Flight Deals - Cheap Flights

1. Always try to book early. If you've been typing cheap flight into Google looking to book via a budget airline, you may have found that the airlines sell their tickets on a first-come-first-served basis. They don't sell the rest of the tickets until closer to the flight date, and when they do the price will have been hiked up (that is of course, unless they've already sold out).

2. Be flexible. Flights do tend to be cheaper than those at the weekend (for obvious reasons). It's not just the day you choose to fly though. If you're willing to get out of bed before dawn, or happy to arrive at your destination late at night, the price will be normally be lower to reflect this. The most expensive times are mid-morning and late afternoon, so avoid them if you can.

3. Get yourself some Airmiles. Ever heard of this? Airmiles was introduced in the 80s & rewards loyalty to certain airlines - it's like, they don't rely any longer on a simple 'Thank you please fly with us again' mantra when you're exiting the plane.

These days, with all the competition from budget airlines, more and more they're trying to save you even more money by not going elsewhere. Bottom line? It's all good for us! 

You can pick up Airmiles at Airmiles Nectar and Star Alliance or simply speak to the steward / stewardess on the flight you're on if they mention it. All you need to do is to join one of these schemes, and whilst airlines do still reward you points for buying their flights, you can also build up your Airmiles simply by handing over your Nectar card for example, when you're shopping in places that accept them.

4. If you see a deal - GRAB IT!. You'd think that once you've managed to locate a cheap flight Airport will be your next step only after you've firmed up on everything with your travel companions, but hold on a minute! If you're just a little unsure if you or anyone else can make the dates and so on, just book it anyway. See what's available holiday-wise at work, check with those dates to avoid etc., and once everything's sorted.

5. Always book online. Whatever deal you find when looking for a cheap flight, have a look online to see if it's on offer for even less. The tendency is for airlines & its affiliates to offer a great deal of tickets online, because the cost to them is much less than operating High Street shops with employees taking lunchbreaks & seeking pay rises every year!

Booking online means that you can avoid the frustrating wait on the phone or the employee who couldn't really care whether you find the best deal.

6. What exactly is the catch? When you unearth that glorious deal online, you'll have to have in mind that with one click of the button there'll be a whack of extras added to the price you thought you were paying. The only real snag in booking online I suppose is the fact that you'll likely have to pay a small credit card charge. You'll also have to pay the airport taxes and security fees.

Don't let all this put you off though, because the lower your cheap flight Glasgow and other sites offer you, the more you'll save in the long run - if the price is higher elsewhere you'll probably still have to pay the same amount of taxes etc. on top of what would be a higher fare. Just bear it in mind before you get disappointed when you reach for your card at the payment screen.

7. Sign up to the Airline Newsletters. Whilst it's always a good idea to keep your newsletter subscriptions to a minimum (to save on SPAM etc.), these updates are normally pretty useful, especially if you're a frequent flyer. Tracey also keeps an eye in the local newspapers for deals here and there - I'm sure it's much the same wherever you live - and pretty often manages to find one when she least expects it.

8. Watch out for connecting flights. As I touched on in another page, this tip is pretty important! As I've found out to my detriment in the past, the risk you take with budget airlines arises if you book connecting flights.

All of the budget airlines are point-to-point only. This means that they offer no transfer of luggage from one flight to another, so for every flight you take, you normally have to go through the whole check-in process again. All budget airlines operate such a quick turnaround procedure that even a half-hour delay on one flight can mean huge delays down the line as planes wait for take-off and landing slots at busy airports.