If you’re going on an impromptu trip, you can look and book at the last minute, but if you HAVE to be there for Christmas or Mother’s Day or a wedding or that cruise, booking a flight at least six weeks ahead is probably a good idea.

Internet booking gurus suggest the best time to shop for your flight online is a Monday or Tuesday.  Airlines typically lower fares early in the week and raise them again toward the weekend.

Start your quest for booking a flight with a search engine that does a comprehensive fare search…. on a site like Kayak.  This should return a list of flights with the best schedule and price.

If you want to save money, consider driving to a smaller airport.  Airfares can be cheaper from those outlying airports and parking may be cheaper too.

If your time off allows it, try to fly on non-peak days.  (For instance — in the U.S., avoid the Wednesday before Thanksgiving and the Sunday after… those are definitely PEAK travel days and will be the most expensive.)

Don’t think only the broad search engines are the place to look.  Check airline sites in your search for booking a flight.

Airlines pay commissions to other booking engines, so more and more they are posting the best air fares on their own sites.

There may be specials that other search engines can’t find.  These specials often pop up for a short time, and they’re usually not advertised.

It’s best to avoid itineraries that involve several connections or several airlines.  Every stop and connection is a possible problem for missed connections.

You might save a couple of dollars if every thing goes right, but you’ll have a real headache if things go wrong…. and if you’ve got to be there, a couple of extra bucks for a non-stop or direct flight is well worth the peace of mind!

Get up early and catch the first flight… it’s the one that is least likely to be delayed.

If you MUST be there for that holiday or wedding or cruise, we suggest booking your flight at least 24 hours before you need to be there.

If you have a connection, make sure there is enough time to get to the next plane… even if the first one is delayed.  Look for a minimum connection time of two hours.

Weather delays happen summer or winter and the airlines are not responsible for these.  They will not compensate you.

They will try to get you on the next available flight, but that might not be until the next day, and if you haven’t allowed enough time, you may miss the boat or the wedding.

Be smart when you’re booking a flight online, and your holiday will get off to a good start…. and you’ll get home on time.

Better yet, you may be looking for cheap air travel rates.

The first step in finding cheap air ravel rates is to know that they do exist.  Unfortunately, many individuals do not know or even truly believe that there are ways that they can save money on the cost of traveling by air, but you can.  Depending on where you look, you may be able to save one hundred dollars or more on just one trip!

As for how you can go about finding cheap air travel rates, you will want to turn to the internet.  When using the internet, you will find that there are a number of different approaches that you can take to find cheap airline tickets.

First, you will want to start with online travel websites.  Many allow you to compare flights with different airlines.  You are also often able to compare flights with one airline, but with a flexible time or date window.

This approach is one that you will want to examine.  Many travelers do not realize that the same flight can cost more money on a Saturday than it would on a Wednesday and so forth.

In keeping with using online travel websites to help you find cheap air travel rates, you will want to visit a number of them.  If you don’t already know of a number of online travel websites, you can easily find a few by performing a standard internet search.

Examining multiple online travel websites and their rates is important, as they will likely vary.  For example, many online travel websites charge you a fee for using their services.  This fee is typically included in the price that you are quoted, but since different travel websites charge different fees, you will find some price differences.

Another great way that you can go about finding cheap air travel rates, while still using the internet, is by examining popular airlines individually and independently.

This can be time consuming, but still worth it if you are able to find a great deal.  First, examine airlines that provide flights from your starting point to your destination.  Then, compare prices.  Remember that being flexible, in your destination and travel dates and time can result in you saving money.

When comparing prices, either for airlines individually or with online travel websites, be sure to write down all quote rates.

Other information that you will want to write down includes the airline, date, time, and the name of the online travel website the deal is being offered on.  This will allow you to easily compare to find the cheapest air travel rates, without making any errors.

If you find a good deal, try to buy your tickets right then and there.  It is important to remember that prices can change and at the drop of a hat.

Also, airlines that are offering great deals on flights may have their seats fill up quickly.  That is why you will want to act fast if you see a great moneysaving air travel rate.

As an added tip, if you will be traveling with young children, namely those who are two or younger, you may be able to receive a small, but helpful, discount.

Children under two have the option of sitting on the lap of an adult, but many airlines will offer discounts to help fill up all seats.

To see if an airline will offer you a discount for traveling with a child under the age of two, contact them directly.  If you are given a small discount, be prepared to buy your tickets then and over the phone.

The above mentioned ways are just a few of the many ways that you can go about finding cheap air travel rates.  As a recap, comparing airlines, travel websites, and flight dates and times is likely to result in you finding the best deals.

The internet is the best resource to use, but where do you start looking once online? That is the problem that so many people have, not knowing where to start looking. Here are the best places to look online to find international airfares that are cheap.

1. Any major search engine – You can start searching with any search engine to find international airfares. This will take time to search because there will be many results to look through.

2. Websites – There are many different websites online for airlines that will allow anyone to find cheap airfares for international travel. Again, it will take time to search, but it is important because this is how to find the best deal possible. Always take time to compare the different sites and deals that are found to ensure the best deal is found.

These are definitely not all of the places that you can start searching online to find cheap international airfares. This will get anyone started looking for the best deal possible. Don’t delay in searching because then a good deal might be lost to your family. The sooner the search is started before the vacation, the more money can be saved.