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How to Fly to Europe on a Budget

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Once you have decided the rough itinerary, you can go ahead and buy the air tickets.

The air tickets will be the single largest expenditure of your trip, costing nearly a quarter of your total budget. You can thus save a substantial amount by doing some research before buying them.

So here are the four steps to get the best deal for the air tickets :-
  • Where to Travel.
  • When to travel.
  • When to Book.
  • Book. :-)


Fly In Fly Out Locales


The points of entry and exit would depend on your itinerary and the air fares to the various cities on the route. You can check the airfares to these cities using websites such as Google Flight and Hopper, saving you a lot of time. The result of this search may also help in determining whether the itinerary should be a round trip or open-jaw.

  • Hopper - This site is a very useful resource. It tells you when and where to go, what is a good price for that flight and when to buy the ticket. The explorer section allows you to specify source, destination (either as a city, country or even region, such as 'Western Europe') and time of travel. Results show you which would be the cheapest cities to travel to and what price to expect.



  • Google Flights - The all-pervasive, omnipresent Google juggernaut has something for this too. Google Flights helps you in choosing your destination, deciding when to go and get the best price for it. We can start with the Explore Map which shows you the prices to various cities from your chosen location. The prices displayed on the map may not be very accurate. But it highlights the major air hubs on which you should concentrate your search. You can then narrow down the search to the exact destination and get the best fares for it.


Explore Map


Multi City Search


Best Time to Travel


Date.   Though your date of travel would mainly depend on other factors, being flexible on the date of travel can save you a lot of money. The Google Flight and Hopper websites will help you in deciding the best dates.

Time.   The choice of flight timing would generally be a balance of cost vs convenience. The more awkward the timing, the cheaper it is likely to be. So, depending on the fare difference, you can decide the most convenient booking. In my opinion, the most convenient time to reach your destination is late in the evening. You then get a full nights rest before you start exploring the city.

Resources.   There are many sites which provide a comprehensive search across various airlines. Though there are many such sites, checking a few should suffice. These give the best results in my opinion.
  • Kayak - I found this to be the best and most convenient search portal.
  • Skyscanner - This site provided excellent deals. However, it does not have an option for multi-city search.
  • Goibibo - A good option among the Indian websites.
These are a few other sites which have good reviews and are worth checking out - Travelocity, Expedia, Hipmunk, Vayama and Orbitz.

At this stage, you will basically search for the best fares to the cities you have decided. Use the 'Flexible Dates' option, if available, which broadens the search to include a few days before and after the date specified.



When to Book


And finally, how early should you book the tickets - and which day of the week should you buy it (Yes, there is research on that too). Here is my research in a nutshell.


  • How Early should you Book?   Buy the tickets AT LEAST 3 months in advance. International fares generally open an year in advance. The price then generally creeps upwards, and starts increasing sharply 3 months before. Recommendations of various sources range from 11 months (Source : Cheapair), 171 days (Source : Forbes) to 4 months (Source :Rick Steves). Bottom line - the earlier you buy it, the better it is. 

Source : Forbes

  • Best Day for Booking (NOT Traveling).    Tuesday is considered the best day of the week to book tickets as airlines generally announce deals on Monday evenings. However, recent trends indicate that prices on Saturday and Sunday are the lowest. This is probably because of the internet. Vacation shoppers, who are the ones searching for discounts, generally buy tickets on the weekend. On the other hand, business travelers, who buy costlier tickets and are not concerned with discounts, generally book their tickets from office during weekdays. Here is the research from WSJ website.

Source : Wall Street Journal
  • But the final caveat - all this does not work for peak season. If there is a high demand, the price is unlikely to ever fall. And the European sector from India during summer is certainly a peak sector. The airlines do not have to worry about less travellers.


A Few More Tips



Twitter or Email Alerts. Join an airfare search site like Airfarewatchdog or FareCompare. These sites email and tweet updates about low fares for the routes chosen by you. They are free services that help you find the cheapest fares across multiple airlines.

Direct vs Hopping.   The cost of a direct flight would generally be higher  than a hopping flight. However, consider which airport the stopover is in and for how long. As economy passengers, you may have to rough out in an uncomfortable airport chair. You wouldn't want to land at your destination with a crick in the neck. So it may be worth it to pay a little extra for a direct flight rather than a cheaper one with a 5 hour halt in an unknown airport.

Open Jaw vs Round Trip.   A round trip is generally not worth it. It is just not economical to come back to the place you started. Consider the additional expenditure in time and money, as you have to return and probably stay for an additional day in the starting city.

Airline Site vs Search Portal.   There is one final check you should do after identifying the flight which meets your requirements. Go to the airline website. You may get a better deal as there will be no extra middleman fees. Buying from the airline's site also allows you to check the exact 'Terms and Conditions' for that booking. It would also be simpler to resolve any problems later. On the other hand, search portals may give you better deal, especially by a mix and match of different airlines or special promotion offers. So check both before buying.

Be Prepared to Book Quickly. I would also suggest that you decide on a 'good fare' from your initial research. Since fares are very erratic, you must be prepared to buy the ticket as soon as you find an good deal.

Check Ticket Information Carefully.  Ensure that the ticket has the correct date, time, destination and exact spelling of your name, matching with your passport. Also check that the baggage allowance is sufficient. A simple check now can save you a lot of trouble later.

Read the Fine Print.   Read the booking terms carefully, especially the rescheduling and cancellation terms. Most airlines give a full refund in case of a death in the family or Visa application being rejected. Be aware of the fine print.

Choose your Seats. Since the flight is likely to be a long haul, it is a good idea to choose comfortable seats well in advance. This is especially important for taller passengers who need more legroom. So choose your seats while booking. To be on the safer side, web check-in on the day of travel and confirm your seats. You can check SeatGuru for suggestions on the best seats for any aircraft.


Conclusion


Finally, the more convenient a flight is, the costlier it will be. Our endeavour would thus be to get the best combination of price and convenience.

The internet provides ample resources for getting the best deal on your air tickets. A little bit of research is all that is needed. In fact, none of the travel agents could give us a better deal than that offered on the web. One of them even admitted that they do not have access to many of the deals available on the website. So just do your homework and take the plunge. The heavy feeling in the pit of your stomach as you make the payment will soon be replaced with the euphoria that you are going on a great vacation and are now firmly committed to it.

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