Best Way to Book Flights

First thing is first, if you are looking to get free drinks, free food, free checked bags and no layovers you are going to pay more! Why? Because nothing is “free.” These perks are always included in your price. No airline is going to offer you a cheaper flight because it is of lesser quality (you’re still going to get from point A to point B safely), it’s because you will likely not receive these perks, as they’ll likely need to be added on.

Look up your flight, look it up again and keep looking!! The best way that we have found to book our flights is using multiple websites and constantly comparing prices. If you are on a budget, do not buy the first flight you see! We can not emphasis that enough!

Even as Independent Travel Agents, the platforms we often use when we are looking for flights are, Hopper (IOS/Android App), SkyScanner and Student Universe. Due to our age, we are able to access Student Universe. It’s great for finding discounted prices and truly finding cheap flights. Each of these websites compares multiple airlines.

Once we find the flight we want, we go directly to the airline website and find that exact flight.  It is almost always the most inexpensive directly through the airline. If it isn’t, you can call and price match. Once we book directly through the supplier, we are able to register the booking through our business, collecting commission back on our flight. Being Independent Travel Agents truly has its benefits. If you have questions about becoming an Independent Travel Agent, please reach out!

We found both our Ireland and Thailand flights through Student Universe. We had layovers with both but the layovers were less than two hours. The flights also included checked bags, a carry on and a personal item, which was essential since we were traveling for extended periods of time!  We traveled with IcelandAir when we were going to Ireland and our flight cost 415 dollars per person when other websites were listing the exact same flight for 830 dollars per person.  This just goes to show how important it is to shop around for flights. Consolidators like Expedia and Booking are not always the least expensive. 

Our Thailand flight cost us 530 dollars per person! Devin had made this journey years ago and had bought her flight for 850 dollars. That may only be a 320 dollar difference but that 320 dollars can go towards meals, accommodation and an excursion during your trip! We traveled with Air China and received two meals (which we don’t typically eat, but more about that later) and an assortment of beverages including red wine throughout the flight. We never eat the meals provided on flights, because they simply don’t make us feel very good. These meals contain high amounts of sodium, MSG and nitrates, so we usually bring our own food/snacks.  This is something you may want to consider while traveling as airline food can be packed with preservatives, sodium and other unhealthy chemicals.

For short weekend getaways, we like to use SkyScanner. We used Sky Scanner a lot when we were in Ireland because we had a flexible schedule and didn’t necessarily care where we went. We used the “everywhere” feature to find the least expensive flights from Dublin. Then used our method of purchasing the flights directly through the airline and registering them for commission through our travel business. We ended up finding deals from Dublin to Birmingham for a total of 18 dollars per person and Dublin to London for 23 dollars per person. These prices did not include a checked bag but allowed one carry on. We both only packed a weekend's worth of clothes in a backpack and made it work! For 18 and 23 dollars per person, there’s not much to complain about!

When we are traveling within the United States, we prefer to use Hopper. Hopper indicates if/when flight prices will drop, stay the same or go up. You can also “watch” the flight. This feature allows notifications to be sent to your device that give you updates if the flight prices are changing. The only thing to keep an eye on with Hopper is whether the baggage is offered with the flights. Often, you will find an inexpensive flight, but it will only offer a carry on option with a 30 dollar checked bag charge.

Booking flights is a huge part of the travel thrill! There are tips and techniques to use while searching and booking flights. Don’t let an expensive flight hold you back from traveling the world, implement these techniques and your price is likely to drop!