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Home :: Cheap Ways to Travel :: Very Cheap International Flights
Who says you can't find very cheap international flights?
I still remember paying US$900 from Geneva to Rome, a trip that can now cost as little as $50 thanks to the new breed of low-cost airlines. The world of aviation has changed dramatically, and it's in our favor.
The most traditional are the scheduled airlines. Until recently they were the most expensive, but not anymore. They often undercut discount airlines because they're feeling the pinch of competition.
There are several types of discount airlines and tickets:
Finally, there are charter flights, usually managed by a tour operator, where you can also get great deals, even at the last minute, but they're not as common.
It's not as hard as it seems.
If you do it yourself, you'll have to investigate each individual discount airline. A good place to start would be with a list of low-cost airlines. You'll have to check through each airline individually, which can be a lot of work. The advantage? You might find even cheaper flights by playing around with the times and dates a bit.
If you'd rather use a single booking engine that scours cheap plane flights worldwide and does all the footwork for you, there are plenty around like flylc.com, WeGoLo or Skyscanner.
Another way of finding very cheap international flights is to use one of the new wave search engines. One engine that bills itself as covering nearly 25,000 different routes is WhichBudget, which lists every budget airline flying out of or to your chosen destination. I like this one because it makes me dream - I just click on my home town, and see where I can fly.
If you're flying around Europe Harefares will save you money by finding you discount airlines that go near your chosen destination. For example if you want to fly to Geneva and prices are too high, you'll be directed to flights from Lyon or Chambery, each of which are easy driving distance from Geneva but less frequented, so often cheaper.
Or you could try BudgetLongHaul, which specializes in long-haul flights.
Many of these sites specialize in digging out obscure or new airlines that you've probably never heard of... Air Sarah? Flyglobespan? Air Arabia? Yet these and many other low-cost carriers may tie together two cities that major airlines wouldn't dream of servicing because there's simply not enough traffic.
So you're spoiled for choice.
If you're set on finding very cheap international flights, why not bid for them?Priceline will take your bids and try to match your price with a flight.
Too confusing?
Some ticket sites allow you to search a number of booking sites at the same time, like BootsNAll's Airfare Comparison Tool.
A quick word about long-term travel: if you've got several months (or more) you might be better off buying round-the-world tickets, known as an 'RTW'. These are issued by scheduled rather than discount airlines, but may still be a better buy. Not only will one of these provide relatively inexpensive international flights, but you'll pay for all your tickets up front: what money is left will yours to spend. Remember though, these tickets are usually valid for only one year so if you plan on being on the road longer, this is not for you.
Getting the most out of cheap airline tickets and budget airlines means following a few simple rules:
Air travel is not the cleanest way to travel, and cheap air travel means more of us travel further than ever. I'm not suggesting anyone should stop flying, but I do believe we should be aware of our carbon footprint - and do something to offset it.