The Quest for the Golden Ticket: My journey to find the cheapest airfare

I hate airfare. I think that pretty much sums up the whole blog post. In all honesty, I wish there was some sort of way that I could count on one time being perfect to buy plane tickets. I have planned to buy my ticket for Ireland early to avoid increasing prices, but in truth, I have no clue if I am avoiding them. Frustration is at an all time high this month with a lot of push back about my trip from my family, and to add to that frustration pie is my search for cheap airfare...

When I went to Spain, I literally waited until the last minute to buy plane tickets and I vowed never to do that again. Now, all I am hearing are myths about when airfare drops or when to buy my tickets. Here are a few of them:

1. Buy your ticket at 1pm on a Wednesday.... (Is that a troll-under-a-bridge question?)

2. Buy your ticket 4 months in advance, unless they are for the summer, than just play by ear.

3. Fly in on a weekday...Leave on a weekday

4. Buy only "flexible date" tickets

 

Oh the prices...Why do they continue to rise?!?

Finding cheap airfare sucks even more because every single website is different. You can find the same flight for $30 dollars cheaper at the same freaking time! Its like people enjoy to watch travelers suffer. As I continue this wild goose chase I will give my own words of wisdom:
1. If at all possible, sign up for airfare tracking. They send you alerts if the prices increase or decrease. (my flight went down $5 today!)
2. Make sure you check every airfare website known to man. Do not underestimate any of them because you could find the perfect price ( I call it "Good Fare Hunting")
3. Always Always plan ahead..but not too far ahead. I have been told that airfare is at its highest when the seats are first announced, so give it a couple months to watch the prices fall.

Well there is my rant about arifare pricing. Here's to finding the best deals!

V