Airplane travel has gotten really expensive over the last few years. A friend recently said to me, “remember when we flew to Denver on Continental for $100 round-trip during ski season? Man I miss those days!” Me, too…

With the shifty economy and seemingly always rising fuel costs, how do you find good deals on flights anymore? Not to mention the bag charges, airplane food fees, headphone sales– I digress. Here are some tricks I use to getting the best deal on flights.

Book early.

Many of you already know that if you don’t book by at least 2 weeks ahead of time, you’re going to get ripped off. Period. My day job proves this frequently, as I have to make flight arrangements to Charlotte and other areas last minute, ALL. THE. TIME. $1,200 to Charlotte? No thanks. I’d rather go to Europe.

Have Patience. 

If you know you have a wedding/event/vacation coming up in 6 months, start checking your favorite airline or travel site daily. Prices DO fluctuate a lot. Right now our Vegas flights for Thanksgiving are coming up at almost $500 including taxes and fees. From experience, I know that they will drop eventually to around $250 a ticket. Just think, that is 2 tickets for the price of 1!

Compare and Contrast.

 Wow. Words I thought I’d never say again after graduating from school. Don’t be afraid to use multiple sites to compare pricing and flight schedules.  Of course, my fave is Continental, but that doesn’t stop me from using Travelocity, Fly.com and others to make sure I’m getting the best scheduling options at the best price.

Fly Early.

The 7am flight SUCKS. However, the early bird catches the worm, right? That’s true, at least in regards to flight costs. Capacity on flights is usually lower at 7am on the weekends rather than say 2pm on a Sunday when everyone is headed home. If you can muster up the effort to roll yourself out of bed with the roosters, you’ll save some bucks.

Here’s an example:

And from all the money you save, buy yourself a President’s Club pass. It’ll make getting out of bed that much easier when you know you have a glass of Veuve waiting for you!

Next week I’ll be comparing if package deals really are the better way to book your vacation.

Until then, happy travels!