How to Search for Cheap Air Fares

Choosing the best websites helps in finding cheap airfare.

For those who want to travel on a budget, searching for cheap air fare is crucial. One of the most effective ways of finding cheap airfare is to know where to search online using websites that specialize in listing airfare deals. Sites such as Kayak and Mobissimo pull information from other travel websites or directly from the airlines to find good deals.

Things You'll Need

• Computer
• Internet connection

Instructions

Online Research

1. Do a search for flights on the website Kayak by clicking on the "Flights" link on the left side of the homepage.

2. Type in your starting city or airport code of the airport you are flying from in the "From" box. Type in the destination city or airport code of the airport into which you are flying in the "To" box.

3. In the "Depart" box type in the date you are leaving, or simply click on the calendar icon on the right of the box. In the "Return" box type in the date you are returning from your destination, or simply click on the calendar icon on the right of the box. You will then get a list of airfares that meet your criteria.

4. Do a search for flights on Mobissimo's homepage where you are immediately directed to a flight search. (See References)

5. In the "From" box, type in your starting city or click on the orange airport link to find the code of the airport you are flying from. In the "To" box type in the destination city or click on the orange airport link to find the code of the airport you are flying into.

6. Click on the "Departing Date" to select the month and day of when you are departing, or click on the calendar icon to the right to select the date. Click on the "Returning Date" to select the month and day of when you are returning, or click on the calendar icon to the right to select the date.

7. Click on the boxes underneath the departing and returning boxes that allow you to compare prices with other travel websites such as Travelocity and Orbitz. You will then get redirected to a page with a list of results found on Mobissimo and separated pages for results on each of the other travel websites.

Tips & Warnings

• For Kayak, click to check mark the "Include nearby airports" if you are flexible about which airport you are leaving from. In most metropolitan cities, there are multiple airports, some offering cheaper fares. Also, other sources are the New York Times Weekend Edition's travel section and travel magazines such as Arthur Frommer's Budget Travel. Both have travel deals advertised with reasonably-priced airfares.

• Always try and order tickets from a reputable source. Do research at the Better Business Bureau or Consumer Reports for companies whose reputation you do not know about.

References

• Kayak
• Mobissimo

Resources

• Travelzoo