When it comes to flights abroad, the most concerning sentence for me to hear is “We got a great deal!” (Unless of course, it’s actually true!). This is because many times we sacrifice time, stress and our overall experience, in order to save a few bucks. OR… and possibly even worse, we just don’t take the time to plan. Many of us have dreamed of showing up to the airport and buying tickets last minute to some far away place. This sounds wonderful and romantic, but it generally isn’t realistic. While it might not seem it in the moment, stress, travel time and experience are just as valuable (if not more) than money and we need to balance our flight selection accordingly. Flights are literally the logistical foundation of our trips. This is because they set the tone at the beginning and then cap off the adventure at the end. If we miss a connection, or get a major delay, it can really taint our vacation, or god forbid, deter us from travelling long distance ever again. Why would we want to risk such an important piece of our experience? Unfortunately, many of us take that risk on every trip.
How can we avoid these “costly” mistakes? Can we get the exact flights we want by following a few “rules of the sky”? Can we balance cost with value? The answer is yes, but we need to plan appropriately. In fact, getting last minute deals on airfare is generally a myth (with minimal exceptions), so planning is our only sure-fire way to make sure we get what we want.
Kailah and I have now booked 13 trips, to over 16 countries from the United States since 2013. This doesn’t even include all of our domestic flights. Over time, we’ve made many mistakes and used those opportunities to learn from them. Now we have a process that consistently gets us the best experience and we want to share it with other travelers, so that they can benefit from it as well. Here are the six steps that we take on every single trip:
1. Define your when
2. Research your timetable
3. Test your options
4. Choose THE flight
5. Wait and watch
6. Buy confidently
***Important note: Don’t forget that this strategy is meant to help you find the best value flight. Not necessarily the cheapest. The goal is to provide you with the best experience, at the best cost.
Now let’s break these steps down, so we can see why they are so important:
Define your when: This is simple enough. Write down when you want to travel. If it’s an exact week (school vacation), or just within a certain month, this frames your search and sets you up for step two. Complete this step 4-6 months before your intended travel date (sometimes this can be done even further out, but you risk some flights not being listed).
Research your timetable: Take your travel timeframe from step one and spend 20 minutes searching a third-party site, like Sky Scanner or Kayak for available flights. The purpose of this exercise is to see what flights are available (departure/arrival), with the number of stopovers, total travel time and airline selection that you want. For example, you may find that if you fly out on Friday and in on Sunday, you can get direct flights. At the same time, you might find that if you fly out on Tuesday and back on the following Wednesday, there aren’t direct flights, but the layover is minimal. If you have flexibility in your timeframe, you can also search different weeks, within a given month. Or maybe you simply have always wanted to fly a specific airline, like Emirates. The variables are numerous, and this is your opportunity to balance what is most important to you. Once you have done this research, write down your preferred flights, including the airline, the home departure date/time and the foreign departure date/time. Jot down all viable options regardless of cost. Literally make a list of the flights that meet your schedule and needs. We see $500 fluctuations in price all the time, so don’t limit yourself based on the cost today. Complete this step 4-6 months before your intended travel date.
Test your options: The key to step two was to focus your search, since major airline routes are generally pretty consistent. Most airline routes are available on the 3rd party sites listed above by the 4-6 month mark (Yes, there are always exceptions). There won’t be any “magical” deals rolling in because the airlines decided to throw in a new discounted flight (Keep in mind, available routes will fluctuate between the offseason and high season). Now that you have a group of flights that work for you, it’s time to be patient and watch your flights over a period of 2-3 weeks. The easiest way to do this is set alerts for your email via one of the 3rd party sites. This allows you to see the lowest point of each of your flights costs and 2-3 weeks is generally a large enough sample for you to understand approximately what you will pay when booking. Complete this step 3-4 months before your intended travel dates.
***Note: I still check my targeted flights manually from time to time because I’ve found that the automatic alerts aren’t always accurate. I’m still researching why this occurs, but for now, keep it in mind.
Choose THE flight: By completing step three, you’ve identified which flight balances cost, with the travel time, airline, stopovers and departure/arrival times that works best for you. You’ve essentially identified the best possible flight, at a cost that makes sense for your budget. Complete this step 3-4 months before your intended travel dates. Write down the details, or make a mental note.
Wait and watch: This step is the same as when you tested your options. Your job here is to wait and watch, using the same strategy as before, except you are only doing it for one flight this time around. You also may want to do this over a 2-4 week timespan, to give yourself an adequate sample and make sure you are confident that you know where the lowest price is. Complete this step 3-4 months before your intended travel dates.
Buy confidently: It’s time. You’ve done everything you can do to ensure you are getting the best possible flight at the best possible price. Purchase your flight and don’t think twice. Could your flight drop by another 50 bucks? Of course it could, but it also could go the other way. Take it from me, you’ve done everything that you could to ensure THE BEST flight.
***Note: Some 3rd party websites will book your tickets through another vendor at purchase (for example: AirfareExperts, Vayama etc) opposed to directly through the airline. If the savings are significant, I would definitely consider purchasing this way. However, if the flights are all with one airline and cost is consistent, I would always book directly through the airline’s website. This is a cleaner purchasing process and can add benefits such as seat selection.
Alright. I know that’s excruciating detail for booking a flight. But honestly, there isn’t anything here that should really surprise anyone. There aren’t many shortcuts listed and it does take effort. But trust me, the most important part is that it works.
Cheers and happy flying everyone (maybe both?)
Kyle