How to Save Money on Airfare

Here are my best tips that help us find great deals on flights especially to Europe

The conversation goes a little like this. “Our flight to Iceland was $227.” “What? Seriously?” Here, let me pick your jaw up off the floor. Yes, our flight to Iceland was cheaper than our last flight to Orlando. Flights to Europe can be a little more affordable than people think or what they may first see. Don’t get me wrong, flying from the US to Europe is expensive no matter what, especially if you are taking your family. But there are some great deals to find with a little creativity and stepping out of the box.

1. Kayak, Skyscanner, and Google Flights will become your best friend! These sites will be the ones to give you all the warm and fuzzies of finding incredible deals. You don’t book your flights through these sites, but they help you to find the best prices on the dates that you want to go. Then once you find the flight and price that works best for you, you head to the website of that airline and book it through there.

2. Don’t limit yourself by flying out of your home airport. Originally looking for flights to Iceland, we started with our search from Indianapolis to Iceland, $1279. YIKES! Then I changed my departure location, Chicago to Iceland, $227 YEESSS! It was over $4,000 cheaper for our family to rent a car to drive to Chicago and fly out of Chicago, than flying out of Indy!! Search for airports within good distances, it may just save you $4,000!

3. American Airlines, Delta, and United Airlines are NOT, I repeat NOT the ONLY AIRLINES!! There are so many awesome international airlines. On our last trip we flew all budget international airlines; Icelandair, WOW airlines, Air Lingus, and Air India. We had fantastic flights, amazing staff, plenty of leg room, tons of awesome movies to watch, and delicious food(well, as good as airplane food can get), and all were on time and efficient. If you are nervous to fly an unknown to you airline, google it! We always read through tons of reviews before we book. But even though we read the occasional awful review, we still booked with all the airlines and had a fantastic experience. Props to Icelandair who gave our kids backpacks filled with a book, toys, stuffed animals, games, snacks, and headphones when we boarded the plane and even handed everyone a FREE bottled water. Icelandair, we love you!

4. Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays will become your favorite days! Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays are the cheapest days to travel. When making your schedule try your hardest to travel on these days. Sometimes just by switching your travel day from a Monday to a Tuesday, you can save hundreds of dollars. The more flexible you can be with your schedule, the better the deal you will get.

5. PLAN, PLAN, PLAN!! The best time to start looking into international flights are 8-10 months in advance. If you are looking to travel in June or July, the best rates for international travel will be in October through end of November. Set price alerts on your favorite travel websites. They will send you alerts when the prices drop. Prices start to increase quite a bit starting at the end of February. If you are extremely flexible with your schedule and destination, google flights will suggest places for you to travel at unbelievable prices.

Now that you have some tips for spending less on airfare, where do you want to go???

** These tips are all my own opinions and findings!