But I can't travel... Flying is way too expensive!

Yes yes, of course this is the first thing everyone says when I tell them they need to be traveling more. You can read any article you want about the tricks to finding the cheapest airfare, but none of them are right. Some sites tell you to buy on a Tuesday, some tell you other tricks, but I can tell you coming from an airline pricer, THERE ARE NO TRICKS. We don't do anything on a particular day that changes the market in one direction or another. We do however file sales on a regular basis and flight prices do change often and quickly, but it is based on demand and not because it is Tuesday. Here are my tips to find the cheapest flights and yes some of them are harder than others.

1. Work for an Airline or become a good friend with someone else that does

I had just finished my freshman year in college when I realized I needed to travel. Everyone else was going home to see their family and I wanted to travel. I was living in Phoenix and saw a commercial from Mesa Airlines and said they were hiring people and you could travel for free. I was a bit skeptical, but gave it a chance and ended up working as a baggage handler at Sky Harbor during the summer. One of my friends jointed me and we ended up meeting another guy who became another of our good friends and we traveled the country together. As an employee we paid absolutely nothing as long as there was a seat open on the flight. Our first trip was to Santa Barbara and then later flew to Las Vegas that night and we paid nothing. We just went for the day and didn't even stay at a hotel room.

I do realize that not everyone can just go get a job at an airline, but maybe you know someone that works at one. Most airlines give the employee plus one guest unlimited free flights. This is a great deal to be that friend. You don't have to work there and you get to travel for free. You do however have to pay the taxes (but hey $40 to Tokyo isn't too bad). Employees also usually get buddy passes for other friends that are not listed on their benefits and they get cheap standby travel as well. I just had a friend fly from San Francisco to Chicago for $112 roundtrip and then we went from Chicago to Paris for $264 round trip. If you live in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Seattle, Honolulu, Phoenix, Denver, Chicago, Atlanta, New York City, or Dallas you might have an easier time finding airline employees since these are the cities that contain the headquarters of a major airline. If you don't know any airline employees and don't live in one of these cities, continue below for the next tips (or check the Holiday Inn bar for people in Captain's uniforms).

2. Don't choose your destination first

If you want to travel and pay the least amount for a flight, don't choose your destination first. I see too many people saying they want to visit Spain or Japan and they watch airfare day to day and wait for the perfect time. Just like the stock market, timing is nearly impossible and you may not end up getting a good deal.

Instead choose your top 10 destinations and see which one is the cheapest and go there. I have done this multiple times and ended up places I never thought I would go. I once found a flight from Phoenix to Bermuda for $320 roundtrip with all taxes and fees included (try to find this now). This is a great way to end up with a cheap flight.

3. Always fly to/from big cities

Competition drives down prices, so try to fly to and from big cities. If you live somewhere like Santa Barbara which has a small airport, you should always be checking flights from LAX. Airlines know some passengers, especially business passengers, are willing to pay a premium to fly out of a local airport. With lower competition the premiums can be quite high. Be willing to drive a bit further and save more money on a flight.

4. Travel during the offseason

This one seems like common sense, but if you want to go somewhere for cheap, go in the off season. Visit Europe in the winter and visit Mexico in the summer. October and April are great months to get cheap flights. Visiting places during the off season can also make the rest of the trip cheaper with cheaper hotels and better deals. It can also be fun to have a place to yourself. When visiting Barbados in the summer we were able to get a hotel for half price, free breakfast and had the beach to ourselves. It couldn't have been better.

5.  Be willing to make connections

Airlines charge a premium for non-stop service, so be willing to fly an airline that makes stops along the way. They will almost always be cheaper. If you are flying to London, British Airways knows that many business travelers don't want to deal with the hassle of changing planes so they charge extra for this. If you take another carrier that stops, they know their flight route is inferior and will often charge less. It really doesn't waste much time to make a stop, but can save you a lot of money.

6. Check for Free Stopovers

Airlines almost never advertise this, but quite a few will allow you to make a stop in a city and continue on for free as long as the stop is less than 7 days. An example would be if you flew from Chicago to Prague and had to connect in Paris. If you go on to the website and book the flight as multiple segments instead of as roundtrip, you can often leave a break of a 5 day stopover in Paris in your trip. This way you get to visit both Paris and Prague on the same trip and the flight doesn't cost any more than if you just switched planes real quick in Paris. Take advantage of this! Often airlines will only allow 1 stopover per flight and they are almost always in large cities. I have seen stopovers offered for London, Paris, Frankfurt, Munich, Amsterdam, Brussels, Copenhagen, Tokyo, Hong Kong, Taipei,  and Beijing. I am sure there are a lot of others out there as well.

7. Volunteer to step off oversold flights

A great way to get a free flight is to volunteer to step off a flight and take a later one. Often they give you a free round trip ticket and a hotel for the night if it is the latest flight. Sometimes I even book my flights at the busiest times because I know the chance of this happening is pretty high and I want a free ticket. There are many others that have figured this out so be sure to follow my steps below:

- Buy a ticket on Friday or Sunday evening since this is busiest time you could fly
- Find a seat near the counter so you can be the first up when they announce they need volunteers
- Tell the gate agent you are very flexible and can leave whenever

If you don't follow these steps you may not get the free ticket. Once time I volunteered and I left 1 hour later in business class. The only catch was that I had to make 2 stops on the way back, but in business class and with a free ticket in hand, this was no problem!

Conclusion:

I know a lot of these are common sense, but any way to save a few dollars always helps. It's not easy to find great deals, but with these tips you can always find something that works. The hardest step for people is just booking it. Once you have that flight you have to go, so start looking and get that first trip started.