You are looking for a cheap flight. Here is
Wikitravel’s advice for finding the cheapest prices:
Most discount airlines in Europe sell their tickets exclusively over their website or the phone, and tickets are not available via travel agents. Most are ticketless; you simply turn up at the check-in desk with your passport and confirmation number. A credit or debit card is mandatory for booking tickets. Most discount airlines sell their tickets as single journeys only. If you want to fly return you simply purchase two singles, and there is no "Saturday night rule" as with many legacy carriers.
The pricing structure is complex, with fares fluctuating strongly according to demand, often on an hourly basis, and there are no hard rules for obtaining the cheapest fares. In fact, fares can vary from as little as £1 or £2 on special promotions, right upto £500 - such as a London-Geneva return flight, during the Feb half-term weekend.
The following will however increase your probability of obtaining cheap fares:
- Do fly in mid-week
- Do fly early in the morning or late at night
- Do fly in low season (Spring and Autumn)
- Do make use of sales. These sometimes appear 3-5 weeks prior to departure, however this is by no means guaranteed.
- Don't fly during public holidays.
- Don't book your ticket less than two weeks in advance
- Reserve special offer flights: Low-cost companies regularly organise special offer sales for the available seats. This often happens during slack periods such as in winter and you can get excellent bargains! You can even find free flights where you only have to pay airport taxes.
- Reserve in advance: The cheapest seats are often the first ones available! So don’t hesitate to make your reservations as early as possible (6 months or more). On the other hand, if your flight is still a long way away and there are no really cheap prices, you can always wait for a special offer sale to take place and hope that you flight will be cheaper.
- Price wars: If several companies share the same routes, it is highly probable that they will be undercutting each other’s prices.
- Be original in your route: Direct flights are not necessarily the cheapest. It may be preferable to take a connecting flight to profit from the best prices. On the other hand, it will take longer.
- Know the airlines: Be sure to know all the airlines that go to the destination you want, so that you can really compare all the different companies’ services. With the development of all the low-cost companies, it is difficult to know who goes to which city.
