How to book a cheap flight

Search wide, then narrow down

Start with a meta-search engine that scans hundreds of airlines and OTAs at once. Set your origin, leave the destination as “Everywhere” and the dates as “Whole month”. You instantly see which city × week combinations are the cheapest.

Once you have a target, switch to a fixed search and compare 2–3 nearby airports. Flying into a secondary airport often saves more than the train ticket to reach the city center.

Be flexible by ±3 days

Tuesday, Wednesday and Saturday departures are statistically the cheapest. Avoid Friday and Sunday returns when possible.

Booking 2 to 8 weeks in advance for short-haul and 2 to 6 months for long-haul gives the best price/availability trade-off. Last-minute deals exist but they are the exception, not the rule.

Use price alerts and deal newsletters

Set an alert on your target route and let it run for 2 weeks. You will see the natural price range and recognize a real deal when one appears.

A good deal newsletter sends 1–3 mistake fares or flash sales per week. Acting in the first hours is the difference between booking and reading about it.

Read the fare rules before clicking pay

A “cheap” flight without a cabin bag, with a non-refundable fare and a 90-minute connection is rarely the best deal. Add the real cost of bags, seat selection and travel insurance before comparing.