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Here are our top 6 tips on getting affordable flights to Asia
Travel agents, flash sales on airline companies’ websites, flight search pages, and last-minute sales—timing and trip date. Many factors affect the price paid for your flight to Asia. These tips will help you book your flight at the best price and save money so you can travel more while studying abroad.
Finding the cheapest flights to Asia will be easy if you follow there tips!
1. Book early
In contrary to a popular belief that booking your flights last minute is cheaper, it actually most often isn’t! The airline companies ensure that all of their flights get filled up to the maximum capacity, and the earlier to the travel date you book, the more likely you are to get a great deal on your flight. Most business travelers book their flights last minute, no matter what the price is, so typically the airlines like to charge a premium for the last moment bookings. In the rare case that there are several unsold seats at a flight, the remaining seats can come on sale close to the travel date, yet it is generally not recommended to try your luck and see if this happens. Rule of thumb: book your flights early to save money!
2. Use flight search engines
Kayak, SkyScanner, Expedia… There are several flight online flight search tools that help you find the cheapest flight deals available at any time. Compare the prices on a few different search engines to make sure you have definitely found the lowest fare. We recently wrote a comparison about websites that offer flight search, and you can find it here.
3. Flights are cheaper at the beginning of the week
According to Expedia and Travelocity, most airlines drop their prices slightly at the beginning of the week. Search for your flights on Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday to save when compared to booking at the end part of the week. Tuesday is said to be the cheapest day of the week, as the airlines drop their fares on Monday afternoon, and by Tuesday, the flight booking agents are competing for customers by dropping their fares lower than the competition does.
4. Flexible with your travel dates? Save more!
On more advanced flight search engines, such as Skyscanner, you can look for the cheapest connection during the whole month. If your flight dates are flexible, this way you can find the cheapest available rate during your wanted travel dates. You can also customize your search so that you only set a target country, rather than a target city. This way you might be able to save some money, if you are ready and willing to travel on land, using a cheaper travel method, once you’ve made it to your destination country.
5. Keep an eye on flash sales
Most airlines offer short-timed sales on certain routes every now and then. Also the biggest travel agents at times do crazy sales on the routes that haven’t been selling well, and the airline companies want to fill up. If you travel often, consider subscribing to your favorite airlines’ and travel agents’ mailing lists, as they normally inform customers about their sales via email.
6. Travel light
Do you really need to bring 60 kilos of luggage with you? Even if you are doing a two-semester-long exchange in Asia, you should be able to pack everything necessary in just one bag under 30 kilos, and your hand luggage. If there is anything you will be able to buy cheaply at your destination, consider leaving that home instead of packing it to your luggage. Travel light and you will save on luggage fees – and you will also make your life easier and less sweaty by not having several heavy suitcases to carry around airports.
Good luck with trying to find the cheapest flights to Asia, and see you there!
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Asia Exchange is a Finnish company providing study abroad opportunities in Asia Pacific for students from all around the world. Want to get travel tips and new blog posts straight to your inbox? Subscribe to our monthly newsletter! If you have any questions about studying abroad, feel free to contact us! We’ll get back to you as soon as possible.
