How to outsmart the airlines
CNN has offered some ways to outsmart the US’s airlines unpopular policies of adding fees. They include:
Buy tickets on Tuesday afternoon
The best time to buy a ticket is at 3 p.m. Tuesday, according to analysis from Rick Seaney at farecompare.com. Most airlines publish their sales on Tuesday afternoon and tend to pull them by Thursday. Buying a ticket from your laptop on Saturday afternoon virtually assures a higher fare.
Fly on Wednesday
The cheapest day to fly domestic is Wednesday. Farecompare found Tuesday and Saturday round out the top three cheapest days to fly. Friday and Sunday, no surprise, are the most expensive.
Be an early bird
Never take the last flight out. Better yet, fly as early as you can. As the day wears on, delays from weather and traffic build up, and flights are canceled. And for those of you who can get up before dawn, the first flights tend to be the cheapest.
Be flexible
Whether it is the departure or arrival airport, the day you travel, or your ability to shift your trip by even a week, you can save hundreds of dollars.
Travel light
Easier said than done if you are traveling with a posse of kids, but each of those bags will be costly. If you can’t carry it easily on board, don’t bring it.
Other factors that affect ticket prices:
—Sale discounts are bigger on off peak days than peak days. Higher demand for peak days leads to higher prices.
—How far in advance you buy tickets still impacts pricing. To get tickets before the cheapest —seats sell out, buy a month or two in advance.
—Travelers (specially biz travelers) still buy airline tickets most frequently during regular hours, 9 to 5 on weekdays. Airlines offer their best prices when people are more actively shopping.
By David Wilkening
David
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