Find Cheap Airline Tickets: Cheat Sheet
People often ask me “What’s the best search engine to find a cheap airline ticket?”
The simple answer is that there is no one best search engine, rather, it depends on where you’re going and when you can go and your flexibility in both of these. In short, you’ll find the cheapest airline ticket when you’re flexible about your dates and about your destination.
So, what I’ve done here is compile all the best search engines for finding cheap plane tickets. They are categorized depending on what type of travel resource you’re looking for.
It’s essentially an Ultimate List of Cheap Airline Ticket Search Engines.
Below I’ve listed the category of travel search engines/websites — for instance, International Travel Search Engines or Domestic Discount Airlines — then I’ve given a brief description of when to use those sites, and then I’ve listed the best sites within that category.
For people who frequently search for cheap airline tickets, there are a few sites and tools that may even be new to you — like those in the Market Comparison section.
Without further ado, I bring you the:
Find Cheap Airline Tickets Cheat Sheet
Market Comparisons/Buy or Wait
Before you buy a ticket, check out these sites to see average fares, price history, and if prices are rising or falling. Again, check these sites out before you start looking into airfares to get an idea of what you should expect to pay.
Farewatch (Shows average fares)
Kayak (after searching click on ’show chart of fare history’ in left hand corner)
Farecast (for tickets in the next 30 days shows if prices are rising/falling)
Aggregators
The best search engines for searching for airline tickets. You don’t book through them, rather they redirect you to the airline’s homepage. (This is what makes them different from online travel agencies.)
Kayak or Sidestep (same company now)
TripAdvisor
Farecast
FareCompare
International Searches
When you’re searching for an international ticket, I have found these search engines to be best for finding a cheap airline ticket.
Mobissimo
Skyscanner
Momondo
Vayama
Trabber
Trax
Non-Aggregators/Online Travel Agencies
These sites allow you to search for cheap tickets and buy through them. This means that you deal with that company and not the airline if something goes wrong. (I generally advocate booking directly with the airline.) The online travel agencies may charge ticketing and booking fees for booking through them.
Expedia
Orbitz
Travelocity
Hotwire
Priceline
CheapTickets
Discount Airlines Sites (Domestic)
If you are flying in the US, these airlines are considered discount airlines. They have fewer routes and (arguably) fewer amenities. Also, they don’t always show up in the aggregators or online travel agencies search engines. So I recommend that if they serve your city, you search their sites separately.
Southwest
Sun Country
Spirit
Jet Blue
Virgin America
Midwest
Frontier
Air Tran
Alaska Airlines
Complete Discount Airline List and International Discount Airlines
Too many to list here, but check out Wikipedia’s list of low cost airlines. It’s awesome.
Price Tracking / Alerts (for tickets not yet purchased)
If you’re watching ticket prices, these sites easily allow you to set up a notifier, and will email you if ticket prices drop. For instance, if you’re looking for a cheap flight to Seattle from LA sometime in August for under 5 — you enter that information and these services will email you when that occurs.
Price Tracking for Refunds (after purchasing ticket)
If you’ve already purchased a ticket, this site will notify you if the price drops and you deserve a refund.
Flexible Dates within 1-3 days of a date
The best search engines for finding cheap airline tickets if you have flexible travel dates.
Kayak or Sidestep
Orbitz
Travelocity
Very Flexible Dates
If you have extremely flexible travel dates, like being able to leave anytime in the next month or 6 months, these sites will help you.
Kayak (330 days out)
FareCompare (330 days out)
Travelocity (330 days out)
Orbitz and Farecast (30 day window)
Flexible Dates Flying on Weekends
If you’re looking for a flight on an upcoming weekend, these sites are best.
Flexible Destinations (including last minute travel)
If you don’t care where you’re going, you just want to go somewhere cheap, these sites list destinations with cheap airline ticket prices.
GoToday
Last Minute (formerly Site59)
Kayak Buzz
Farecast
Mobissimo Activity Search
Airfare Watchdog
In my ebook, How to Find Cheap Airline Tickets, I have a printable, 1 page reference sheet with this list. If you want that and more tips on how to find Cheap Airline Tickets, buy the ebook now.
I hope you find this Cheat Sheet useful. Please consider bookmarking it with your favorite bookmarking site, so that everyone can learn how to find a cheap airline ticket.
What are your favorite travel search engines?
originally posted at Go Green Travel Green
Find Cheap Airline Tickets: Cheat Sheet
