No one likes to be sat next to the person who got their flight for a lot less than you paid, but hopefully with these little nuggets of information, you’ll be able to sit there with a little smile inside thinking “I paid a lot less than that!”
According to those in the know, the very best time to get the best deal on a flight is on a Tuesday at midnight! You can save as much as 15% on your flight cost – in fact, midnight on a Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday faired much better than other times.
If you are in bed long before then, the earlier in the morning is better however there are a few things to remember
- Never book on a Friday! The airlines know that people think more about travel on a Friday than any other day, so keeping to the start of the week is better.
- Clear your cookies and browsing history. Why? Because an airline site knows you have visited before. They even know what you were quoted for the flight and are far less likely to offer you a lower price. If you want to keep checking, as flights do go up and down, clear your cookies and browser history first. Whether you are using a computer or your phone, there’s a great article here which will cover how you can do this.
- The early bird…. typically, the sooner you book a flight, the cheaper it is. Once your retreat place has been confirmed, try and get your flights booked up – so long as you remember the golden rule covered in point 1 above!
- Sometimes, the airline is not the cheapest option! Whilst it would seem obvious, the cheapest price will come direct from the airline, this isn’t always the case. There are several sites worth looking at…
- Another good tip is not necessarily for the weak-hearted. Following airlines on social media can often result in you being the first (along with all the other followers) to know about sales and special promotions. One has to weigh up the probability of what percent you could save on a short flight on a low cost airline, but the option is there, if you like doing these things! One thing to add to this, there are low cost airlines such as Wizz Air who are desperately poor at running to time, often having delays of hours or even last minute cancellations. It is worth going for one of the better known and more established airlines who not only seem to operate more professionally, but, when there is a shortage of ancillary support (eg, baggage handling, catering, refuelling), it always seems the lower down the chain the airline is, the more they are affected by these.
- We always recommend flying out the day before the retreat and returning the day after it finishes. This will ensure that any airline delays (of which they are sadly common place now) do not affect your retreat place or have you miss any part of it. The other benefits include having more time out in the sunshine, being able to book cheaper flights and not having to get up very early in the morning to catch your flight (or stay over at the airport)
All in all, there are lots of ways to get the best deals. The money you save could be used to spend an extra day or two in the Algarve after your retreat to process everything, or perhaps top up your holistic treatments whilst you are with us.
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