And airlines may offer bonuses (such as extra frequent-flier miles) to those who book direct. You can often avoid added costs by booking direct (the commissions are charged either as higher prices or in the form of fees for booking through a third party).
Once I've zeroed in on which airline has the best deal for my trip, I check the airline's own site to compare fares. While it's possible to book your flights on most search sites (they certainly hope you will, to garner their commission), I typically use these sites only as a first step. Firefox and Safari have similar features. In the Google Chrome web browser, select the three vertical dots in the upper right corner and then select "new incognito window." When searching in this mode, Chrome will not save your cookies or browsing history. One option is to use your browser's "incognito" or "private" mode when searching for fares. To delete your browser's search history and cookies, look in your browser's privacy settings. If you look again and again for the same flights on the same website, the site may become aware of your search habits…and increase the prices (the industry claims this is myth). Cookies remember what you've searched in the past. If you repeatedly search for the same itinerary, it may help to regularly delete your search history and "cookies" (identifying data stored on your computer by the websites you visit). For most "multicity" flights, the fare is figured simply by taking half of the round-trip cost for each of those airports. Since it rarely makes sense to spend time and money returning to your starting point, this strategy can be very efficient. Choosing "flexible dates" lets you see what you might save by flying a few days before or after your ideal time frame.Ĭonsider flying into one city and out of another. If offered, select "include nearby airports" - doing so will return more flight options (for example, Pisa for Florence or Bratislava for Vienna). If you are flying into a city with several airports, select either "all airports" or simply the city name ("LON" for London) rather than a specific airport name ("LHR" for London Heathrow). It's always smart to check more than one search site, and to look directly on airlines' websites as well. No single flight search engine includes every possible airline - and some airlines deliberately limit where their airfares appear. (For cheap flights within Europe, I prefer Skyscanner.) Flight-Search Tips CheapoAir offers pricing tables for mixed-airline flights to and from Europe.
Expedia is easy to use and consistent at finding good fares. An alternative is Google Flights, which has an easy-to-use system to track prices and lets you see how much you'd save by departing a day earlier or later.Ī couple of sites are better for flights to Europe than flights within Europe, and some nice features make their results easier to navigate. Overall, Kayak has the best results for both intercontinental and intra-European flights on a combination of mainstream and budget carriers. I've tested a number of them on a variety of journeys, both transatlantic and within Europe. Rather than checking each airline's website, I begin my search with a site that compiles my choices.įlight search websites compare fares available at multiple airlines, online travel agencies, or both, then sort them by price. If you're not using a travel agent, your first step is to research your options. It pays to be on your toes to get the best deal. Your plane ticket to Europe will likely be your biggest trip expense.
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