How to Find Cheap Flights: 18 Techniques That Actually Work
A cheap ticket isn't luck — it's the result of searching the right way. The same pair of flights on the same date can cost 7 000 or 18 000 ₽: the only difference is where and how you looked.
This guide has 18 techniques and tools that work: from low-price calendars and budget airlines to miles, charters and mistake fares. No magic — just sites that exist and clear steps.
Read it straight through or jump to the action plan at the end — that step-by-step order is the easiest place for a beginner to start.
A cheap ticket isn't luck — it's the result of searching the right way. The same pair of flights on the same date can cost 7 000 or 18 000 ₽: the only difference is where and how you looked.
Techniques that cut the price
Low-price calendar and date grid
The calendar shows the lowest price for every day of the month, not just the date you chose. On Aviasales it's the low-price calendar, on Skyscanner it's cheapest month and whole month, on Google Flights it's a date grid with prices. You see straight away that shifting departure by two days takes a third off the bill. It's especially obvious on long routes and in high season.
Tickets: up to 40–50% off the price on a randomly picked date · while your dates are still flexible
Money-saving tip: Open the price calendar for your route and write down the 3–4 cheapest days in the month you need — then compare them by departure time and layovers, not just by the number.
The anywhere search
Skyscanner and Aviasales can search everywhere: you enter only your departure city and the site shows the cheapest tickets across all countries and dates. It's the best way to catch a spontaneous holiday for next to nothing, when you just want to get away and don't care where. Then you fit your dates to the find and check the visa.
Tickets: sometimes 2–3 times cheaper than a city picked in advance · when the destination doesn't matter
Money-saving tip: If you want to get away but don't know where, start with the anywhere search — then look at dates and weather for the country you found.
Comparing metasearch engines
Skyscanner, Aviasales, Momondo, Kiwi.com, Google Flights — each has its own partners and its own results. Sometimes the difference on the same flight is several thousand rubles, because one price came from an agency and another straight from the airline. Always check 2–3 services, then go to the carrier's own site.
Tickets: 5–20% on the exact same flight · always, before you buy
Money-saving tip: Check your route in at least three search engines and note the best price — it often turns up somewhere other than where you started looking.
Price alerts
Aviasales, Skyscanner and Google Flights can watch a specific route and email or push you when the price falls. It's free and needs nothing from you: set it up once and wait. These techniques work best if you're not tied to a particular day and are ready to fly when the price dips.
Tickets: 10–30%: you catch the moment the price drops · 1–3 months before departure
Money-saving tip: Set alerts for 3–4 date options at once: the more lines in the water, the better your chance of catching a dip.
Budget airlines and carry-on rules
Pobeda, Ryanair, Wizz Air, easyJet, Vueling — the basic fare carries only a small bag, and everything else is paid for separately. Add it up honestly: ticket plus baggage, seat, food, printing the boarding pass — and compare it with a regular airline, where baggage is often included. On low-cost carriers it's almost always better to travel with one backpack as carry-on and skip checked baggage altogether.
Tickets: ticket from 1 000–3 000 ₽, but baggage can cost more than the seat · on short and medium routes
Money-saving tip: Before you pay, add the cost of baggage and a seat to the low-cost fare and compare it with a regular airline on the same day — sometimes the cheap ticket turns out to be pricier.
Two tickets instead of one connection
You buy two separate tickets: first to a hub (Istanbul, Dubai, Warsaw, Belgrade), then from the hub to your final destination. It's often noticeably cheaper than a single ticket, especially if the first leg is a low-cost carrier and the second a local airline. This isn't a connection under the carrier's rules: if the first flight is late, nobody will rebook you or refund the second. Allow at least 4–6 hours between flights, and on tricky routes an overnight at the hub is better.
Tickets: 20–50% · when there's a big hub on the way
Money-saving tip: Find the cheapest entry point into your region (a hub) and search the two tickets separately — but leave a big time buffer and fly without checked baggage.
Multi-city and open-jaw
Multi-city means flying through several cities on one booking instead of buying the tickets separately. Open-jaw is the version where you fly into one city and out of another. A route like that is often cheaper than two separate round trips and saves time: you don't have to come back to your starting point.
Tickets: 10–25% on a complex route · when you want to see several cities
Money-saving tip: If you're planning two cities in one trip, try building the route through the multi-city or complex route section and compare its price with two separate tickets.
Neighbouring airports
In Moscow that's Sheremetyevo, Domodedovo, Vnukovo and Zhukovsky; in Europe dozens of cities have several airports. Sometimes a ticket from a neighbouring airport is several thousand rubles cheaper, and getting there takes 30–60 minutes. In your search enter the all-airports code for the city (MOW, LON, PAR, MIL) rather than a specific one, or you'll lose half the options.
Tickets: 10–40% · when the city has more than one airport
Money-saving tip: Put every departure and arrival airport into the search, then work out separately how much the trip to the cheapest one costs and how long it takes.
Changing your starting point
Sometimes a ticket from your home city costs half a holiday, while from a neighbouring big hub it's pennies. Then you take a night bus or train to Moscow, Istanbul or Warsaw and fly from there. Count the full cost: ticket plus travel plus a possible overnight and an extra day of holiday.
Tickets: sometimes several times over: it's cheaper to fly from a big hub · when everything from your city is expensive
Money-saving tip: Compare the price from home with the price from a hub plus getting there — sometimes the difference pays for the bus and still leaves a few thousand in your pocket.
Night and early flights
Flights departing at 5 a.m. or landing at 2 a.m. are almost always cheaper than daytime ones: there's less demand. The bonus is that if you sleep on the plane you don't have to pay for the first night in a hotel. The downside is that a night transfer to the airport can eat part of the saving.
Tickets: 10–25% · when you don't mind awkward times
Money-saving tip: Look at the awkward slots in the price calendar: often the cheapest day of the month is a flight at 4:50.
Tuesday, Wednesday and low season
The most expensive days to fly are Friday and Sunday, the cheapest are Tuesday and Wednesday. It's not a hard rule but a steady trend: more people fly at weekends, so demand is higher. Season matters even more: the shoulder months (October–November, late January to March, excluding school holidays) are cheaper than high summer and New Year dates.
Tickets: 15–35% · all year round, but not always
Money-saving tip: Before you pick a date, check the price for Tuesday and Wednesday of the same week: if the gap is big, shift the trip by a day or two.
Book 3–8 weeks ahead
The sweet spot for international flights is roughly 2–4 months before departure; for short domestic hops, 3–8 weeks. In the last few days tickets get more expensive because they're bought by people who need to travel urgently. Booking six months out isn't always cheaper either: airlines often open sales and low fares later.
Tickets: 10–30% · for medium and long routes
Money-saving tip: Decide the rough direction in advance and set a price alert — as soon as it fits your budget, buy, don't wait for another thousand off.
Mistake fares (error fare)
Sometimes an airline lists a ticket at an absurd price by mistake: 8 000 ₽ instead of 40 000 ₽. Fares like that live from a few hours to a few days and spread through Telegram channels and sites like Secret Flying. The risk is that the carrier may cancel the booking and refund you — or may confirm it, it varies. So don't book non-refundable hotels and transfers until the ticket is confirmed.
Tickets: 50–90% · they live from a couple of hours to a day
Money-saving tip: Subscribe to 2–3 mistake-fare channels and keep the airline's site open: if you spot a find, buy immediately — in an hour it's gone.
Miles and loyalty programmes
Aeroflot Bonus, S7 Priority, Miles&More, Flying Blue — miles are earned on flights, on card spending, sometimes on hotels and car rental. The main rule: an award ticket pays off above all on expensive flights, for instance business class across an ocean for miles plus taxes. Short cheap hops for miles are often bad value: the taxes swallow the saving.
Tickets: from 30% off to an almost free ticket · when you fly regularly or hold a co-branded card
Money-saving tip: Before booking with miles, work out what the ticket would cost in cash and divide it by the number of miles — if it comes to less than a ruble per mile, pay cash and keep saving.
Cashback and promo codes
Cashback services like LetyShops and Backit return part of the money when you buy through an agency, and there are promo codes and bank bonuses for card payments too. Cashback alone won't make a ticket cheap, but 3–7% back is a nice extra, especially on expensive tickets. It's important to reach the agency's site strictly through the cashback service's link, or the purchase won't be credited.
Tickets: 1–10% of the ticket price · on any online purchase
Money-saving tip: Before paying, check whether your agency is on the cashback service's partner list, and only then go through to payment.
Charters and last-minute packages
Charter flights are arranged by tour operators for ready-made packages, and seats on them are sometimes sold separately. A charter ticket or a last-minute package (flight plus hotel) often comes out cheaper than a scheduled flight, especially on popular beach routes. Look for them on tour operators' sites, in package aggregators and in the charter section on Aviasales.
Tickets: 2 times and more, but only in season · a few days before departure
Money-saving tip: If you can leave within the next 3–7 days and your dates are flexible, look at last-minute packages: sometimes a flight plus hotel costs less than a ticket alone.
Hidden city
You buy a ticket to final destination B with a stop in city A, and get off in A — which was the point. Sometimes such a ticket is cheaper than a direct one to A. It's important to understand the risk: it breaks the airline's rules, and the carrier may cancel the return leg and your bonus miles, while checked baggage flies on to B. It only works with carry-on and only one way.
Tickets: 20–50% · only without baggage and only one way
Money-saving tip: If you do try it, take a one-way ticket, fly with carry-on only and don't link a mileage card to the booking.
Paying in the airline's currency
When paying with a foreign card you're often offered to pay in your card's currency — that's dynamic currency conversion (DCC), and the rate is several percent worse than the market one. Always choose the seller's currency: if the ticket is in euros, pay in euros and let the bank convert at its own rate. On expensive tickets that's easily several thousand rubles.
Tickets: 2–7% · at the last payment step
Money-saving tip: On the payment screen don't agree to pay in rubles or your card's currency — choose the carrier's country currency.
Free tools and alerts
- Google Flights — A free search from Google with a price calendar, a date grid, saving tips and links to airline sites. It can search anywhere and track the price for a specific route. The handiest place to start if you want to see straight away what a ticket costs around your date.
- ITA Matrix — A free professional route search engine (matrix.itasoftware.com) from the same team that built airline booking systems. It builds calendars and complex routes more precisely than ordinary aggregators, but it can't sell tickets — you go to the airline's or an agency's site to buy.
- The anywhere mode on Skyscanner and Aviasales — A free search mode where you enter only your departure city and the service shows the cheapest countries and dates. A great way to find a destination when budget matters more than geography. You can then subscribe to alerts and wait for the price to drop.
- Telegram channels about mistake fares — Channels and sites like Secret Flying and Fly4free publish live mistake fares and flash sales for free. They're worth reading to learn the real price levels on popular routes. A find has to be bought immediately — those fares live for hours, not weeks.
- Airline sites and newsletters — Pobeda, Ryanair, Wizz Air and other carriers run their own sales and promos, which appear there earlier than on aggregators. Subscribing to the newsletter is free and sometimes gives access to fares that aren't in the search engines. Plus the airline's own site never carries an agency markup.
Action plan: how to search
Step 1
Set a window instead of a specific date. First decide how many days you can spend on the trip and what your budget is, not we fly on 12 July exactly. Open the low-price calendar for your route and write down the 5–7 cheapest dates in the month you're interested in. If the destination doesn't matter, start with an anywhere search and pick a country by price.
Step 2
Find the lowest price, not the first one you come across. Check your chosen dates in at least three search engines: Skyscanner, Aviasales, Google Flights or Momondo. Look at options from all the city's airports and with one or two low-cost carriers. Check two tickets via a hub separately if the route is long.
Step 3
Work out the full cost, not the fare. Add up the ticket, baggage, seats, getting to the airport, a night connection and food on board. With a low-cost carrier, comparing against a regular airline often flips the picture. If it comes out above your budget, set a price alert and give yourself a week.
Step 4
Buy on the airline's site if the price is comparable, and through a cashback service if you go with an agency. At payment choose the carrier's currency, not your card's currency. Save the confirmation and check the booking on the airline's site by number — and only then book hotels and transfers.
FAQ
When is it really cheaper to buy plane tickets?
For short and medium flights, 3–8 weeks before departure; for long international ones, 2–4 months. In the last few days tickets almost always get more expensive. But a lot depends on the route and the season, so instead of guessing the timing it's safer to set a price alert and buy when the price fits your budget.
Is it true that tickets are cheaper on Tuesdays?
It's a trend, not a guarantee. Tuesday and Wednesday departures are usually cheaper than Friday and Sunday because demand is higher at weekends. But a specific flight can cost the same on every day — check the price calendar and compare days for your own route instead of trusting the general rule.
Does incognito mode help lower the price?
Mostly no — the rumour that a site raises prices after your searches is largely exaggerated. The price changes because of demand and fare classes, not your cookies. Incognito is sometimes useful for a different reason: it clears discounts and saved search settings so you see a clean result.
Can I buy one ticket with two different airlines?
Yes, but it will be two separate bookings rather than one connection. If the first flight is delayed, the second carrier owes you nothing — you'll have to buy a new ticket at your own expense. So leave at least 4–6 hours of buffer, and on long routes it's better to overnight at the hub.
What is a mistake fare and can I count on one?
It's a ticket listed by an airline at an obviously too-low price because of a typo or a glitch. Such fares are real, but they live for hours and the carrier may cancel them and refund you. Only buy if you're ready for that outcome, and don't book non-refundable hotels in advance.
Low-cost carrier or regular airline — which is cheaper in the end?
Count the full cost. With a low-cost carrier you add baggage, a seat, drinks and sometimes printing the boarding pass to the base fare, while a regular airline often includes baggage. On a short route with one backpack the low-cost carrier is almost always cheaper, and on a long one with baggage and meals the difference often disappears.
Why did the price go up in 10 minutes and what should I do?
Most likely the cheapest fare classes sold out — that's normal and doesn't mean the site raised the price for you. Check the same flight in another search engine and with the airline itself: sometimes an agency still has a block at the old price. If it's nowhere, look at nearby dates — often the difference shifts by a day.
How do I save on baggage?
Fly with carry-on only and check the specific airline's limits in advance: low-cost carriers are stricter on both weight and dimensions. Paying for baggage online is always cheaper than at the airport, and sometimes it's better value to buy a bigger carry-on than a checked suitcase. Weigh your bag at home — an overweight fine can be more than the ticket.