112 Tips for Air Travelers
Many of you fly for business or leisure. Here are some tips and recommendations for air travelers. In total, there are 112 tips – and this is far from an exhaustive list.
PART I. Prices and Tickets
1. The cheapest flights within the USA are on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Saturday. The most expensive are on Friday and Sunday. There are exceptions. The cheapest flights within the USA are overnight (though there are few of these), as well as the earliest morning, lunchtime, and early evening flights.
2. The cheapest online offers for flights within the USA are available at 3:00 PM (Eastern Time) on Tuesday (11:00 PM Moscow time). However, prices change several times a day every day, so it is impossible to pinpoint the exact hour.
3. The cheapest offers aside from special promotions can be found when booking six months or more in advance. This does not exclude the possibility of stumbling upon a very favorable price a few days before departure, but more often only for less popular destinations.
4. Tickets with a return within a month are cheaper than tickets with a return from 1 to 3 months. All discounted fares require a return no later than one month. When I fly to the USA for a month and a half, I overpay not only for loyalty and the summer season but also for the time between flights there and back.
5. If you are flying on a busy route during peak season, it is better to start looking for tickets no later than six months to a year in advance. If you regularly track prices on aggregator sites, you can even observe cycles of price increases and decreases. But keep in mind that, as a rule, each subsequent cycle of increase results in a higher price.
6. The price of a ticket is influenced by various market factors: the price of aviation fuel (if oil prices rise, ticket prices will rise), seasonality (summer and holidays are high-price times), the popularity of the route at the time of departure (prices rise for all destinations in summer, and in winter, prices for popular summer and winter resorts are also high), and other factors (if the Olympics or other major international events are taking place somewhere, prices rise).
7. If a low-cost airline operates on your route, check prices on its website. Keep in mind that tickets for low-cost carriers are usually cheaper only with very early booking and do not include numerous fees for any services at the airport and on board the plane.
8. In the USA (and partially in Europe), there are low-cost airlines that can be more advantageous at prices comparable to traditional carriers without losses: the ticket price will be approximately the same, but JetBlue allows you to carry one checked bag for free, and Southwest allows two, which saves you at least $25 ($50) respectively for a one-way flight.
9. On domestic flights, try checking the ticket prices for both round trips and one-way separately. Sometimes the total of two separate tickets is equal to or lower than the price of a round-trip ticket, but it also allows for more flexibility (for example, to earn miles for flights in different loyalty programs). On international routes, it is often cheaper to buy a round-trip ticket right away.
10. Charters are certainly cheaper than regular flights. But sometimes the price difference is offset by the need to sit all night at the airport waiting for an early flight, and the range of services on board may differ from the usual.
11. Generally, it is more advantageous to fly from major airports in large cities, even if there are flights to the desired destination (abroad) from your airport. Healthy competition is a boon for travelers!
12. For monitoring and booking, you should use different websites: online agencies (Expedia, Travelocity, Orbitz, AnyWayAnyDay), aggregator sites (Kayak, AviaSales, Momondo, SkyScanner), and airline websites. You never know where you will find a better deal.
13. Taxes and fees are added to the fare. By law, passengers must be informed of all taxes included in the price before booking, and in some countries, the advertised price must already include taxes. Pay attention: “+ taxes and fees” means the price will be higher, “incl. taxes and fees” means this is the final ticket price. But don't relax too soon. Some fees are not included in the ticket price and are charged depending on additional services. Before booking, find out the norms for free baggage allowance and whether the airline charges fees for baggage based on weight/destination. It is also worth finding out whether meals and entertainment on board are provided for free or for a separate fee. Keep in mind that some airlines charge fees for seat selection in the cabin (in economy class, for example, S7), for booking by phone or through an agency (for example, Aeroflot).
14. Don’t forget to clarify the conditions for exchanges and refunds – if you are not a first-class passenger and did not buy a ticket at a full fare, you will have to pay for these operations.
