As with all travel hacks, the secret lies in the artful blend of patience, flexibility, and a touch of insider knowledge.
Before hitting ‘Book’ on your preferred OTA—whether it’s Kayak, Skyscanner, Expedia, or Google Flights—take a moment to explore potential ways to cut down on the final cost. With a bit of luck or some subtle adjustments to your travel plan, the savings on long-haul flights could amount to hundreds of dollars, a noteworthy sum per person.
Multiply this figure if you typically travel with your partner, family, or friends.
Let’s get straight to the point now. Based on our experience, we have gathered 11 practical strategies to ensure you never pay more than necessary for your next flight.
1 — Book directly with the airline
Potential savings: 2-10%
Booking your flight directly through an airline can offer substantial savings and additional benefits. While airlines list flights on online travel agencies (OTAs) for broader reach, they incentivize direct bookings on their websites. This reduces commission costs paid to OTAs, allowing airlines to pass on some of these savings to passengers.
OTAs also frequently add service fees, inflating the cost of your ticket. By avoiding these intermediaries, you can often secure a better price.
Creating an account on the airline’s website also allows you to accumulate valuable miles and points. As a loyal customer, you gain access to perks such as priority boarding, seat upgrades, and exclusive lounge access. Direct bookings also enable airlines to manage their customer relationships more effectively, offering personalized services such as superior customer service, more flexible cancellations, and exclusive promotions.
Booking options on Google Flights. The cost differences between booking directly with an airline and using online travel agencies (OTAs), can be significant. A round trip from Nice to Hong Kong costs €708 on the SWISS airline website, while the same flights are more expensive on OTAs like Booking.com (€791) and eDreams (€806).
2 — Fly on weekdays
Potential savings: 5-15%
Opting for weekday flights, particularly on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, can cut your travel expenses a bit. This is because most people tend to travel on weekends, leading to slightly higher ticket prices. By bucking the trend and choosing weekdays, you can secure 5-15% lower fares (sometimes even more).
If you travel on a weekday, you’ll also benefit from shorter check-in, security, and boarding lines.
With fewer passengers, airlines and travel agencies often release promotions and discounts for weekday travel to encourage bookings and balance demand throughout the week.
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3 — Fly early morning
Potential savings: 15-20%
Early morning flights, typically departing between 5 AM and 8 AM, are often cheaper due to lower demand compared to peak travel times later in the day. Reduced demand results in airlines offering lower fares to fill seats. Additionally, airports are less crowded in the early morning hours.
A ‘side effect’ and an advantage of early morning flights is their punctuality. Flights scheduled for early morning are less likely to experience delays, as they are the first to depart for the day and less affected by the cascading delays that can occur later.
4 — Book group flights
Potential savings: 5-20%
Airlines usually provide discounts for groups of 10 or more passengers. It’s an excellent way to save on flights for large family reunions, special gatherings like weddings, student trips, cultural exchanges, and other large group travel plans. Depending on the airline and the group size, discounts can range from 5% to 20% off the standard fare.
Group bookings often come with more flexible payment options. For example, you could pay a deposit upfront and the remaining balance closer to the departure date, allowing more time to collect funds from group members. Moreover, dedicated airline support ensures that all travel arrangements are handled smoothly (coordinated check-ins, boarding, and seating arrangements).
Many airlines and travel agencies offer additional perks such as extra baggage allowance, free name changes, and even complimentary seats for group leaders or organizers.
5 — Take advantage of stopovers
Potential savings: 10-30%
Flying non-stop is convenient but often comes with a higher price tag. Flights with layovers or stopovers are usually priced lower to attract travelers willing to trade a bit of extra time for savings. This can be especially beneficial for long-haul journeys. If you fly from North America to Asia or from Europe to Australia, choosing a route with a layover on the first leg can save you 20-30% compared to a direct flight.
Multi-city flights with two or three stopovers can offer even greater savings.
Most large airlines plan their routes using a hub-and-spoke model. This means they have major hub airports where passengers from different places converge before heading to their final destinations. By funneling traffic through hubs, airlines can optimize aircraft usage, maintain higher load factors, and reduce overall costs. They pass some of these savings on to passengers who don’t mind a stopover or two.
Flights with stopovers can provide greater scheduling flexibility. You may find more options for departure times and flights that start in smaller, less popular airports. A stopover can turn into a mini-adventure, an extra part of your vacation. Some airlines have special stopover programs, allowing you to explore an additional city without extra cost.
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6 — Book well in advance
Potential savings: 10-30%
Most airlines start selling their flights 9–12 months ahead of departure. However, booking a ticket too early in that window can be an expensive mistake. Airlines typically begin by setting prices at a relatively high level to capture early demand from those willing to pay more to secure their seats.
On the flip side, waiting until the last minute (within 30 days of departure) often results in paying more than a regular fare. Prices spike sharply then, as airlines are taking advantage of any last-minute travelers who have no choice but to pay up.
For long-haul flights, the sweet spot for booking your ticket is around 4–6 months before your travel date. This period is known as the “prime booking window.” After airlines have sold some seats, they usually drop prices to stimulate more demand. This is also when they may offer promotions and sales, making it an ideal time for finding bargains.
For short-haul and domestic flights, booking 1 to 3 months in advance typically yields the best prices.
7 — Fly during the low season
Potential savings: 10-30%
Peak travel seasons are always expensive—due to higher base prices set by airlines for dates they expect to be popular. To save money, try to avoid these high seasons, or if you must travel, book your flight well in advance.
On the other hand, airlines reduce ticket prices during the low season to attract more passengers. For Asia, the low season varies by country but generally includes the monsoon season and times outside major festivals and holidays. For example, Thailand‘s low season is from May to October, while Japan‘s is from June to mid-July and September to early December.
Despite the less-than-ideal weather, the off-peak season offers smaller crowds and significant savings. With fewer tourists, hotel rates, tours, activities, and local food are often much cheaper than during the peak season.
Average round-trip flight prices from Frankfurt to Bangkok over a year. Prices are generally lower during the off-season in May, August, and September. The highest prices are observed in January and December due to holiday travel demand.
8 — Book round-trip flights
Potential savings: 10-35%
Airlines structure their pricing to encourage passengers to commit to a complete journey upfront. As a result, booking a round-trip is nearly always cheaper than purchasing two separate one-way tickets.
This is especially true for long-haul flights to Asia, where airlines fiercely compete on routes connecting North America and Europe to major Asian hubs like Tokyo, Bangkok, or Singapore. By booking a round-trip ticket, you can often save up to 30-35% compared to one-way fares.
Please note that many Asian countries require proof of onward travel for entry or visa applications. Airport staff often check this requirement during check-in. A confirmed return flight can simplify the process, ensuring you have no issues obtaining your boarding pass and entering your destination country smoothly.
9 — Sign up for frequent flyer programs
Potential savings: 10-40%
Most full-service carriers offer frequent flyer programs (FFP) to encourage customer loyalty by providing various incentives. When you sign up, you earn miles or points each time you fly, which can be redeemed for discounts, free flights, seat upgrades, and other travel perks.
Additionally, joining an FFP with an airline that is part of an alliance (such as Star Alliance, oneworld, or SkyTeam) allows you to earn and use miles across multiple airlines.
For travelers to Asia—where long-haul flights are common—accumulating miles can lead to significant savings. Miles earned on one trip can save you hundreds of dollars on the next flight!
Many frequent flyer programs also partner with hotels, car rental companies, and credit card issuers, enabling you to earn miles through everyday spending. Programs like Singapore Airlines’ KrisFlyer and Cathay Pacific’s Asia Miles have extensive networks across Asia, with numerous ways to earn and redeem miles.
Last but not least, FFP members often receive special promotions and exclusive discounts.
10 — Wait for sales and promotions
Potential savings: 10-50%
Airline promotions are among the easiest ways to reduce your ticket price dramatically. Airlines frequently offer sales to boost bookings during off-peak times or to fill seats.
Many Asian carriers hold annual sales where they offer heavily discounted tickets to various destinations across Asia. For example, AirAsia has its famous Big Sale and Super Sale events, while Japan Airlines offers deals on routes from/to Tokyo and Osaka in December-January, late August, and around Black Friday. These promotions can slash prices by up to 50%!
Promotional fares often have limited availability and can sell out fast. To stay informed, subscribe to airline newsletters and follow them on social media.
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11 — Sign up for Superdeal alerts
Potential savings: 40-80%
Expert-picked deals are much cheaper due to insider knowledge. At Air Traveler Club, we specialize in finding and alerting our subscribers to deeply discounted flight deals (Superdeals).
Our team of experts handpicks deals focusing on international, long-haul flights to Asia and the Pacific. We highlight sudden price drops, mistake fares, promotional fares, and rare discounts—always ensuring that the flights have reasonable layovers and reputable airlines. These Superdeals can save you between 40% and 80% on airfare.
Premium members get real-time notifications via our mobile app and access to an exclusive platform with 100+ Superdeals, updated daily.
Traveling to Asia can be an incredible experience, but it often comes with high flight costs. By signing up for Air Traveler Club, you can book these flights at a fraction of the regular price. Simply put, we make your dream trip to Asia much more affordable.
