Ten basic rules to save money on airtravel
1) Avoid flying in high-season. High-season is usually defined by
school-holidays. Be aware that season-times may vary between airlines on the same route by up to several weeks!
2) It is wise to check different flight-routings to your destination. If you
want to travel from Frankfurt to Moscow there is also the possibility to
travel via Warsaw or Prague instead of a non-stop-flight. This will increase
your traveltime but gives you a wider choice of options on flights and
fares. Remember that backtracking (e.g. Frankfurt-London-Moscow vv.) is
offered only in a few cases and sometimes may increase the fare if the
airline is not in strong competition)
3) Be flexible on outbound and/or inbound traveldates. Even the time of day
may be of relevance (if there is any choice). Very often the lowest fares
will not be available on the flight that you have chosen at first moment.
Just one day earlier or later can save a substantial amount of money!
4) Do not trust travel agents as long as you do not know which prices are
common on a particular market!!! Travel agents usually won´t tell you the
whole truth, but the flights and fares on which they make the highest profit
( and on which they have to invest the lowest amount of work). So try to get
as many different offers as you can from all possible sources (different
travel agents) and don´t ask just for a single airline. Be careful when
comparing all offers and don´t compare "cherries" with "apples" (always ask
whether taxes are included in the offer or not!!!)
5) Consider flying with less known on smaller airlines. They need to fight
against the big ones and do this often with lower fares.
6) Keep an eye on regional airports not so far from your hometown. The fares
are often the same compared with big airports but you can save money
(low-priced carparking / sometimes free) and time (shorter traveltime from/to
airport and in most cases shorter check-in times).
7) If you don´t live too far from a big airport it is a good idea to check
prices direct with the airline. BUT NOT AT THE AIRPORT!!!
Only airline-city-offices will have "special" prices. Usually these fares
are not offered via travel agents. But not every airline has such offers
(depending on the company´s policy).It is advisable to go to the airline´s
office in person! -not to call by phone-
8) Airlines generally offer discounts for several groups of travellers. Those
relevant to the reader´s of these basics (as I believe) are youthfares
(agelimit usually under 26) students (agelimit usually under 30 plus proof
of attending at a university or something similar) and senior-citizen fares
(minimum age usually 60).
9) If you have a creditcard you may book a flight via internet throught one
of these many travel agencies that sometimes offer real great deals. But
don´t expect that prices are always lower than from your hometown travel
agent. Only airlines that exclusively sell their seats via internet have
real low prices. But these airlines so far only operate in Europe within the
EU-countries (e.g. Ryanair, Easyjet, Go, Buzz).
10) Look for airlines that are new on the market because they need publicity
and will generally have introductory-offers.
This information is general and not only valid for travel from/to russia. If
you have any comments or questions be free to drop me a line. I will try to
solve any problem and answer all questions. But be aware that i´m doing that
in my sparetime so it may take some time to write back.
Additionally I will add further info´s depending on your feedback.
All requests should be send to:
