With constantly changing prices and hundreds of travel platforms promising the best deals, knowing how to get cheap flights can feel like an art form.
To cut through the noise, we’ve put together this guide on the best way to find flights for less. In it, we skip the myths and show you the real tools and tricks avid travellers use to fly cheaply. The flight cost is often the most expensive part of a trip, but it doesn’t have to be the difference between going and staying.
1. Book your flights in advance – but not too early
KAYAK data gives the following advice:
- When to book cheap domestic flights: 7 days ahead of departure
- When to book cheap international flights: 11 days ahead of departure
- When to book cheap flights within Europe: 30 days ahead of departure
That said, In my experience, if you’re flying domestically in peak season, you should be looking to book early – around four to six months ahead of time. For international flights, you can extend that a little – four to eight months ahead in peak season like summer of Christmas, two to six in the off-season. They’re big windows, but there are tools to help take the legwork out of tracking prices.
Booking long haul international flights
If you plan to travel long haul, it’s great to think about your destination around a year in advance if possible. This gives you the best shot at keeping an eye on price fluctuations, letting you take advantage of sudden price drops or one-off deals when the time is right.
I did this when booking my honeymoon flights to Japan. We decided we wanted to go to Japan and kept a close eye on flight prices for up to a year in advance. We ended up taking advantage of a New Year’s sale in January 2023 and booking our flights then for our trip in November 2023. We saved about £400 per person – a huge amount of money that went on Japanese currency instead.
Kirstie Pickering, expert travel writer
KAYAK has a huge number of tools that can help you find that perfect deal on a cheap international flight – as you will see below.
2. Save time searching for cheap flights with KAYAK Price Alerts
If you’ve got a fixed destination and date range for flying, you can set a KAYAK Price Alert that lets you know when the airfare gets cheaper to save you from repeatedly searching.
Once the route is available, you can set your price alert from different areas in KAYAK. Go to ‘Notifications’ in your profile to create a price alert or look for the ‘Track prices’ toggle under ‘Our Advice’ on the left of the search results page. Once set, you’ll get an email whenever there’s a price drop on that route with a link to book the flight.
If you’re still unsure whether to book there and then or wait a little longer, our Price Forecast tool can help with that too.
3. Book with confidence using KAYAK Price Forecast
4. Be flexible with your travel dates and times
Yes it’s easier said than done, but having a little flexibility on the days and times you fly will open up a world of cheaper fare options.
- The cheapest days to fly are generally Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Saturdays.
- Fridays, Sundays and Mondays are the realm of business travellers, so are often pricier.
- Flying on or after a major bank holiday (Christmas Day flights are notoriously cheap) does usually bring the price down.
5. Embrace the unknown with KAYAK Flexible Flight Price Alert
If you can be very flexible with your travel dates, you can save even more time and money. Similar to the KAYAK Price Alert, our Flexible Flight Price Alert monitors your chosen route and lets you know when flight prices drop across a set range of time.
Just log in to your KAYAK account from your desktop, go to ‘Notifications’, and click on ‘Create a Price Alert’. Choose the ‘Flexible Dates’ tab and enter your departure and arrival airports – particularly handy if you’re flying long haul where prices can fluctuate by hundreds of pounds.
6. Choose another airport to fly in and out of
This doesn’t necessarily mean abandoning your trip to New York for a trip to Lisbon, just because the flights are a bit cheaper. If you’re flying from London to New York, as with many destinations around the world, you have several airports to choose from – and flights to them won’t all be the same price.
This is particularly the case in Europe, where many of the low-cost (budget) airlines like Ryanair and easyJet are based in airports a bit further out of town.
Not only do they offer cheaper airfares, but they often have cheaper car rental options too. On the downside, they can mean a longer and more expensive commute to your final destination.
7. Get cheap flights to anywhere with KAYAK Explore
Sometimes dates and destinations aren’t the biggest thing – sometimes, you might just want to get away, anywhere, but have no idea what’s achievable within your budget. For just such occasions, there’s KAYAK Explore.
All you need to know is your budget. Explore will do the rest, showing you where in the world you can fly based on prices, desired dates or the type of trip you want to take.
Results will include the cheapest routes for every airline within the next six or so months, including nearby airports, direct flights and stopovers. You can of course adjust all these settings based on your preferences. Dive in – the world is waiting for you!
According to KAYAK.ai, another great tip is to use points or miles to book your flights – because, let’s face it, nothing is better than free flights!
8. Make stopovers – and mix and match airlines
If you’re willing to sacrifice a little haste, making a stopover on your journey is one of the best ways to find flights for less. Play it right with a long enough stopover and it can even feel like extending your trip to include another destination.
While you’re at it, try mixing and matching airlines, as booking individual flights for each with different carriers will often save you money. If you’re not stopping for a proper visit, make sure you leave at least three hours between flights to cater for delays.
You’re booking separate flights rather than connections, so carriers won’t wait for you! Take only carry-on luggage for such trips, as having to collect your bags for each leg can be a pain.
9. Use KAYAK Search to find the cheapest flights
Not all search engines are created equal, so spending hours trawling different sites to get discount flights is time wasted. KAYAK is a dedicated travel search engine that compares hundreds of airlines across hundreds of travel sites to help you find cheap flights.
Choice is the keyword here. When you search for flights on KAYAK, you get access to a range of smart tools to tailor your trip and find cheap flights at the same time. Here are some of my favourite cost saving features:
10. Pack wisely when travelling with budget airlines
We’ve all been there – jumped at the excitement of finding a very cheap flight for a budget airline, only to realise there are add-ons you’ll need that raise the price. My biggest tip? Pack wisely. Make a packing list, and then cut it down by at least a quarter.
Luggage can be an expensive add-on with budget airlines (sometimes costing almost as much as the original flight cost), so if you can whittle down your usual checked bag to hand luggage, you could save yourself some serious money. Heading on a short weekend trip? See if you can reduce your luggage to the free underseat bag allowance.
If you don’t mind where you’ll sit, another tip is to avoid paying for seat selection. This can soon add up (especially for bigger groups) and is an easy way to save some money.
11. Don’t waste your time on travel myths
Despite what many travel websites and blogs claim, there isn’t any one magic hack that will guarantee you a cheap flight. Heard that you should only book your flight on a Tuesday? Wrong! This is a legacy of when airlines would make their fares available at predetermined times – today, it makes no difference what day you book.
Search across lots of devices using incognito mode to find cheap flights? Waste of time! Prices are set by complex algorithms, not by the device or browser you’re using.
The simple moral of this story is that you can’t control the prices you see. All you can do is take the smart approach: follow the tips and use the KAYAK tools I’ve laid out in this article. That way you’ll travel safe in the knowledge you got a cheap price with minimum hassle. Bon voyage!
Why is it so complicated to find cheap flights?
Lots of factors affect the prices of flight tickets, not least the laws of supply and demand. This means prices can change often and by significant amounts, making it frustratingly hard to find the many amazing deals that are out there
Seasonal changes dramatically affect prices. Travelling in the high season is always more expensive than in the low season. School holidays see a bump in prices, and special events or holidays can create a price spike in specific destinations, like Carnival in Rio.
Some of our favourite flight routes:
- Cheap flights to Paris
- Cheap flights to Berlin
- Cheap flights to Amsterdam
- Cheap flights to New York
- Cheap flights to Canada
Cheap flight FAQs
With lots of tools and filters to customise your search and take the legwork out, KAYAK is your place to find cheap flights. Of course, we would say that – but the simple fact is, it’s true. KAYAK trawls hundreds of airlines across hundreds of travel engines to find the best airfares for your needs.
With lots of tools and filters to customise your search and take the legwork out, KAYAK is your place to find cheap flights. Of course, we would say that – but the simple fact is, it’s true. KAYAK trawls hundreds of airlines across hundreds of travel engines to find the best airfares for your needs.
The best way to find a cheap domestic flight is to plan your trip several months in advance, choose your route and then set up a price alert that will send you an email every time your ticket price drops. You can set it to specific travel dates or, if you’re flexible on when you fly, to let you know price drops over a longer period – which will likely save you even more!
If you know where you’re flying from and to, and have set dates or a travel window in mind, setting up a KAYAK Price Alert is as simple as flicking a switch. Follow our guidelines above on how to set it up and get notified when prices change.
