How You Can Gain Control Over Key Holiday Expense — Airfares

There are several nerve-wracking experiences that people face and booking a plane ticket for a holiday can turn out to be one of them. Finding that fares have gone sky high and then left without much of an option but to cough up a huge amount can be frustrating.

The other thing that it can do is to throw your entire holiday budget out of gear. This can be a difficult situation because it will mean more expenses for you at the end of the day.

However, there are small ways to lessen the burden as far as airfares are concerned.

There are several dynamics at play when it comes to airfares because it is also a question of demand and the kind of supply on offer.

For example, it is no surprise to find that fares to holiday destinations have spiked on Fridays or before a long weekend. Similarly, fares after a weekend will also surge as people try and get back from their holidays. Business sectors are also expensive early in the day.

This is the reason why it is important to first take a look at the calendar and understand the situation about upcoming holidays before you start booking.

It will be possible to find lower fares just after the busy time period or day has passed. This means that if you are a bit flexible, with respect to your air bookings, then the chances of getting something cheaper is definitely on the cards.

In some cases, travelling even on an important holiday itself can turn out to be cheaper, because most people would not want to be on a flight on such a day but be somewhere else enjoying the occasion.

The flexibility of travelling is the basic factor that can ensure that the high costs can be mitigated to some extent.

There is another way to look at the trip planning, if the airfares have gone very high, and this is from the point of the time of travel.

Often, when it comes to domestic travel, timings play an important role in the final cost. If the flight is not very long and you are able to make arrangements, so that getting to the destination after landing is not a problem, then flights at slightly odd hours can lead to a significant amount of savings.

This has to be considered carefully because it’s not just the cost that is important, but the convenience that needs to be considered, especially on a holiday. 

When it comes to air travel, there are a lot of competing airlines that are present. Hence, it always helps to look at all the choices that are present in a particular sector. There might be a good deal being offered by another airline and this can prove to be a cost saver.

There is always a trade-off because the inconvenience could come in some other area, like timing, but each situation has to be weighed before deciding.

The airline choice might be important for long-haul international flights, so this needs to be considered as the quality of service and comfort matters more in such cases.

Often stopping at a slightly lesser-known airport while travelling overseas can lead to a lot of savings, as far as airfares are concerned.

This route is again not suitable for everyone because those with families with young kids or elderly people would want comfort more than anything else.

But for the young and those looking for deals, routing your trip through such a place can lead to a lot of savings, as far as the final price is concerned.

This is mainly possible for international travel and hence, one has to look at this angle too in the final quest for a lower airfare.

Arnav Pandya is founder of Moneyeduschool.