Tips to Find the Cheapest Christmas Flight
Christmas is all about spending quality and quantity time with the family and the people you love. Most of us are busy with our daily obligations that we do not see them much so being home for Christmas is really a must. Reality bites though as Christmas airfare is such a pain in the pockets.
It is quite a challenge to find a cheap airfare during the holiday season. Anyone who might have booked their flights might have stricken out the word cheap from their vocabulary. Go to a website and punch in your target dates and you will get the ticket prices that can knock you out of your seat. Adjusting the dates doesn’t do any good since the prices are really sky high during the Yuletide.
It can be a bit frustrating. You also cannot use those frequent flyer miles since these dates will typically be blackout days for airlines. You may not be able to find the cheap ticket you are looking for this Christmas but there are still ways to avoid those very high ticket prices.
Research early and Book your Flights early
Always remember this. The best month to start looking for your Christmas plane tickets will be in September. The tan lines might still be there or you might still be having the summer hangover but booking your flights as early as possible can save you a gazillion pennies.
This doesn’t mean that you have to buy your tickets by September but you will see the trend that the ticket prices are dropping below the average as winter starts to set in. It will be best to have your tickets purchased before October ends. Aside from getting cheaper rates, you will be assured that you can book your flights on your preferred dates.
It is also a good practice if you can sign up for a website which can automatically update you on ticket prices. This way you will not be missing the good airline deals.
Checkout the Budget Airlines
It is very easy to monitor the ticket prices of the big airlines but there are small carriers which can offer you great bargain Christmas tickets too. Sometimes we are not just familiar with these companies that we just browse or skip through them when we scan the list of ticket prices.
More often than not, even booking websites do not include these budget airlines on their lists. Whatever their reason is, this just means that you have to click your mouse some more for those cheaper Christmas airfares.
You can also check the ticket prices on the website of the budget airline itself. Some offer their bargains if you buy from their own website and not from ticketing affiliates.
Try to be flexible on your travel dates
Moving your arrival or departure by a day or two can spell a lot of difference what your credit card bill will be like after a month. If you have loads of time during the Christmas season be sure to inquire for the most affordable dates since most of the holiday will mean high cost of airline tickets for travelers. Adjusting your schedule by a day or two can give your budget that needed stretch. The price difference during the Christmas season will not be that great on a day to day basis but still saving some money still makes a lot of difference in this economy.
Look for other Airports The bargain flights might be on the big airports because of the sheer volume of passengers during Christmas but this doesn’t mean that you cannot look for other airports for your arrival and departure.
The smaller airports proximate to your destination may serve as hub for some of the discount airlines that can save you some dollars. Using these alternative airports may be cheaper compared to passing through the big airline hubs.