How to find and book cheap flights

As a budget-loving traveller, my biggest obstacle tends to be finding reasonable flights. While there are plenty of budget airlines and destinations, dealing with add-ons and luggage costs as well as expensive return options can be a nightmare. So, here’s how to find and book cheap flights all around the world!

Long-Haul

Having booked flights for £600 to New Zealand, £440 to Costa Rica, and £320 to Vancouver, I like to think I have an eye for long-haul deals.

The key to finding deals for long-haul flights is time and Google Flight alerts. On the whole, the airlines release long-haul flights around a year out with the bulk of the deals starting to show six months out. You can find great deals on sites like Going.com and Jack’s Flight Club, and you can set alerts for specific destinations, but more about that later!

If you’re tied into hard dates or school holidays, the prices are unlikely to change a lot, but it’s worth setting up an alert to keep an eye on the prices over a couple of weeks.

In order to find budget deals and long-haul flights, you need to be aware of the following things.

Flexibility
Festivals and events
Seasonal travel
Layovers and stopovers
No frills vs full-service airlines

Flexibility

Honestly, I couldn’t get half the deals I get if I wasn’t somewhat flexible. Using Skyscanner’s Everywhere tool and the monthly view rather than exact dates, it’s easy to see how shifting your flight a day or two can save you £100s of pounds.

Festivals and events

If you can avoid flying around Christmas or the summer holidays or New Year, do it. While flying actually on Christmas Day or Thanksgiving can prove cheaper due to lack of interest in those days, festivals and events nearly always drive up the price.

For instance, don’t head to Paris during the Olympics unless you are specifically going for the Olympics. There’s a premium here that you don’t need to pay.

Seasonal travel

Again, time is everything when it comes to booking flights. If you don’t need to fly in the school holidays, don’t do it. Peak season travel is pretty much always the most expensive time to visit any destination.

Instead, opt for the shoulder season. It doesn’t mean you have to sacrifice great weather conditions, in fact, you can enjoy fewer crowds and cheaper rates. Especially if you’re visiting somewhere that has two distinct seasons, the shoulder season is likely to have the best of both worlds! What’s not to love about that?

Layovers and stopovers

Look, don’t get me wrong, I love a direct flight. It lessens the amount of money I spend on overpriced airport food, gets me to my destination quicker, and reduces the chances of my baggage being lost. However, direct flights on long-haul can be double or triple the price.

I also like a stopover on a long-haul flight – the thought of being sat down in the same seat for 15+ hours doesn’t sound great to me. For my New Zealand flight, I went from Manchester to Hong Kong, then to Melbourne, then to Auckland, and on the way back it was just one stop in Hong Kong. It breaks up the journey and lets you properly stretch your legs.

You can also sometimes benefit from stopover programs where you can explore an airline’s hub city for a couple of days free of charge.

Some of the airlines that do this are:

Iceland Air (Reykjavik)
Emirates (Dubai)
Qatar Airways (Doha)
Copa Airlines (Panama)
Etihad (Abu Dhabi)
Ethiopian Airlines (Addis Ababa)
Finnair (Helsinki)
Iberia (Madrid)
Oman Air (Muscat)
TAP Air Portugal (Porto and Lisbon)
Turkish Airlines (Istanbul)
Japan Airlines (Tokyo, Osaka, and more)
Qantas (Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane)
Air Canada (Toronto)
Singapore Airlines (Singapore)
AirFrance (Paris)
KLM (Amsterdam)
Royal Jordanian Airlines (Amman)

No frills vs full-service airlines

I’ve heard a lot recently about Norse Airlines offering flights from Oslo to Thailand for under £100 each way. Obviously, that’s insane. However, everything is an add-on from in-flight meals to baggage. There also aren’t entertainment systems, so you need to bring your own. Basically, they’re the Ryanair of long-haul.

There’s nothing especially wrong with no-frills long-haul airlines as long as they’re upfront about what’s included and what isn’t. Also, you can do the maths yourself to see if it’s actually cheaper once you add baggage and meals.

Increasingly, even long-haul stalwarts like Virgin Atlantic and Aer Lingus have stopped offering hold luggage as standard, opting for a tier system. Again, it’s clear when you go to book, but the advertised initial price on their websites normally does not include baggage, so keep this in mind when you’re comparing prices.

Short-Haul and Budget

Okay, now on to my true budget flights and routes. In the UK and Europe, there are a few key budget airline players: EasyJet, Ryanair, and Wizz Air. Most of the time, I’m on Ryanair purely because the routes out of my home airport are mostly Ryanair. I’m not precious about any of them and they are all no-frills airlines.

You will have to pay extra for bags, for meals, if you want to sit next to your friends or family, or even if you want to check-in early. Everything is an upsell. If you’re someone who needs a lot of luggage, these airlines aren’t going to be your friend.

However, you can get one-way flights for as little as £10. What do you expect? Become a pro at packing light and these airlines are a dream.

One thing to remember is that these flights are often cheap because they either have ridiculously early or late flight times, and they go to the furthest airport in your chosen city. Before you book, head to Omio or Flixbus and check that you can get to and from the airport with plenty of time to spare. The price difference between getting a more expensive, later flight and the amount you’ll spend on airport hotels or taxis to the airport might make the difference worth it.

Loyalty Programmes

I have always been someone who loves a bargain, so loyalty programmes are definitely my jam. In order to get the most out of flight-based loyalty programmes, it’s best to choose your airline group carefully.

Personally, I’m with SkyTeam because I’m a Virgin Atlantic Flying Club member and use their credit card to build up my points. However, I also have Avios points from British Airways travel and through supermarket loyalty programmes that allow points transfers.

SkyTeam

Aerolíneas Argentinas
Aeromexico
Air Europa
Air France
China Airlines
China Eastern
Czech Airlines
Delta
Garuda Indonesia
ITA Airways
Kenya Airways
KLM
Korean Air
Middle East Airlines
Saudia
TAROM
Vietnam Airlines
Virgin Atlantic
XiamenAir

OneWorld

Alaskan Airlines
American Airlines
British Airways
Cathay Pacific
Fiji Airways
Finnair
Iberia
Japan Airlines
Malaysia Airlines
Qantas
Qatar Airways
Royal Air Maroc
Royal Jordanian
Sri Lanka Airlines

Cashback Options

I’ve spoken about loyalty programmes, but especially if you’re flying short-haul, loyalty schemes aren’t an option. That’s where cashback options can come in handy. Although budget airlines like Ryanair are rarely on TopCashback or Quidco, if you buy through Skyscanner or through a third-party website or comparison site, you can earn money back. Just make sure they’re a website that Ryanair has an agreement with, otherwise your ticket might not be valid.

You can also get cashback on certain credit or debit cards, like the Chase debit cards in the UK. I get 1% back on all purchases, so this soon adds up, but there are credit cards with annual fees like Amex that can give you better cashback if you are willing to pay the fee initially.

Another cool thing about using cashback for flights is that the payout options often include travel companies. For example, you can take the cashback you’ve earned shopping online through TopCashback and convert it into Avios points or get an AirBnB voucher with an extra 1% bonus thrown in.

Baggage and Add-Ons

Okay, if we’re talking about cheap flights, we need to talk about baggage and add-ons. Most flights nowadays do not include baggage as standard – even long haul. So, if you need hold luggage or a larger cabin bag, factor that price in before you book.

Also, don’t assume that cabin baggage will be the most cost-effective. Cabin bags are measured and priced by size and hold luggage is measured and priced by weight, so it could be cheaper to get hold luggage overall. For example, I have taken bouldering mats on an EasyJet flight as standard hold luggage because even though they’re big and bulky, they’re surprisingly lightweight.

By and large, if I’m sharing an extra bag with someone else, it’ll be in the hold. A 10kg bag on Ryanair works out at around £22 each way, whereas a smaller cabin bag can be £25+. If you’re travelling somewhere hot where your clothing is likely to be lightweight, a hold bag is a no-brainer versus a carry-on.

When it comes to adding on meals, you can bring packed lunches and snacks from home as long as they’re not fresh food. Recently, I’ve seen a lot of people bringing ramen cups onboard and just asking for hot water which is usually free.

Flight Deal Websites and Clubs

Finally, a quick word on deal websites and clubs like Going.com and Jack’s Flight Club. I’ve used both of them and they’re honestly both great if you don’t like searching for flight deals or if you’re not fussed about location.

Of course, this demands a degree of flexibility and the ability to book a trip at the drop of a hat as many of the deals don’t last long at all. If you’re the kind of person who has to weigh up prices and dither around for a while before committing, this might not be your vibe.

However, if you know what you want to pay for your next big flight and know the going rate, you can set up price alerts for certain destinations within both of these apps.