How To Get A Cheap Flight

HOW TO GET THAT CHEAP FLIGHT Have you ever wondered why your seat mate paid a different price for the same flight? Airline ticketing is a complex process. The more you know about how seat pricing works, the better equipped you are for beating the system. Here's a rundown of what goes into a ticket. WHAT GOES INTO A PLANE TICKET? (£) Base Fare Taxes Airport Costs Operating Costs Seat Selection Baggage Administration Fee The price of your airline ticket depends on the following Competition on the route Destination L Flight date and time Class Purchase Seat Types of passengers 10 date supply-demand AIRLINE TICKET PRICE POINTS Business Traveller Leisure Traveller Ultra-price conscious Less price conscious Flexible on travel dates and destinations Prone to buy last-minute tickets Higher-end prices Lower-end prices Business and first-class tickets Leisure Tickets Airlines Set Booking Classes (price buckets) in order to maximise profit Airline ticket prices are set to charge different prices to different groups of customers based on the fact that different travellers have different perceptions of value. First Class Each booking class has a different price, based on Tickets for this booking class cost £800 Ticket characteristics Business factors such as: Business class Class Refundable Booked 2 days before departure Return on a Friday Refundability + Travel restrictions Tickets for this booking class cost £300 Stay restrictions Ticket characteristics Economy Class Booking class Economy class Non-Refundable 10 Purchase date Booked 6 weeks before departure Return on a Saturday There may be 100 seats in Economy, but there may be only 10 seats in each different price bucket. WHY DO PRICES FLUCTUATE? Airline ticket prices change depending on seat demand. Airlines use sophisticated computer programs that are constantly monitoring flights, in order to analyse booking patterns and evaluate the changing number of seats available. High Seat Demand Low Seat Demand Airlines may reduce the number of seats available at their lowest More seats may appear at fare levels that were previously fare, or wipe them out altogether. 'sold out'. This process happens continuously until just a few hours before departure. Generally, over time, fares on a particular flight will rise as more seats are booked and more fare levels are closed. Can you get a cheap last minute flight? You might expect airlines to lower their prices in the days before departure to occupy the last seats, but the opposite actually happens. Closer to the departure date, the only seats available tend to be in the more expensive booking classes. Selling a few of their remaining seats at a premium is more profitable than selling more at the regular fare. 100 seats 100 seats 100 seats 70 seats £500 each 80 seats £500 each 100 seats 20 seats £500 each £900 each 20 seats £900 each 10 seats £50,000 £1,500 each Airline revenue £58,000 £68,000 Airline revenue Airline revenue TIPS TO SECURING THAT CHEAP FLIGHT Depart on one of the slowest air travel days! Flying on certain days of the week can result in cheaper ticket prices. MON TUE WED THU FRI SAT SUN AVERAGE CHEAPEST CHEAPEST AVERAGE EXPENSIVE CHEAP EXPENSIVE Book in advance The cheapest fares can be found by booking between 54 to 66 days in advance of the actual departure date. Depart or arrive at a less convenient time Departing at the least popular travel times tends to be cheaper: very early morning and after dinner. Minimum Stay Stay at least two nights, or stay on a Saturday night (something business travellers hate to do). Do not book too early Six months or a year in advance, revenue managers don't have enough data to forecast demand and tend to pick a default level that's conservative. Have a stopover Often, the cheapest airfares are forbidden on non-stop routes. Avoid blackouts Christmas, Easter, school holidays and the summer holiday season are typically blacked out due to high passenger traffic. Check prices for one passenger first Before buying airline tickets for the whole family, search for a ticket for one passenger and then compare the price to that quoted when buying multiple tickets. The more you know about how the airline ticket system works, the more you can make that system work for you - so remember the tips above when searching for your next cheap flight. SOURCES How Do Airlines Set Their Ticket Prices - slate.com How Airlines Work - science.howstuffworks.com Understanding Airline Ticket Prices - farecompare.com How Do Airlines Set Prices? - flightfox.com Air Fares 101 - Why do fares change all the time? - cheapair.com The Best Way to Find a Cheap Airplane Ticket, According to Two Guys Who Set Fares - businessweek.com You Paid What For That Flight? - online.wsj.com Error in Booking Engines Puts United Airlines Ticket At $0 - forbes.com The 5 price traps airlines set for flyers - bizjournals.com Airlines devise own ticket price comparison tool - usatoday.com A Brief History of How Airlines Sell Tickets - crankyflier.com When to buy airline tickets - economist.com Getting the cheapest flights - finance.yahoo.com Cheapflights" .co.uk Inside the mysteries of airline fares - nbcnews.com Research into advanced bookings - momondo.co.uk