Booking Your Flight - Everything You Need To Know

Every day the airlines have thousands of killer deals — from mistakenly published cheap fares to normal deals to slashed prices to compete with another airline. Cheap fares are out there if you know how to find them.

1. Ignore the myths

There are many myths online about finding cheap flights. There is no magic bullet or one secret ninja trick. So let us first say: it is NOT cheaper to buy an airfare on a Tuesday, there is NO evidence that searching incognito leads to cheaper deals, and there is NO exact date or specific time period in which to book your airfare, airfares go up and down like a Yo-Yo depending on demand.

2. Be flexible with your travel dates and times

Airline ticket prices vary depending on the day of the week, time of year, and upcoming holidays. If you are going to fly when everyone is flying, then you’re going to pay higher fares. If you are dead-set on visiting the Algarve, go to the Algarve in the spring or Autumn when fewer people visit and airfares are cheaper.

It’s always cheaper to fly during the middle of the week than on a weekend because most people travel on the weekends and airlines hike their prices then. Prices are also cheaper if you fly after a major holiday. Early-morning or late-night flights are cheaper because fewer people want to travel then. The difference of one day can mean hundreds in savings.

3. Be flexible with your destinations

If you can’t be flexible when you fly, at least be flexible with where you fly. It’s best to be both, but if you really want to save the most money on a flight, you should at least do one! Airline search engines have made it really easy to search the entire world to find the cheapest ticket — you no longer have to search manually. When you are locked into one place at one time, you are stuck with whatever price shows up. No voodoo can change that. When you become flexible, suddenly the entire world opens up to you and you’ll find amazing cheap airfare!

4. Fly budget carriers

Budget airlines now service many long-haul routes, making it possible to bounce around the world for little money. Norwegian Airlines allows you to fly between Europe and Bangkok for about £250 each way. WOW air is introducing cheap flights to Iceland and Europe from the UK for as little as £50. AirAsia offers crazy-cheap deals around Asia and Australia for as little as £100 each way. You can find even tickets from Bangkok to Kuala Lumpur for £30. You can fly most of the way around the world on a budget airline!

5. Search ticket prices as one person

Don’t search for or buy multiple tickets in a single purchase. Airlines always show the highest ticket price in a group of tickets. For example, if you are a group of four and searching for four seats, the airline will find four seats together and show your fare based on the highest ticket price. So if seat A is £200, seats B and C are £300, and seat D is £400, it will price those tickets as £400 each instead of adding up the individual ticket prices. Therefore, always search for tickets as a single person. Afterwards, in the checkout process, you can pick your seats so you and your friends are sitting together. We recommend using skyscanner.com to access the lowest fares and snap up the best deal.

6. Book early, but not too early

Airline fares will keep rising, but there is a sweet spot when the airlines begin to either lower or increase fares based on demand. Don’t wait until the last second but don’t book far, far in advance either. The best booking window is 6–8 weeks before your flight, or around three months before if you are going to your destination during peak season. Generally for short haul flights to Europe from the UK during the quieter winter months, the secret is the either book your flight as soon as the flight schedule is released or a month before you are due to travel, flights are quieter during the winter months meaning you get a great deal.

7. Make sure you enter the correct Passport Details

Unfortunately some airlines will charge you crazy fees for an incorrect spelling of a name and or passport numbers, always double check before confirming your details to avoid any nasty charges.

8. Add The Clubs

If you are taking your golf clubs, make sure you have added these to the booking, most airlines allow you to take a cabin bag onto the plane for free

9. Get to the Airport check-in Desk early

A set of golf clubs come under oversized luggage, so it’s likely you will need to go to the oversized luggage desk adding extra time to the check in process, beat the rush and arrive early for a nice relax with your group before the flight.