How to Find the Cheapest Flights

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Trying to get the cheapest flight possible is a game that all of us has played at one point or another. There doesn’t seem to be any consensus as to what site you can find the cheapest flight on every single time, but with 10-15 minutes worth of work, you should be able to find the lowest priced option. There’s a lot of options out there, so where should you start?

Direct Airfare Booking Sites (Online Travel Agencies)

These web pioneers book your flight directly with the airline. You’ll often find that their prices are eerily similar to what the airline is offering directly. The advantage to using them is you get to check multiple airlines at once. With aggregating sites joining the game, is there any advantage left in using these sites other than arranging your entire trip all on one site?

• Priceline
• Expedia

Airfare Aggregators

These are sites that claim to pull flight data from hundreds of airfare websites at the time of your search – which gives them an advantage when finding the cheapest flights over sites that book directly with the airline. It’s a business model that is supported by affiliate links, AdSense ads, and direct ad buys. A few test runs of these sites resulted in the lowest price being from a direct booking site (referenced below), matched by the airline’s site itself.

• Kayak
• Cheapflights
• Mobissimo
• Hipmunk

Booking your Flight Direct on the Airline’s Site

At times, airlines do offer low prices that are not found on any other site due to their immediacy. JetBlue and Southwest are known for frequently doing this. Many airlines are now offering RSS and Twitter feeds so that you can stay on top of special deals and updates.

How to Find the Cheapest Flight

There’s a methodical way to make sure that you get the best rate out there. But it’s worth noting that getting the best airfare is often going to come down to If you want to book your flight far in advance or if you’re flexible on when you are flying out until the last minute.

• If you want to book you flight far in advance: your search can pretty much start and end with the aggregator sites, but you may also want to check with the airline if the aggregator is not showing a price from them.
• If you are flexible: set up RSS feeds on the airlines sites and Twitter, if available, which offer the flight you want. Some aggregators and direct booking sites also allow you the opportunity to set up alerts.

Cheap Flight Discussion:

• What methods have you used to find ridiculously cheap flights?
• Have you found special fares through Twitter and email alerts?

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