How to save money on flights.

Flights can take away a big part of your travel budget, but thanks to these tips you can get the best tickets and fly much cheaper:

Join a frequent flyer program

Joining a frequent flyer program can have a lot of benefits, even when you don’t travel frequently.
Most programs give you benefits right away, such as discounts on seat selection and extra luggage.

On top of that, you earn miles with every flight you take. You can use these miles later for upgrades or meals.
When you have enough miles you can even book complete flights with them! Only taxes & fees still have to be paid with money.

You can earn miles faster when using a credit card that earns you miles any time you do a transaction. We use the Flying Blue World Mastercard, but there are many other options available too.

Book return tickets

Booking your outbound and inbound flight together is almost always cheaper, so avoid getting seperate tickets.
When booking a single flight last-minute things even get very crazy.
Trying to book a last minute flight from Brussels to Berlin we realised that a single flight was more expensive than a return ticket. A single ticket from Brussels to Berlin turns out to cost 50 euro more than a return ticket!

Fly when nobody wants to

Prices are always formed by demand, also for flights. An afternoon flight on friday is very convenient for a weekend citytrip, but usually also very popular and expensive. The exact same flight on a tuesday or early in the morning might be much cheaper. Make sure to always compare prices, maybe the cheap ticket is worth getting out of bed very early!

Book at the right time

Flight prices change constantly, and booking too soon or too early might be very expensive. In general, the best time to book your flight is 3 to 6 months in advance.

Use Google Flights

Comparing flights and finding the best price is made a lot easier thanks to Google Flights. It shows you the cheapest airline and times for a specified trip and takes you to the best booking option right away.

When you didn’t chose a destination yet, you can use the map view to find which destination has a great deal. Notice that a further away destination is not always more expensive!

You can also use a date graph to see which dates give you the best price for your destination and instantly save a lot of money. As you can see price differences can be huge and you are able to safe a lot of money.

Travel light

The airline industry became very competitive with the rise of low-cost carriers such as Ryanair. As a result of this, prices for seats went down. However, the airline companies try to recover this revenue by adding big baggage fees. These fees are in some cases more expensive than the ticket!
Trying to pack light and fit everything in hand luggage helps you avoid paying this fee.

Take your own snacks

Food on flights is very expensive, and the quality is often dissapointing. Pack some food yourself and avoid having to buy overpriced food. Most airports also have taps with drinkable water, so we usually fill a reusable bottle before the flight too!

Consider flying from a different airport

Your closest aiport is not always the cheapest! Some aiports demand lower fees from airlines than others, which results in lower ticket prices. Because of this it can be much cheaper to take a bus or train to/from an airport that is a bit further away from your destination.

Compare the full package

While low-cost carriers might seem cheaper at first sight, things can turn out different in the end. Adding extras such as luggage, seat-selection or drinks can make your ticket more expensive than a ticket from a premium airline that includes these services for free!