@Decentlady I'd say you are lucky if you are able to land a cheap flight under a short notice. If not for fear of possible hike in prices as the due date comes closer I'd prefer booking flights maximum a week or two to actual departure date.
Haha, that's a whole new debate right there that you are starting @luisalex96. Certainly the internet has mysterious ways and one thing to get the best prices is to clean cookies and cache in order to see if the price changes or not. More, we can also use a different browser to make the comparison as marketing strategies go as far as you mention indeed.
@to7update Yes, internet is special, it works so well for ones and so different for some others. I have tested it and the prices are cheaper depending on the place you are!
Yeah. I've done that test with the site booking.com and they store my information and after some days they still show me the same price. In fact though, I visited using another browser and guess what, the price was lower! So we need to pay a lot of attention to all these details.
Sites like wizzair have some pretty amazing offer's. Also you can buy a business class ticket, wait till the plane fills up and then walk in. If there is no more space in business class you could get moved to first class. More often than not it won't happen though.
Yeah, we can be fortunate enough to do that, but we won't know until we walk into the plane. Of course, being in 1st class has its perks, but the more important for me is that I can afford the trip and the expenses I will have after arriving there, that most of the times are superior to the plane ticket. It's the cost of living on a budget.
So we have finally booked the cheapest deal possible. I did it through Air Asia which offered INR 18 K each ticket for Delhi-Sydney sector. But the fare did not include check in baggage and meals so I had to use SSR (special service requirement) facility. The final cost of the 2 one way tickets was only INR 50,250 which is still cheaper by almost INR 18 K what the next cheapest was offering.
So nothing like saving, good job @Ray1! The last time I booked flights we only had hand luggage as well. It's a little more hard work to put everything in the small cases and weighing them, but at the same time the savings make up for that. I never traveled without a meal though. How long is the flight?
@to7update The flight is one stop at Kuala Lumpur which will take 5 hours + and then a layover of 2 hours and then 8+ hours to Sydney. I have booked meals at extra cost along with checked in luggage. The INR 50 K is all inclusive for two of us checked in baggage 25 kg each person and 7 kg hand bag in cabin. Besides they offer extra edibles in flight at payment basis. That is something you have to adjust with cheaper flights.
Yeah, so many hours you have to book meals @Ray1 or else you would be starving! Not that the plane food is great, far from it, but at least we eat something. The price for the food is not that expensive right? I have never made a flight where a meal was not included in the price.
@to7update Even I have never traveled in a flight which did not have all facilities included but we had to chose this one because it's flight schedule suited us most. The other flights with all facilities with ticket price in the same time slot were almost 40-50% costlier. But after using the meals and check in baggage facility it gave us at par facilities at much lower price.
Wow, so that's a huge difference, I would have made that choice either. More, I would have made a sandwich and packed it in my bag, and I would have eaten it in the plane. We don't see many people doing this, but it's something perfectly ok in my opinion.
The idea I have when it comes to getting cheap flight is booking very early. Booking for a flight two or three months before the actual day can be a quiet way of getting a cheap flight. I have booked about two months ahead for a flight and had it cheap, same flight some passengers paid double of what I paid, quite sure they got their ticket late.
@to7update Our airports do not allow any edibles beyond security check. We can not carry even a water bottle bigger than 100 ml. If that was possible we would have carried full meals because we both are vegetarian and vegetarian food available in flights is not what I prefer to eat.
Yes, we have the same restrictions in what concerns liquids, but I recall in the past taking food to the plane. Now that I think of it, maybe that was a long time ago and before 9.11, so eventually all these restrictions were applied after and also include food.
@to7update These days virtually all the airlines do not allow traveling with liquids. I understand sometime ago there was no strict control over liquids. I do not actually know if this restrictions started after the 9. 11.
@to7update Post 9/11 everything was prohibited but now some airlines have restricted the drinks to 100 ml water bottle. I know short distance travel with cheaper flights with optional food provision is possible with this much amount of water. besides one can buy water during flight if needed.
Just recently I was in the Amsterdam airport, and we forgot to take those small bottle from our bag and we had to wait in line, and we had our bags opened just to check that. Those guys are pretty serious in what concerns the safety of the planes!
In our case, we are able to book our flights at least 3 months before our departure date. We are always trying to catch the promo fares online especially when we have travel plans. So far, we are lucky enough to get good deals
Saving money is always a good idea, isn't it? Some of my tips for getting cheaper flights are: 1. To buy the tickets in advance (preferably, months before traveling); 2. Include the tickets in tourist packages (usually I get good discounts because the agencies have an agreement with some airlines); 3. Choose specific days and times to purchase the tickets always help (choosing a minimum interval of 7 days between the round trip always guarantees a better price); 4. Avoid paying installments at all costs and always pay cash. I hope I could have helped you, folks.
