Firstly, remember that on an extended trip airfares can be one of the smaller costs. If you are going somewhere for six months a two hundred dollar difference is not that important!
Book airfares and accommodation as far in advance as you can.
Look for bookings with free cancellation to lock in the best deals yet stay flexible.
Use flight aggregator service like Google Flights to find the best airfares and airline options.
Book airfares directly with airlines
When you see an air fare deal always double check it directly on the airline’s website, and book directly if possible.
Third party booking agencies may offer a (usually slightly) lower price on airfares but there are risks if they run into financial difficulties or even if the airline cancels or changes the flight. I’ve used them in the past, but now prefer to pay a fraction more to feel that my booking, and any refund if the airline cancels, is more secure.
Note that due to code-sharing arrangements a flight may not be operated by the airline you book it with – check to make sure you are happy to fly with the airline that is providing the flight.
Note too that exactly the same flights can have totally different prices depending of which airline you book them through.
Different airlines can have very different prices for exactly the same flight
We recently booked a Sydney-Tokyo flight on Japan’s ANA through their code-share partner United Airlines. Actually, according to Google flights the price was the same either way but I found the ANA website difficult to navigate and the fares it offered (priced in Japanese Yen) seemed much higher. I quickly switched to the United Airlines website and locked in the low fare offer. This was a return trip to New York and was a great way to go as it included a day transiting in Tokyo which gave plenty of time to go exploring.
Another example of a code-share booking was travelling from Sydney to Philadelphia and then on to Zurich in Switzerland a week later. American airlines offered a great-value airfare, with the long haul across the Pacific from Sydney to San Francisco operated by Qantas. My only gripe was that, while seat selection was free on American Airlines Qantas wanted to charge for it. Then Qantas started changing the flight details and the seat selection option disappeared anyway.
Ultimately Qantas cancelled that flight and moved the booking to one day earlier, still with no seat selection options. With confidence in Qantas shaken we instead took up the option of fully switching to American Airlines. Not as convenient time-wise as the original booking, but no change of departure day, plus enough time in San Francisco to visit the Piers, and no fees to choose seats..
Be flexible to get the best airfares
When researching flights, use the option to check dates either side of your plan – a day or week sooner or later may cost much less.
Be open to flying a different route or arriving in a different city – search on a whole region rather than specific city. link – Booking a recent trip to Italy only a month ahead of travel a search on flights to any airport in Italy turned up a very good deal on Bologna rather than the intended Milan – they are only 100km apart.
Be open to stopovers, they can expand your travel experience and time away at minimal cost.
Consider all the costs and alternatives
When booking travel consider all costs from point of departure to final destination. Getting to and from airports and any additional accommodation can really add up.
Your time and place of arrival can have have a significant effect on costs. On a recent USA trip a late flight into New York meant an overnight stay was required before continuing to Philadelphia. Even though flying to New York is cheaper than flying to Philly the cost of even a minimal hotel room in New York far outweighs the airfare savings.
On the other hand, we recently needed to get to the UK from a town near Macon in France, leaving Macon in the afternoon. No problem to do that by train via Lyon with an overnight stop along the way, probably in Paris, but quite expensive in total.
A search found that British Airways had a late Lyon to London flight that cost much less than train tickets, but it arrived at Heathrow around 10pm. Surprisingly, overnight accommodation at a Heathrow airport hotel just off Terminal 3 was only AU$200 including breakfast. We then picked up our hire car at the airport and headed for Cornwall. No rush, no airport transfer to London, a good night’s sleep, and it saved hundreds of dollars compared to the alternatives – perfect!