Cheap Airfare: How to Buy Dirt Cheap Airline Tickets

For those who love traveling and for those who have to, owing to their business needs, finding cheap airfare becomes indispensable. Traveling helps you develop an understanding of the different cultures, races and creeds that inhabited different parts of the world. It can give you some lifetime experiences, but all this does not come cheap. Traveling by air is not an economical option all the time, unless you know the trick to find cheap flight tickets. By reaping the benefit of the best and cheapest airline travel fares which you can find online, you can make a big difference to your travel expenses.

Cheap airfare is only a small proportion of the price of normal airline fares. Discounted airline tickets offered by airlines and travel companies are some of the best around. By getting such dirt cheap airline tickets, you could be lucky to travel cheap. Ranging anywhere between discounts on small trips and bigger discounts on international flights, discounted airfares for tourists have almost no match in any other consumer industry of late.

The savings often get converted into a better traveling budget or may translate into a longer vacation. By finding discount airfares, you can jog the globe in style without putting any extra stress on your wallet. So, ready to find dirt cheap airline tickets? Let's get started!

Finding a dirt cheap airplane ticket is an art; you need to be on the lookout for airlines offering discounts, package deals or limited-time promotional fares. The best way to buy cheap airline tickets is to book them well in advance. If you can neither afford regular airfares, nor book air tickets in advance, you have less options. But don't worry, for there are some last-minute deals too. The biggest secret to finding dirt cheap airline tickets is to be flexible and look around for those discount airfares together with using time-tested and proven air travel tricks. Here are few of them.

Tips for Cheap Airfares

1. Be as flexible as you can be. There are numerous offers giving you airline tickets at affordable prices. Sometimes, you can find yourself lucky enough to be asked to catch a later flight and given a voucher for free tickets for the compensation. Don't miss this kind of an opportunity.

2. Try to book your airline tickets in advance. Don't wait until the last moment and have no choice other than accepting the available seat on a plane. Instead, make the effort to book in advance. The earlier you book, the cheaper the plane ticket is likely to be.

Going for plane tickets at the last minute means that you will end up paying an extra amount for them. When airlines begin selling the whole range of tickets, naturally the cheap ones go first. So it's always a better idea to book the ticket as far ahead as possible, circumstances allowing, giving you a great chance of finding some really cheap airplane tickets. But not that it's possible to book them ahead of time. In that case too, there is a ray of hope - last minute discount deals. Airlines provide cheap airfare deals last minute, to fill their seats. If you can grab one of these, you are lucky.

3. When to buy airfare is important. Try to choose the times and days to fly, if you can. Try to opt for an air journey that can happen mid-week and especially in the late nights. The flights during these times aren't just inexpensive; they are also less frantic and take a lot less time to wait in line for. Choose week days. Avoid Fridays or holidays such as Thanksgiving or Christmas. That's when most people fly and it's also when air ticket prices soar high.

4. Going on a vacation off season is a great way to buy dirt cheap airline tickets. There's nothing wrong in going off season actually. The destination is what you decide it to be, just that the time you are going, is not when the crowds flock to that place. If you are looking for cheap airfare, don't travel during the peak season. Choose some other time and benefit from dirt cheap airline tickets.

5. Always compare and contrast the different airline companies for the airfares they are offering for the same destination. Choose the airline that offers lowest-priced tickets. You may have your favorites there, but if the airline you prefer traveling by, does not offer cheap airfare, you need to look for other options and choose wisely. It's advisable to stick to the same airline throughout your trip. Doing this can make you eligible for round trip and connecting flight discounts.

6. If you are heading for a vacation, check out those combined hotel and air packages offered. All the leading travel groups offer air and hotel travel packages in combination. These packages come at a discounted rate when purchased together. So in a way, purchasing an air and hotel package together makes sense for a consumer looking for a cheap flight as well as a cheap hotel.

7. Check out for discount offers. Many airlines offer cheap, discount summer or spring tickets. Do a thorough online search before purchasing one. There are good discount offers for different categories of travelers. If you are a student, look out for student discounts. Keep checking for student travel deals. You may be lucky to find discounted youth fares (discount offers for travelers aged 18 - 22). Military discounts are available for people from the armed forces. You can avail of bereavement flight rates if you are traveling for a funeral. If you are a family member of an airline employee, you can avail of special discounts airlines have for you.

8. Fly from bigger hubs. Yes, choosing to take a flight from the nearest airport might cost you more than starting from a bigger city. Consider driving to a bigger hub and taking a flight from there, instead of one from a smaller airport. Bigger airports means more flights scheduled and competitive airline ticket prices.

9. Use points or miles. Many airlines have frequent-flyer programs. They allow frequent travelers to accumulate flyer miles or points which can be redeemed for air travel. If you have accumulated points, use them for cheap air travel. You can even start earning them in advance, for cheap travel in the future.

10. Buy air tickets from travel consolidators. Consolidators are people who buy large blocks of tickets from airlines at wholesale prices. They sell these tickets at cheaper rates, at prices less than those advertised by the airline.

Your flexibility and thorough search online is the key to your cheap air journey. Finding the right discount on airfares is one of the most rewarding moments of the travel experience.