Ishtar Darlington
Nowadays, the obvious way of getting from one country to the next is to take to the sky. If you don’t plan well, or aren’t aware of some of the ins and outs of doing this, you can end up paying a fortune for flights – in my early days I once payed nearly €300 for a one way ticket from Tenerife to Dublin!
Considering I tend to travel mostly within Europe, as a rule, I generally won’t spend more than €70 (and usually a lot less) on a one way trip. Here’s how I do it.
Flight comparison sites: As I’ve mentioned before, my go-to site for comparing flight costs is SkyScanner. While a few others have been recommended to me, such as Momondo, Flightmate and Kayak, I’ve always found SkyScanner very user friendly and reliable. If you aren’t picky about where you want to go you can search for the cheapest flights to ‘anywhere’ from your starting point and really get some great deals. I try to scan through the website using an incognito browser though – if I don’t, next time I come back, the prices have generally gone up by a few euro.
Ryanair: Oh the infamous Ryanair. You might have to squeeze everything into a carry on bag and sacrifice the blood flow to your legs as you wedge them in behind the seat in front of you but boy do they have some cheap air fares! Keep an eye on their website as they often run €9.99 (or less) offers around Europe. And while you’re cruising at 30,000 feet trying to be sold yet another scratch card or bottle of Emporio Armani you can be happy in the knowledge that you’ve spent next to nothing on your flight.
Go off season: If you’re not too pushed about when you go, you can knock a huge chunk off your flight costs. A ticket to Alicante will usually be much cheaper in November than it will in July. Yes, it’s nice to bathe in the Algarve’s summer sun or see the endless Christmas markets of Brussels but, unfortunately, the airlines know this too. If you go off season you not only get cheaper flights (and probably accommodation as well) but you also avoid the crowds of tourists – scrambling against ten other holiday makers for the last parasol at the pool really isn’t any fun after all!
Book early or book late: Booking flights well in advance is usually a sure fire way of grabbing some cheap tickets. On the flip side, booking last minute can get you some seriously good deals too. Of course, it mightn’t be possible for everyone to up and leave at a moment’s notice but, if you’re in a position to do this, it can be a great way to nab an affordable flight.
