Originally posted 2008-11-15 21:23:25.

When considering saving money on air travel, first of all you need to decide whether you’d prefer to fly with a Low Cost carrier (LCC) or with a “full service” airline. If you prefer an LCC, click here. For tips on finding the lowest fare with “full service” airlines, continue reading below.

Step 1: I recommend visiting ITA’s Matrix. Once there, select a “Month Long” search, enter your departure and destination cities, enter the earliest date you’re likely to travel, leave the other options as they are and click the “GO!” button. You can’t actually book flights, but it will give you a good indication of the lowest published fares available, which you can them target around the dates you actually want to travel. (Tip: If you’re asked for log-in details when you arrive at the main page, just click the “Log-In as a Guest” link.)

• ITA Matrix

Step 2: Use the “+/- 1day” feature of the following sites to see if they can match the lowest fare found using ITA Matrix:

• Openjet
• Opodo

Step 3: Make a note of the lowest fares found above, then also check the following websites. They may check alternative airlines and ticket wholesalers and may return an even lower fare. If you’re serious about saving money on flights, you should check all the links below. I’ve tested all of them (as in I have actually booked through them) and can vouch that they are (and hopefully still are) genuine. In no particular order, they are:

• Momondo
• Wego
• JetAbroad
• Mobissimo

Sure it’ll take you a few minutes to work through all the above, but you’ll likely find it’s worth it.

Bon voyage,

BartK