there are no low-cost airlines and the distances are huge in fact:



Manage your booking:
There are four ways to find out the status of your booking or make sure that everything is fine if you bought a ticket through an aggregator site or agency:
— through the airline's website in the "Manage my booking" section
— by calling the airline's call center
– for airlines based in the Sabre system (Aeroflot, AirMalta, Jetairways, Ethiopian Airlines etc) bookings can be checked on www.virtuallythere.com
– through the website of the Amadeus ches system kmytrip.com
– through the Galileo viewtrip.com system website
On the airline's website, you can choose a seat, order/change meals, select additional services, etc.

How do I choose the right seat in the cabin?
Despite the fact that all airlines fly on the same aircraft models, the cabin layout differs significantly depending on the airline and even on a specific board.
I highly recommend the site seatguru.com
Example description of seats in the cabin, Airbus A380 (economy class):



Where can I keep my flight history?
There are also several such sites, but I chose the most beautiful from a visual point of view, here are my statistics: flightdiary.net/alexcheban
When a flight is entered into the log, the system imports all data, including the flight number.



flightaware.com – but this site remembers a specific route on the map (as it changes depending on the wind, weather conditions, etc.) of a particular flight on a certain day for the past 4 months.

Important afterword:
— In many countries, there are exceptions to the rule, for example, in China, there is a completely different structure for buying air tickets and pricing.
"In Nepal, there is no Internet and booking systems on domestic flights, we in the agency just bargained from 120 to 70 dollars for a Pokhara-Kathmandu ticket, the ticket was issued on an indistinct form by hand after a call "somewhere in the center"
"Professional travelers are unlikely to find anything new in this article, but beginners will definitely discover interesting ideas and facts. Nevertheless, I will be grateful if you share your experience, links, tips in the comments, I will gladly update the post for more complete information on the topic.
"I shared my experience, I will be happy to listen to something I don't know.
— Unfortunately, it is not always possible to fly from your city cheaply. If the state pursues a monopolist policy and ousts low-cost airlines from the market, if there is only one carrier on the line, tariffs predictably grow to exorbitant figures.
In this situation, technologies for finding cheap air tickets are powerless.

I am waiting for your comments and clarifications :)

Enjoy and budget your travels!











Useful Aviation Links:
— List of low-cost countries in the world: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_low-cost_airlines
— Airline fleet and age of aircraft: www.airfleets.net
– The site remembers a specific route on the map (as it changes depending on the wind, weather conditions, etc.) of a particular flight on a certain day for the past 4 months flightaware.com
– log of registration numbers of the aircraft performing flights, i.e. it is fashionable to look where a certain aircraft flew over the past month: flight24.com
— Which seats are good and comfortable, and which are not, cabin maps of various aircraft of various airlines: www.seatguru.com, seatexpert.com/, www.airlinequality.com/Product/seat_intro.htm
"On the www.flightstats.com you can find out (and track) both a specific flight and see the arrival/departure board of almost all major airports.
— Where to store statistics of your air travel? The most beautiful and illustrative site: flightdiary.net/alexcheban (my statistics). A little worse graphically here: www.flightmemory.com/, openflights.org
"Are you going to spend the night at the airport?" Read reviews and secrets, find a quiet place in some secluded corner: www.sleepinginairports.net
- How to find free Internet and a socket for recharging: www.atlarge.com, airpower.pbworks.com and airpower.jeffsandquist.com
— Airline reviews: www.airlines-inform.ru

Source: alexcheban.livejournal.com