Expert Article 1

Travel hacks: The art of flying

Getting more for less out of your air ticket

Ever flown long distances sandwiched between, say a gossipy fellow and that one person who always nestles their head onto your shoulder as they sleep? Yes, it’s quite an experience. What about that feeling when you glance into First or Business class, as those lucky travellers get cozy in their private pods and snooze the flight away, all the time wishing you could trade seats with them? Yes, I’ve been there too. What if the person sitting next to you got an equally bad seat on the same flight for half the price you paid for your ticket? You’d probably try and find out for next time too, I’d assume. There are so many factors affecting the travel experience of ones’ flight, and many of them aren’t often in your favour. What if you could alter the circumstances to benefit your flight experience? Oh, did I mention that you could do so without paying more? Sounds too good to be true eh?

Be it for business, school, or leisure, flying is becoming more popular today than ever before. As competition between airlines becomes more intense, so too has vying for an “OK” flight experience at the least. Although getting the discount tickets can often lead to a miserable experience, there are actually ways to improve ones’ flight with neither discount tickets, nor paying a higher price. Simply knowing the tricks and many hidden benefits can make for a cheaper ticket and a better experience.

The typical flight deals

Most people probably already know about the “holiday deals” and so-called “special fanfares”, but are these prices really cheaper? The answer is simple; yes these are discounted prices, but only relative to peak-season high prices. That begs the question, are these actually good deals? Again, the answer is simple; no they are not.

A common trick that travellers use to find a cheap flight deal is to book tickets at specific times of the week. Although timing of this strategy varies by airline, many offer a limited amount of significantly discounted tickets on the first and last Tuesdays each month between the hours of 8:00AM and 12:00PM.

Want a less competitive and more precise target? A lesser-known trick that researchers at cheapair.com have come up with is to book a ticket precisely 7 weeks before your intended flight. Although this technique isn’t 100% accurate, the logic behind it makes sense. Imagine a reverse bell-shaped curve. When a flight is initially scheduled, prices start out high but generally decrease towards the 49th day before departure. After this point, prices are again bumped up to exploit a surge in demand from people who begin to finalize their plans.

Less is more; fly further, save more

Yes, you read that right. A trick that many frequent travellers use to save huge amounts on tickets is to fake their location. As tickets are regionally priced, flights will be cheaper in a country with lower standards of living. Let me give you an example; a round-trip business class ticket on Cathay Pacific Airways direct from Hong Kong to LAX costs roughly US$7,000. However, if you book and start your journey in Taiwan, you would take a round trip business class flight from Taiwan to Hong Kong in addition to the exact same flight from Hong Kong to Los Angeles for just US$4,500. The only problem is that you would have to fly from Hong Kong to Taiwan in the first place. These tickets cost under US$100 (or can be redeemed with mileage) and the flight is under an hour long; if it’s going to save you 33% of the price and allow you to travel more, why not!?

Sure, I’ll take a ‘freebie’

It doesn’t take a top-tier frequent flyer to get a complimentary upgrade. A flight cabin typically consists of First, Business, Premium Economy, and Economy Class; did you know that each respective class is then separated further into letter categories? The best shot of receiving an upgrade on an Economy ticket is to book a seat in either the ‘Y’ or ‘B’ category. These are the two primary sections that are eligible for upgrades and passengers in these seats are automatically waitlisted for upgrades in the airlines system.

Redemption tickets are often not eligible for the ‘Y’ or ‘B’ category. If you happen to be using mileage and still want that upgrade, the next best option is to simply ask NICELY for upgrades at check-in and again at the gate. This tactic fails more often that not so don’t get your hopes up, but from personal experience it’s worked enough times to keep me trying!

Getting the most of your in-flight experience

If all else fails and an overpriced Economy Class ticket is inevitable, then personalizing your trip is the next best option. Most importantly, pick your seat as soon as seat-specific reservations become available (usually the week leading up to a flight but varying per airline). Whether you are an avid flyer or a first time traveller, Seatguru.com is a useful tool in helping one decide where to sit. Not only does the website give you passenger feedback on their seat and journey, but it also has an intricate seat map (suggesting the good and bad seats) for most airlines and their respective fleet of airplanes.

With that said and done, it’s now time for the in-flight experience. As ridiculous as it sounds, being nice to a flight attendant can go a long way. Being nice is an ambiguous term so I’m going to be more specific; kind gestures that a passenger could carry out to a flight attendant range from tipping, assisting with overhead baggage, voicing their appreciation, and striking up a friendly conversation. By being an enjoyable passenger to serve, it’s not too unusual for a flight attendant to show their appreciation too; flight attendants have been known to give free chocolates, and even bring food, beverages and amenity kits from higher classes!

Many of us have had to endure too many unpleasant journeys. It’s time to change that! Hopefully with these (new) insights, you too will be able to make the most out of your travel experience, all the while spending less!

Don’t believe me? Try for yourself.

Works Cited

Sophie-Claire Hoeller. “29 travel hacks that even frequent fliers don’t know.” Business Insider, 16^th June 2015. <http://www.businessinsider.com/travel-hacks-for-frequent-fliers-2015-6#ixzz3dXFD7Kzg>.

Mark Johanson. “When is the best time to book a flight?” International Business Times, 21^st January 2015 <http://www.ibtimes.com/when-best-time-book-flight-1028160>.

Erica Ho “Map Happy”. “Use a ‘fake’ location to get cheaper plane tickets.” Huffington Post, 16^th December 2014. <http://www.huffingtonpost.com/map-happy/use-a-fake-location-to-ge_b_6315424.html>.