How to get cheap plane fares: 20 ways to get the best value plane ticket

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How to get cheap plane fares: 20 ways to get the best value plane ticket

By Michael Gebicki
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Found a rock-bottom airfare, and maybe congratulating yourself with a slap on the back and a rousing round of applause? Not so fast because there's a lot more to happy flying than just price.

Airlines are expert at tailoring their product to match what the customer pays. On that cheap fare you might find yourself seated in a row with 10 passengers across aboard an aircraft that was designed for nine across, and that means a tight squeeze. You might also not have a choice of seat, and so the system has plonked you somewhere in a middle seat.

Checked-in baggage will cost you extra, and don't think of maxing out your carry-ons because there could be an ambush with a stiff penalty at the boarding gate. Anything you consume on board costs extra, and just try sitting through a long flight without fluids. You're getting what you pay for in other words – but there are ways you can work within the limits of the airline systems and build some comfort and pleasure into your flying experience without paying a whole lot more.

Here are 25 sure-fire ways to outsmart the airlines.

See also: I got 'Tigered' - when budget airlines behave badly

1. BOOK SECTOR BY SECTOR

With planning, you can make flying easier and cheaper.

With planning, you can make flying easier and cheaper.Credit: Alamy

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Known as "end-on-end ticketing", this involves making multiple airline bookings rather than just one booking for a lower total price. For example, if your journey takes you from Melbourne to Paris, it might be cheaper to buy a return Melbourne-Singapore ticket and another return ticket Singapore-Paris. Since your connecting flight is a separate booking you'll have to collect your baggage, pass through immigration and customs and check back in again, so allow plenty of connecting time.

2. SEAT WIDTH MATTERS

Credit: Alamy

Width as well as legroom tell you how comfortable your flight is going to be, and that means checking your aircraft type and mating it with seating maps on SeatGuru. In economy, an A380 should be 10 seats across on the lower deck, look for nine seats per row on a 777 and on an A330/340 or Boeing 787, eight across.

See also: Airlines that are adding an extra seat to each row in economy

3. TIME YOUR FLIGHT

On busy routes used by many business travellers, early morning flights and those around 6pm are usually more expensive, since that's when demand peaks. Mid-morning and late evening flights are usually cheaper, and potentially a more relaxing time to fly, too.

4. LOCK IN YOUR AIRFARE

Seen a bargain airfare too good to pass up but short on cash? On their Travel Exclusive tickets, STA Travel (statravel.com.au) lets you lock in the fare with a $99 deposit and pay the balance anytime up to 10 weeks before departure. Qantas (qantas.com) comes to the party with its "Book Now Pay Later" deal, available on selected international and domestic fares, also on some Jetstar (jetstar.com) fares with a $25 holding deposit.

5. LIMIT FLIGHT CHARGES

The amount your airline has to pay in fees and taxes has a direct impact on the airfare. For example, the "Air Passenger Duty" for flights over 3200 kilometres originating from the UK is £78 for each passenger in the lowest class. Throughout Europe's Schengen Area, the fee charged to an airline for each departing passenger is €8.92, about £8. That's a difference of around $115, which is why it should cost less to fly to and from Frankfurt, Paris or Rome than it does to London.

See also: Airlines that earn billions from booking fees and baggage charges

6. UPGRADE AT CHECK-IN

Check-in counter of Emirates Airlines in Dubai airport.

Check-in counter of Emirates Airlines in Dubai airport. Credit: Alamy

Depending on your carrier, you might score an upgrade to a better class at the check-in desk at a reduced cost. If you're flying with a premium carrier such as Emirates (emirates.com/au/) or Singapore Airlines (singaporeair.com) this won't be cheap but a less prestige-conscious carrier might put you in a front-end seat for a lot less. It never hurts to ask.

See also: Five way to get an upgrade

7. FLY WITH "HIDDEN CITY TICKETING" IN THE US

"Hidden city ticketing" takes advantage of a loophole in airline pricing that lets you fly for less in some cases. For example, a flight from San Francisco to New York might cost $300, whereas a flight that goes from San Francisco to Boston via New York might be only $250. You buy the ticket to Boston and exit the aircraft when it docks in New York. You won't be able to travel with checked luggage, since this will be transported to the final destination on your booking. Skiplagged (skiplagged.com) shows you the way.

8. KNOW WHEN TO BOOK

Airfares fluctuate, and there is no "best time" to book that works for all destinations all year round. However, there are some great tools around to help you with the answer. Key in your origin, destination and dates at Momondo (momondo.com.au), hit "Search" then click "Flight Insight" in the upper right corner. Your screen lights up with a graphic that tells you the cheapest week in the year, how many days in advance to book to get the best deal and much more.

See also: The best time to book a flight

9. CHECK BOTH FARES ON CODESHARE FLIGHTS

Credit: Alamy

A codeshare flight means that although you book with one airline, you might be flying aboard a partner airline's aircraft, as often happens with Qantas and Emirates. You can find that out when making your booking, and the two prices are often different.

10. LEAVE YOUR RETURN DATE UNKNOWN

If you don't want to lock in a return date, just buy a one-way ticket. It used to be that one-way tickets cost more than half the price of a return but that's not usual these days. Airlines charge fat fees for changing a flight date, particularly on discount tickets, so rather than locking into a return date that you might change, leave your return booking until you know for sure.

11. GET ME OUTTA HERE

Need to escape and open to suggestions? Head for Skyscanner (skyscanner.com.au), type "Everywhere" as your destination and back comes a list of the cheap flights all around the world. Momondo has a similar "take me anywhere" search tool.

12. FLY ON THE QUIET

Air Asia (airasia.com) aircraft have a quiet zone, a separate cabin forward of the main cabin where passengers under 10 are not allowed. Scoot has a similar Scoot in Silence cabin, and jacks up the age limit to 12 and over. Seats in these cabins cost a little more, and since these are discount airlines popular with flyers looking to travel at the cheapest possible price, it sometimes happens that they have fewer occupied seats than in the main cabin.

See also: Airline introduces 'quiet zone' on planes

13. ASK FOR THE EXIT ROW (BUT DON'T PAY FOR IT)

Credit: Alamy

Ask for an exit row seat at the check-in desk. Airlines sell these seats for an extra charge since they offer more leg room in most cases. If they're unsold, the airline has to allocate a passenger to these seats so why not ask? As long as you're fit, able-bodied and prepared to assist, you're in the running.

See also: How to secure an exit row seat on a plane

14. SAVE ON STOPOVERS

With planning, you can make flying easier and cheaper.

With planning, you can make flying easier and cheaper. Credit: Alamy

Doing a long-haul flight and fancy a stopover? Airlines will often whack on a surcharge if you want to break your journey for a day or two but if you book the journey as two separate flights you'll often pay less, even if the date and flight number are exactly the same.

15. AROUND-THE-WORLD TICKETS

If you're planning on visiting three continents, around-the-world tickets can be fantastic value but the price varies enormously. Many airlines sell them and so do Star Alliance and One World, the two big airline partnerships. A better option is leaving it to an expert, and Adelaide-based Roundabout Travel (roundabouttravel.com.au) does nothing but sell RTW tickets. Book well in advance to get a good deal.

See also: Are around the world tickets good value?

16. UPGRADE WITH OPTIONTOWN

Upgrades from one class to the next come at a high price, but Optiontown (optiontown.com) sells unsold business class seats aboard Air Asia, Vietnam Airlines and several other carriers at a big discount. Individual bookings are more likely to succeed than family or group bookings, and you might have to wait until you're in the check-in queue to find out whether or not you're flying at the pointy end.

17. SEARCH ENGINES MATTER

Credit: Shuttershock

Flight search engines are either consolidators, essentially wholesalers of airline tickets, or aggregators, which scour the web looking at airlines and consolidators' prices and showing you the various options. Not all of these search engines will show you budget carriers such as Air Asia X and Scoot, which leaves some of the cheapest options out of the picture. Monomdo is one of the few exceptions.

18. BE FLEXIBLE

Flexibility is key if you want to fly cheaply. National holidays, peak periods, major events like Chinese New Year when people are on the move all have a bearing on air ticket prices. Weekends are often more expensive for international flights because demand increases. Airfares over the same route bounce around from one day to the next, and even during the day. Most flight search engines give you the option to search the dates either side of your preferred date of travel.

19. PAY FOR YOUR BAGGAGE UPFRONT

Budget airlines usually charge more if you wait to pay for any extra baggage allowance at the check-in desk. Pay when you make your booking and you'll save.

20. FLY THE HUB CITIES

Hub cities such as Singapore and Milan are used by many different airlines, and that helps to keep prices down. If you want to fly out of a regional airport, competition is less and prices are higher. Fly from Verona in northern Italy to Copenhagen and you'll pay far more than if you take a train from Verona to Venice, just over a one-hour journey, and fly from there.

See also: World's best airport for 2017 named: Skytrax Awards

FIVE REASONS TO STOP HATING YOUR AIRLINE

1. PRICES

Flying has never been as cheap. Competition, airline deregulation, low-cost carriers and low fuel prices mean lower ticket prices.

2. INFLIGHT ENTERTAINMENT

Seat-back screens are bigger, and aboard the premier-league carriers the choice of entertainment is enormous.

3. BAGGAGE ALLOWANCE

As an economy flyer, 20 kilograms of checked-in luggage was all you got not so long ago. Today it's 30 kilograms when you fly with the leading carriers, 23 kilograms on many others.

4. SAFETY

We're safer in the skies than ever before, and getting safer with every passing year. According to the Aviation Safety Network, there was just one fatality for every 13.3 million passengers in 2016. That makes 2016 the safest year on record.

5. PREMIUM ECONOMY

Cathay Pacific Premium Economy.

Cathay Pacific Premium Economy.

The tweener class – a better seat than in economy and the preferred option for many who pay for their own seats, but choose your airline with care; some PE seats shine brighter than others.

THE FIVE SMARTEST WAYS TO COMPLAIN TO AN AIRLINE

FIX IT ON THE SPOT

Make your complaint known and give the airline the chance to resolve the problem then and there. If there's a simple solution such as moving you to another seat that might work, but be reasonable, there is a limit to what staff can do.

COLLECT THE FACTS

Evidence is vital to your case. Take notes, photos, get names and statements if you can. Note times since you might have to establish a sequence of events.

WRITE TO THE AIRLINE

Contact the airline, state your case and what you'd like by way of an outcome. These days there's a range of communication options including making the complaint in person, telephoning, via online feedback forms, Facebook, Twitter, and of course, a good old-fashioned letter, addressed to the CEO rather than the airline's complaints department.

CALL IN THE OMBUDSMAN

If your complaint is not resolved after contacting the airline your next step is to contact Australia's Airline Customer Advocate on 1800 813 129, or see the ACA website (airlinecustomeradvocate.com.au)

SOCIAL MEDIA

Outing the alleged offender on social media is not likely to win your case. Naming and shaming might feel good and once it's out you might get a few likes, sympathy, a few "that-happened-to-me-toos" but it's not going to make any difference to the outcome.

THE FIVE MOST COMMON COMPLAINTS AGAINST AIRLINES

FLIGHT DELAYS AND CANCELLATIONS

A fact of life, and airlines don't have spare aircraft and crews sitting idle and waiting to take up the slack. Scheduling is tight, and late flight arrivals are likely to impact on connecting flights which means delays cascade later in the day.

HIDDEN FEES AND CHARGES

Checked-in baggage, meals, drinks, seat selection – some budget carriers nickel and dime you for every little thing, US carrier Spirit Airlines, the undisputed Voldemort of ancillary charges, made more than 40 per cent of its revenue from add-on charges last year.

POOR SERVICE

Offhand, or downright rude? Flight service is meant to be chirpy and polite and mostly that's the way it is but making nice for hours on end can be a tough call and some passengers push their buttons, and not just the call button. Cabin crew are only human and no surprise, they show it sometimes.

TIGHT SEATING

Except on budget carriers, legroom is about the same as it was 20 years ago, but airlines have got a lot better at maximising their loads and that colours perceptions of cabin space. Also – uncomfortable fact – we're getting bigger.

LOST BAGGAGE

Airlines are getting a lot better at not losing passengers' baggage. That's no comfort if it happens to you, and you need to keep on their case. Report it straight away, keep all paperwork and ask for compensation to cover incidentals.

See also: 23 things you must do before you fly

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