10 Tips for Getting the Best Airline Tickets:

1. Check multiple airlines.

2. Consider alternate airports.

3. Buy at the right time.

4. Fly during the week, if possible.

5. Fly non-stop flights, if possible.

6. Look for refundable tickets and then cancel them, if possible.

7. Look for kids fly free promotions, if possible.

8. Look for cheap tickets during off-peak seasons and times, if possible.

9. Be flexible about your final destination, if possible.

10. Consider booking a ticket on Southwest Airlines

If you want to get good deals on airplane tickets, there are things that you can do to make sure that you get them. If you can plan in advance, and be flexible with your dates of travel, you can find the best deals. Other things that will help include where you book your ticket, whether or not you have a frequent flyer number, and how full the flight is. You may also be able to save money if your flight has layovers, or if it is at an odd time.

Booking Your Airline Tickets

You can usually book airline tickets through a travel agent, or directly through the airlines themselves. Sometimes it is cheaper to go directly through the airlines that are flying those routes. Usually they will give discounts if you buy the tickets far enough in advance, but sometimes they will offer last minute discounts as well. You can also use online booking sites, which compare the price of several different airlines flying a certain route at once. This way you can find out who has the cheapest tickets at any given time.

Buying Your Airline Tickets

It is always good to buy airline tickets far in advance if possible, because they are often cheaper this way. Sometimes airlines will have sales on all their flights at once, so that even buying close

1. Look for an Airline Ticket Sale

Start looking for airfare sales just after the first of every month—airlines often start sales on Tuesdays and end them on Thursdays. Compare airlines, dates, and times and book your ticket. If you have a specific time frame in which to travel, be sure to look ahead and behind those dates as well. You may find that you can save even more by changing your plans by a few days or even weeks.

2. Be Flexible with Your Travel Dates

You may also find better prices if you change the day of the week you fly out or return home. For example, if you are leaving town on a Thursday night, try flying out on a Tuesday morning or Wednesday evening instead. You may not have to miss work at all, but you could save $100 or more by changing your flight plans. The same works for returning home; fly back on a Saturday morning rather than Sunday afternoon if possible.

3. Look Up Holiday Dates Beforehand

Ticket prices are highest during holidays when children are out of school, so keep this in mind when planning trips around special occasions like Christmas, Memorial Day, and Thanksgiving. Fly out before or after the holiday weekend if possible to save

The best way to save money on airline tickets is to buy round trip tickets rather than one way. While you can sometimes find good deals on one way tickets, it is rare that you will get a better deal than buying round trip. It is also a good idea to purchase your ticket at least 2 weeks in advance of your flight. The closer it gets to the date of the flight the more expensive the tickets become. If you must make a last minute reservation, you are likely going to pay quite a bit more for your ticket. It is also important that you book your flight during the week if possible. The weekends are typically when most people choose to book their flights, so there are fewer seats available and the prices tend to be higher.

Another good way to save money when buying airline tickets is to fly during the off-peak times of the year. Airlines charge more for their tickets during the peak travel seasons such as summer and major holidays because these are times when more people tend to travel. Because there will be less people flying during certain times of the year, airlines lower their rates in order to attract them.

It is also important that you know where to look for cheap airline tickets online. There are many websites that offer discount airfare rates if you know where

1. Get the best airfare deals by booking your tickets well in advance and traveling during off-peak times. If you can, fly mid-week.

2. Fly with the same airline whenever possible to earn frequent flier miles.

3. Use these airlines’ websites to determine which days during the week have the lowest fares.

4. If you’re flexible, use online tools that let you search for fares based on your home airport, departure dates and desired destinations.

5. Consider buying tickets directly from an airline website or a travel booking site that allows you to compare prices on multiple sites at once.

6. Search for flights by using Google’s ITA Matrix search tool, which allows you to view fares on multiple dates and from different departure cities or airports in one screen.

7. Find out when fare sales are offered by subscribing to airline newsletters and following them on Twitter and Facebook for special offers, such as $99 one-way tickets from New York to Florida this fall if booked within 48 hours of the sale announcement.

8. Look for discount codes through affiliate marketing sites like RetailMeNot that offer a percentage off bookings or a specific dollar amount off purchases at certain sites such as Exp

1. Know the basic ticketing rules

2. Buy your ticket no later than 3 weeks before you travel, or no later than 14 days if you are traveling over a holiday period*

3. Use your airline’s frequent flyer program*

4. Use a discount travel site to find the best fare*

5. Travel during the off season*

6. Fly midweek rather than on weekends*

7. Fly in the early morning or late at night*

8. Book online directly with the airline or through an online travel site*

9. Be flexible about your destination and flight dates*

10. Consider buying your own ticket and having your company reimburse you for it, rather than paying for it through your company’s travel agent

This article was posted on TheFlightDeal.com by George Hobica, a syndicated travel journalist and blogger whose website, www.airfarewatchdog.com, tracks unadvertised airfare wars and fare sales, including the most helpful and always updated Top 50 Airfares.*

Hobica has been quoted in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, USA Today, the Associated Press and Reuters. He also has appeared on NBC’s Today Show; CNN; Good Morning America; CBS Evening News; FOX Business Network; Bloomberg; ABC World News Now; and CNBC.

Follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/airfarewatchdog or email him at george@hobica.com.*

Airlines get a lot of bad press these days, but they do occasionally offer airfare sales that can make life easier (and cheaper) for travelers.*

So what should you know to get great fares when they’re offered?*

1. Check with an airline’s Web site or call its reservations number before contacting a travel agent or booking online to see if there are any special offers available.*

2. If you’re flexible about dates or destinations, try searching for fares by month rather than by specific dates to see if you can