Cheap Flights to Spain and How to Find Them One of the most costly parts of a holiday can be your flights, particularly if you have a large family! So, how do you go about getting the best deal on your Andalucia flights?
Gone are the days of going to your local travel agent, you now have the world at your fingertips via the Internet, although it is still worth price checking with a travel agent.
Finding the cheapest flight will require effort on your behalf, but it will be worth it in the end when you save hundreds of pounds or dollars. Here's a little help from us to help you save money now!
Comparison SitesComparison sites, or screenscrapers as they are commonly called, use computer programs to extract data from airlines, travel agents and flight brokers to shop around and get the best price for you. These types of sites are great when you have a specific date and destination in mind – all you do is type in the date and destination, and bingo, out pops the cheapest flight.
Comparison sites worth looking at are Kayak , Skyscanner
 , NetFlights.com
 and Openjet , but you should also compare them with Expedia
 and Travelocity.
BrokersFlight brokers are companies that have formed relationships with various airlines to get special deals on flights, they can then pass on these discounts to customers and offer special perks like discounts on car hire and hotels too.
Even though comparison sites are likely to get data from flight brokers, you never know if one has been missed, so they are worth checking.
Check out Travelocity , Opodo, Expedia, Lastminute.com and ebookers
.
Flight CheckersMoneysavingexpert.com have got a great tool for checking budget airline flights called FlightChecker .
Find Cheap Charter FlightsAs opposed to scheduled flights, which leave at regular times and can be booked right up to the day of departure, charter flights are planes that have been booked by travel companies for package holidays.
Recently, charter flight tickets have been opened up for sale to the general public, to fill up empty seats on planes which otherwise would be wasted. This means that you can get some great deals if you are going to a destination popular with package holiday operators, but only need the flight.
Check out charter flight search sites, such as Avro, and charter airline sites, such as Thomas Cook
, Thomsonfly, Monarch, My Travel and First Choice, to see if you can bag a bargain.
Top Secret Flights
Lastminute.com offer "Top Secret Flights" which are great bargains. You choose the destination (from their current list), then they give you the departure and arrival city (but not the airport or times) and tell you whether its a direct or indirect flight.
If you don't mind not knowing a few details, it's a great way of getting a heavily discounted flight.
You'll get to know the full details of your flight once you've paid, so don't worry!
Cheap Flight Tips
Keep these tips in mind to ensure that you get the best deal:-
- Pay by credit card – Yes, you may have to pay that nasty credit card charge, but if your flight is over a certain amount of money (£100 in the UK), you will be protected by the credit card company if the airline goes bust or you have trouble getting a refund when your flight is cancelled.
- Shop around – Use all the sites we've mentioned to make sure that you get the best deal.
- Hand luggage – Many airlines and operators now charge for luggage, so buy each member of the family a suitcase or holdall that fits the dimensions of the operator's hand luggage limits.
- Beware of hidden costs – Although operators are supposed to be more “transparent” with their costs, you still need to be careful and look at luggage charges, credit card charges and fine print.
- Be flexible on your dates if you can – Shifting your holiday by just a day can have a dramatic effect on the price. For example, going away Saturday to Monday could be cheaper than Friday to Sunday.
- Be flexible with the airport if you can – For example, I live between Granada and Almeria Airports, and within travelling distance of Murcia and Alicante airports, so I check flights to/from each of those airports. Obviously you need to take into account fuel and extra travelling time.
To get the best deal on your Andalucia holiday, check out our Cheap Hotels and Cheap Car Hire pages for lots of tips.
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