Top Airfare Sites: All Resources Needed For a Smooth & Cheap Flight

Let’s face it, looking for flights is sometimes the hardest part of traveling. Most of us want to be able to get away for the weekend, but the thought of having to find the best prices on flights stops us. The amount of things that you “need” to know can fill an entire guidebook- things like where the hub for each airline is, or what’s the best way to find great seats.

Our aim here is to be your one stop shop, and help you to save money on flights so you can spend your resources on the things that matter.

So, in order to save you time and effort, we’ve pulled together a list of flight booking sites and more. It’s everything you need to know about booking flights to get you planning and out the door for your next escape!

You already know all the tricks on how to find those insanely cheap flights. Now bookmark this complete list of all the resources you need and you’re on your way.

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General Airline Search Engines

Yes, there are a ton of flight search engines, and no you don’t need to check each one. There’s been a ton of research on how, when and where to track down the best flights. At this point, it’s somewhat of a science – one that can keep you occupied for days. Skip all the research and go directly to some of the most popular flight booking sites that have proven their worth.

Skyscanner – general search flights, hotels, cars. Often tipped as cheapest search engine for flights. Can search for cheapest month and shows price grid. Leave the destination blank and it ranks cheapest destinations.

Kayak – general search flights, hotels, cars. Perfect for flexible date searches and/or multiple destinations. Shows price trend to advice whether to book now or wait.

Rome2Rio – specializing in complicated itineraries by comparing flights, trains (Europe, India, China), driving, and ferries

Round the World Flights – specializing in around-the-world flights

Vayama – general search for flights, hotels, cars, transfer

Budget Airline Search Engines

Specially targeted on budget trips, these websites can help out your wallet.

Adioso – specializes in spontaneous and budget travel; searches low-cost airline

Expedia – complete site on flights, hotels, cars, cruises and activities; best in class

Momondo – meta-searches of cheap flights, hotels and cars

WhichBudget – simple site, specializes in low-cost airlines; enables search by country and airport

Best Flight Trackers

Is your next flight on schedule? Do you have a few unforeseen hours of peace before collecting your mother-in-law at the airport? Find out with these flight trackers, set up alerts and you’ll have all the information you need.

FlightAware – live flight tracking

FlightStats – track by flight number, airport, route; best in class with optional push notifications

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Seat Finders

These websites can’t tell you if your red-eye has a screaming baby in the same aisle, but they’re a great resource to check if your seat isn’t right next to the toilet, how the leg space is or if you can charge your phone. Make sure you get the best seat in the house.

SeatGuru – the complete source for seat maps includes tips and info on the differences per class.

SeatExpert – a simple way to quickly browse seat maps per airline

Airline Hubs

We could write an entire book on the complicated system behind cheap air travel, but a few great tips might be all you need. So why should airline hubs matter to you?

Knowing where there’s a hub in reasonable distance and which airline flies here, is an important key to finding the cheapest flight. Track down one near you (or on-route) and aim your flight search around that to get great deals. Especially large airports that are used by several airlines as their main hub can be a steal – companies might try to out-do each other and you can score the best deal.

For instance, are you looking to fly from Australia to Europe? See if a detour via Dubai might make it worth your while. A little puzzling using your favorite search engine can save you hundreds of dollars.

Airline	Hub(s)
Aer Lingus	Dublin, Shannon, Cork, Belfast
AirAsia	Kuala Lumpur, multiple other Malaysian cities
AirBaltic	Riga (Latvia), Talinn (Estonia), Vilnius (Lithuania)
American Airlines	Dallas/Fort Worth, multiple other American cities
Blue Air	Bucharest, multiple Romanian cities
Brussels Airlines	Brussels
CityJet	London City Airport, Paris, Helsinki, Brussels
Condor	Multiple German cities
Delta	Atlanta, New York, Cincinnati, Detroit, Minneapolis-St. Paul, Salt Lake City, Paris, Amsterdam, Tokyo
easyJet	London, Milan, Berlin, Paris, Liverpool, Geneva, Basel, Nice, Toulouse, Edinburgh, Madrid, and more
Emirates	Dubai
Flybe	Manchester, Newquay, Exeter, Southampton, London (southern England); Jersey, Guernsey (Channel Islands)
Germanwings	Cologne, multiple other German cities
Helvetic Airways	Zürich, Bern
Icelandair	Reykjavik
Jet2	Multiple British cities
Jetstar Airways	Melbourne, Sydney, Auckland, Cairns, Brisbane, Gold Coast, Singapore
KLM	Amsterdam
Lufthansa	Frankfurt, Munich
Norwegian	Oslo, Bergen, Copenhagen, Helsinki, Stockholm, Alicante, Barcelona, and London
Pegasus Airlines	Istanbul, Antalya (Turkey)
Qantas	Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane
Ryanair	London, Dublin, multiple other cities
Singapore Airlines	Singapore
SmartWings	Prague, Brno, Ostrava (Czech Republic), Budapest
Transavia	Amsterdam, Eindhoven, Rotterdam
TUIfly	Multiple cities in The Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Scandinavia, UK and France
Vueling	Barcelona, Rome
Widerøe	Oslo, multiple other Norwegian cities
Wizz Air	Budapest and many other Eastern European cities
XL Airways	Paris

 

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