Tips for how to book the best airline tickets

Who doesn’t want the best price, the most comfort and fun before your holiday has even started!? Finding the cheapest, but also the best seat is a challenge. I have listed a few interesting and fun tips that can help you with this!

How far in advance should you book your ticket?
Not everyone agrees on this. This is why SkyScanner has done some research. And this shows that you can book the cheapest tickets around 8 weeks in advance. I usually book mine 6 to 8 weeks in advance.

Don’t miss out
Subscribe to newsletters of airlines. This way you will usually be the first to hear about special offers. For example, the SkyScanner Price Alerts will warn you when prices of tickets to your favourite destinations are lowered. KLM World Deal Weeks are great too. So don’t miss those!

Mix & Match
Be smart and check whether two single tickets through different airlines are cheaper than a return ticket with just one airline. Be creative!

Plan to be surprised!
Want to have some fun before you leave? Get a ‘blind break’ company to book a trip for you. These companies will book a trip based on the things you like, but the destination will be a surprise until the very last minute you get to the airport. How much fun is that!? Have a look at this ‘blind break’ company: Srprs me

The best and the worst seats on the plane
How can you find out which are the best seats on a plane? SeatGuru will show you exactly which seat has the most leg room or where you have the most space for your luggage. It will also show you which seats you really shouldn’t book.

3 for two!
This is a great trick but it doesn’t always work. Book a window seat and an isle seat when there are two of you travelling. Usually the centre seat will stay empty. If somebody does choose to sit in the middle, they usually don’t mind swapping places.

Book your ticket on Tuesday
New ticket offers will usually be communicated on a Monday evening. However, because of the strong competition, the prices are usually the lowest on a Tuesday afternoon, around 3pm. Plus, most of the last minute weekend deals will be online from Tuesday as well. Good to know!

‘Undercover’ ticket search
It has happened to all of us. You got your hands on a cheap ticket but when you check again the next day, the price has changed. Why does this happen? Well, some airlines will change their prices by looking at your browser history. When they notice you have checked a certain flight out over and over, they will change the price. Very clever, but not very fair. How can you stop this from happening? One of the tricks is to switch your laptop/tablet/phone to ‘private mode’ or to ‘incognito browsing’. How do you this? You will find this at the top right hand corner, next to the url, of most Internet browsers. You will be able to choose ‘new incognito window’. Doing this, you will see that the prices will usually vary in your favour.