Whether you’re just flying to the next state to visit family or to Paris to see the Louvre and Eiffel Tower, traveling by air can be expensive. With a little foresight and thought, you can fairly accurately predict what your airline fare will be. This will allow you to decide whether to change your dates slightly to obtain a better fare—or at least help you figure out how much money you need to save to be able to afford the flight you want.
Check current flight prices to the city, state or country you are interested in visiting to get a general sense of the price range. If you are flying a popular route with lots of flights you will probably pay less, but if you are flying to an exotic location or a long distance you will probably pay more.
Look at a calendar to figure out the days of the week of your potential flights. Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Saturdays tend to be the less expensive days to fly. Mondays and Fridays are the most expensive because they are more popular thanks to people going on or returning from weekend trips.
Think about whether you are flying on or near any holidays, which generally raises airfare. For example, holiday weekend flights are often more expensive than others because many people want to get out of town or visit relatives. Similarly, Christmas and Thanksgiving are expensive times to fly because so many people are flying to visit family. Also consider holidays in the place you are visiting; March, for example, can be an expensive time to visit Ireland because of Saint Patrick’s Day.
Determine whether the airports you are flying to and from are major or minor airports. Major airports with international flights often have less expensive flights than small, primarily local airports.
Decide how early you plan to book your flight. If you wait until the last minute when the plane is almost full, the airline will probably charge more because the demand for the last few seats will be so high. If you book several months in advance, you are more likely to get a lower price.
Use the information and decisions from the previous steps to come up with an educated guess as to what the airfare will be for your upcoming flight.
