The cost of flights can be a significant chunk of a vacation budget, and as gas prices rise it becomes harder to find a good deal on a plane ticket. You can, however, use certain strategies to get the best price on your fare. This requires diligent Internet research, patience and perhaps arriving a little later than you had planned.
Package your airfare with other travel needs, such as lodging or a car rental to get a bulk discount. Online travel booking websites, as well as airline vacation websites, usually offer savings when you combine these types of services.
Visit a reverse auction website where you can bid on tickets. You input the departure and arrival airports, a date and the maximum you're willing to pay, and the site tries to find an airline willing to sell you the fare at that price. The disadvantage of this technique is that your flight time can vary widely. An advantage is that you can start at a low price and continually raise it until an airline accepts your offer.
Buy a refundable fare early. This can help in two ways. First, fares tend to rise significantly the closer it gets to the departure date. Second, if you find a lower price later you can get a refund for your initial ticket and purchase the lower-priced fare.
Check for sales in the middle of the week. Airlines tend to discount fares more often on Tuesdays so look for discounts that afternoon or on Wednesday morning.
Read your newspaper's Sunday travel section. Advertisements for reasonably-priced flights are common in major newspapers in the United States. Read the fine print, as some fares are listed as "half-round-trip" to give the impression the price is lower, when you must actually double that rate to get the true fare.
Prepare to be "bumped." Book popular flights during busy times, such as weekends and holidays, and arrive at the airport early. Airline often overbook flights because they know some passengers will usually cancel or change their flights. When the flight time nears and the airplane is oversold airlines ask for volunteers to take the next flight and receive compensation, such as free airfare on a later date. By taking advantage of this situation you can get two flights for the price of one, if not a better deal.
