Everyone wants a cheap flight. Lets face it, flight tickest are many times the most expensive part of a vacation. Especially international flights. The most important thing you can do to get cheap airfare is to just do your research. Here are some tips I have gathered for getting low cost flights:

Use travel sites – sites like Expedia, Travelocity etc. all compare flight deals across all airlines. Most airlines will list their prices with the Airline Tariff Publishing Company multiple times per day. All the travel search engines get their prices from this agency. So all the prices will be the same across these sites, so you want to look at services they offer. What are their fees? What are their cancellation policies? Can you change your travel plans without financial penalties?

Buy in advance – At least three weeks in advance is typically a good time to buy. Airlines want to fill up the planes and at 3 weeks they start to lower prices to get people to book.

Buy during the week – I do not know how true this is, but some people suggest buying tickets on Tuesday night or Wednesday evening.

Compare rates – farecompare.com is a site that has historical data for air flights. This is the only way to actually know if you are getting cheap fares. Know what the average price is, when the price tends to go up and when it tends to go down. If you are aware of this information, you will be able to spot a good deal and buy the cheapest airline ticket.

Consider a Travel Agent- travel agents are especially helpful with international travel. When you are going to an unfamiliar place, it helps to have someone helping you. They can be very helpful when you are oversees and need a point of contact in an emergency. Travel agents are most helpful when they can negotiate package deals that include hotel stays and car rentals along with discount flights. Find the cheapest possible price for a ticket on your own, and then see if a travel agent can beat that price for you. You really have nothing to lose.

Travel to an airline hub – if you do not live in a major city, then you will pay more for your plane ticket. Typically you will layover in a major city before arriving at your destination anyways. So, check and see where your layover cities are. Then see if you can find other transportation to that city (rental car, bus etc). You may find it is cheaper to drive to a major airline’s hub than to fly from your local airport.

Check different departure dates – On domestic flights in the United States, round trip flights leaving on Friday night and coming back on Sunday are the most expensive. So play around with departure dates and times and you will see a large variation in prices. Less desirable flights such as red-eyes (overnight), early morning, and middle of the week flights are often the cheapest.

Take multiple airlines – When traveling internationally sometimes you will have multiple layovers. Major airlines may have international hubs that all flights go to. So, check and see what the prices are to the hubs closest to your destination and then check smaller local flights from that hub. You may be able to save a lot of money this way.