Last Minute Airfare
For most of us, the airline ticket makes up the biggest chunk of money we’ll spend on our vacation. So in order to make the most of our holiday dollars, getting a good deal on last minute airfare makes a big difference. (Of course, many of the tips you’ll find here for getting a good price on last minute airfare will apply to getting a good price on any airfare at all, so keep that in mind.)
Most sites catering to the last minute travel market will specialize in last minute airfare, since that’s usually the thing every last minute traveler will need. You might not be staying at a hotel or renting a car where you’re going, but you’ve got to get there somehow!
Here are some ways to get the best deals on last minute airfare:
- Be flexible! - If you absolutely have to fly on specific dates and you don’t go anywhere without using your favorite airline, you can probably already kiss those sweet prices goodbye. The biggest key to great last minute airfare deals is flexiblity - and that’s on everything from the airline to the destination itself! If, for instance, you just know you’ve got to get out of town this weekend but you don’t even care where you go, you stand a much better chance of finding a flight with a good price than if you only wanted to go to Mexico. The less “musts” you place on your holiday, the better the prices will be. Be willing to take a holiday mid-week instead of only on weekends, go during the off-peak season, fly on any airline that’ll have you and go wherever the best deals are and you can pretty much guarantee that you’ll find a deal that’ll suit you.
- Book packages! - Even if you don’t fancy yourself the package-trip type, you can often save big bucks if you book your last minute airfare in conjunction with something else, like a hotel or a car rental. This isn’t always going to be the case, of course, and the hotel offered in the package might be so far out of town that all of a sudden you’re needing a car rental when you weren’t planning on one… So don’t assume the package is the best option, but don’t assume it’s not, either. Do your research - compare the prices of each component booked separately to the packages you’ll find at sites like Site 59, Orbitz, Expedia and Travelocity. You just might save yourself some cash as well as another step in the vacation booking process.
- Take educated risks! - No doubt you’ve heard the hype about sites like Priceline and Hotwire, where you name your price and they tell you whether anyone’s willing to sell you a flight at that price. The catch is that you’ve already punched in your credit card details, so if they find a match, there’s no backing out and the tickets are non-refundable. You can find excellent deals on last minute airfare this way, you just have to do your research before you pick your price. Find out what the asking price is for the given route at regular booking sites like Orbitz, Expedia and Travelocity. There are different schools of thought about how much of a percentage you should expect to take off the going rate, but the bottom line is that you just shouldn’t put in a number that you’ll regret later on. Also be aware that you won’t find out details (like airline and exact schedules) until after you’ve purchased the ticket, and you won’t get frequent flyer miles on those tickets.
- Don’t delay! - A great deal on last minute airfare is a fleeting thing - just because you find the perfect deal today doesn’t mean it’ll be there in a few hours, let alone tomorrow. So if you find that perfect deal, don’t spend too much time weighing the pros and cons of buying the ticket! Do all your thinking in advance - set your parameters for dates and prices - so you’ll feel confident pulling the trigger when you find the ticket you want at the price you want.
To begin searching for last minute airfare, use the booking tool right on this page. You can also find last minute deals at sites like Last Minute Travel Deals and Site59. If you’re looking for more money-saving tips on last minute travel, look no further.