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What are the best strategies to find good deals on flight tickets?
Main Post:
I’m planning a trip soon and want to make sure I don’t overspend on airfare. Flights often feel really expensive, and it’s confusing because prices seem to fluctuate constantly—sometimes they go up or down within hours or days. I’m looking for reliable tips or strategies that can help me find cheaper flight tickets without compromising too much on convenience or comfort. For example, are there specific days or times when it’s best to book flights? Are certain websites or apps better for finding deals? Also, are there any insider tricks like using flexible dates, booking connecting flights, or signing up for alerts that could help me save money? Any advice on how to navigate this would be really helpful!
Top Comment: Use the tracker on google flights. This will email you when there are price changes for flights. Being flexible with dates will also help. Generally, flying during the week (Tuesday through Thursday) and very early in the morning will lead to lower ticket prices. Learning how to pack your luggage efficiently can also reduce prices a lot. I have a travel backpack and a carry-on suitcase. For warmer trips, I can take about 10 days worth of clothes + sunscreen/hygiene stuff and two pairs of sandals/slides. Doing this saves me $70+ in checked bag fees.
Best site for buying plane tickets?
Main Post:
I will be traveling (on a plane) for the first time alone next year. (In the past I've always gone with a group of people and someone else purchased the tickets for me.) Which travel site is the simplest/easiest to buy plane tickets online?
I was looking at kayak, but please let me know if you have any specific recommendations. I have two diff credit cards but I have never purchased plane tickets online before. ( I would just be purchasing airfare for one person, round-trip and nonstop if possible. I am most focused on finding the best deal as well as reliability/security of the website and something that's easy to use). Any advice/recommendations are greatly appreciated. Thank you.
Top Comment: Directly from the airline
aviation
Main Post: aviation
What's going on with air travel these days?
Main Post:
I have always been an avid traveller, and have had occasional flights for work over the last 8 years. I have never had a cancelled flight in my life, or a delayed flight for more than 20-30 minutes, until this year.
Since 2024 kicked in, I have been on around 20-30 flights. Every single one of them (OK, maybe a couple have been OK) has had a delay, and a few have been cancelled.
Today's flight was cancelled and the next one is this evening, my last flight had me delayed on my first leg, and then the second leg was cancelled (I would have missed it anyway) totalling a 15 hour delay. The one before that, I was delayed 7 hours. It goes on and on.
Have air travel operations deteriorated so significantly over the last year? Is it related to climate events worsening? Or am I just having a terrible streak of luck?
Top Comment: At a macro level, per the US DOT ( https://www.transtats.bts.gov/homedrillchart.asp ), yes, flight delays and cancellations are technically getting worse (at least the worst since 2022 when Southwest had their holiday meltdown). Given how large the US transportation system is (assuming you're in the US), your chances of being delayed or having your flight cancelled vary greatly based on where in the country you're flying, the time of month/year and the airline. Flying into Hawaii on a Tuesday morning on Hawaiian airlines? Highly unlikely. Newark on a Thursday night at the end of the month? Far more likely. Compounding matters is the fact that there's a significant air traffic controller shortage ( https://abc7ny.com/post/faa-warns-shortage-air-traffic-controllers-may-disrupt-thanksgiving-travel-northeast/15592709/ ) which forces greater separation between aircraft which in turn causes a ripple effect. Finally, more people are flying. Passenger Seat Miles are up (measure of how many available seats), enplanements are up (people flying; not back to pre-Covid levels but close) and load factors are averaging 84%. I fly over 100 flights per year and my experience (although anecdotally) has been highly airline dependent. But in short, yes, there are more delays and cancellations this year than in previous years. Edit: thanks for the awards!
Who's got updated cheap flight hacks for 2025?
Top Comment: Isn’t it usually around the 45-day mark (from the trip) is the ‘sweet-spot’ for the best prices...also never book on a weekend...book on a Tues-Thurs...prices are cheaper if your flight is on a weekday as opposed to a weekend...but definitely don’t just book flights right away...monitor the prices...you will see a difference in prices every day