Just about a decade ago, before the internet, travel experts from around the world would suggest hacks like booking a connecting flight to a less expensive destination and getting off the plane in the connecting city or open-jaw itineraries, which entailed flying home from a different airport than you flew into.

 

With the advent of internet, however, most booking engines have adopted a smart approach to passenger hacks, so those well-established tricks are hard to pull off.

 

It is true that airfares are, currently, lower than ever, but being tech-savvy is the key to get the best deals. In addition to the basic hacks, there are a few secrets to book cheap airline tickets.

 

Clear your Cookies

 

Cookies are, basically, bits of information that store the user’s browsing details, which can be tracked by airlines and travel websites. Deleting the cookies effectively deletes your recent searches, which merely refreshing the page does not.

 

Timing matters

 

Check airfares to your preferred destination after midnight, because that is when many airlines reload their computers with the deeply discounted fares that people reserved but didn’t pay for. If you are booking at the last minute, look on the booking sites or aggregator sites (search engines that scour on-line suppliers, consolidators, booking sites, etc.) between Tuesday afternoon and Wednesday morning for tickets for the coming weekend. Such fares usually require that you leave on a Saturday and return on Monday or Tuesday, but few airlines offer Friday departures and Sunday returns and come at a cheaper cost.

 

Book through the Airline’s website

 

The airline’s website offers tickets at lower rates than booking engines or aggregator sites, almost always. Also sometimes, some airlines host special sales for those who book their tickets directly from their website.

 

Social Media to the rescue

 

Just like you, airlines have also been using social media channels more and more. From time to time, they lure customers with last-minute deals and other discounts on Twitter and also offer deals to Facebook fans. But beware, these deals create fan frenzy and go away at a lightning-fast speed.

 

Always compare prices

 

When in doubt or dilemma, go to Search engines like ixigo to compare prices with different travel times, dates, airlines, and itineraries. On these websites, a traveller has access to the best information of planning a domestic or international trip with comprehensive listings of hotel, restaurants and places to visit.

 

Change your Location

 

The location of booking can affect the pricing of the ticket. So change your residence location to that of the airline’s home country. For example, if you are visiting Germany, book from the german version of the website you are are booking through (www.—–.de) instead of (www.—–.com). This will yield different prices for the same routes.

 

Choose different airlines

 

Always remember that booking with two different airlines is usually cheaper than buying a round-trip. This also helps you find more convenient arrival and departure times. You can also opt for smaller or the less popular airlines, they offer cheaper rates than the more popular ones.

 

Use Coupon Codes

 

The last but not the least, use coupons to make your flight tickets cheaper. There are many websites that have an entire section dedicated to coupon codes for travelers. If you are a frequent flyer, you can cash in your free miles for airfare discounts, hotel perks, and gift cards.

 

Now that you know the tricks of the trade, let us know which ones have helped you the most to save some money.