These days, the world feels like it’s teetering on the brink of apocalypse. And sometimes it can feel like the only cure for this existential dread is to travel somewhere completely different. But how can you get away without breaking the bank on airfare?
Airfare pricing can often feel unpredictable and entirely senseless. Without notice, prices drop or rise abruptly, which can make buying flights an unnecessarily stressful experience — especially if you’re on a budget.
But one phone app, Hopper, takes all of the guesswork out of flight-price fluctuations and can make booking your next getaway a lot cheaper.
Hopper is one of the fastest-growing travel apps, based in Montreal, Canada. The startup uses AI to provide recommendations for when to book flights, making travel more affordable for those who aren't able or willing to hire a travel agent. According to Business Insider, Hopper saves the average user about $50 bucks per flight.
If you’re not familiar with how the app works, it’s simple: You select the city you want to travel to and will be given a calendar with all the price breakdowns for each calendar date. From there, you can either choose one of the options, or opt to watch the flight. If you choose the former, you’ll be notified of any price changes and be given a recommended date by which to book. You’ll also get a notification if the price is about to go up, so you can grab your credit card and snag a seat before the price increases.
This is the basic gist, and while it’s fairly straightforward, there are some easy tips that can help you to score the best deal on your next flight. Hopper recently outlined their top booking mistakes, many of which are, thankfully, quite easy to rectify. Ahead, five tweaks that will help you save money next time you’re planning a trip.
In the era of online shopping, impulsive spending can become a chronic habit. But when it comes to buying flights, impulsivity is rarely rewarded.
According to Hopper, two out of three ticket prices drop within 24 hours of the original search or booking.
When booking flights, it's almost always a good idea to hold off on clicking "buy" until you've checked out other offers from competing airlines — or even booking companies. It could save you an average of $46 on domestic flights and $139 on international ones.
It can be challenging to set aside time to look at flights and plan trips during the week, which is why most people wait till the weekend. However, because most airlines use pricing algorithms, prices can often skyrocket when you're shopping at predictable times — like Saturdays and Sundays.
Generally, there are fewer flight deals available on weekends. So if you can't make the time during the week, set up a flight alert with Hopper and let them tell you when to book for the best price.
Flexibility is key when it comes to snagging good flight deals. This includes getting creative about where you’re going. Many cities have multiple airports (Los Angeles, for instance, has five), and it’s often worth it to compare prices at each one.
It can also help to look into another city or even country. If you’re trying to get into a major city, such as Vienna, Austria, you could save a lot of money by checking flights into nearby Bratislava, Slovakia, or Budapest, Hungary. In fact, Hopper found that you can save an average of 10% when you shop around and consider nearby airports.
Many budget airlines offer extremely cheap, no-frills flight options — but charge you for absolutely everything once you get to the airport.
Want to choose a seat? It’ll cost you. Want to bring on a personal item or a carry-on, or check a bag? You’ll have to pay extra for each. Want your boarding pass? You may have to pay to get it printed out.
With more airlines than ever offering “basic” flight options, it’s worth it to take a look at what you might pay in total before springing for that alarmingly cheap flight — you might regret it if you don’t.
Previously, the common understanding was that booking a flight far in advance was the best way to save money. But according to Hopper’s data, that could end up costing you. Same goes for leaving flight purchases until the last minute.
Hopper says booking too early can cost, on average, $38 on domestic flights and $474 on international flights. When it comes to booking too late, the repercussions can be even worse, costing $529, on average, for international travel.
So how do you find the sweet spot? The best way to score a great flight is to leave yourself ample time to monitor price changes, but to make sure you don't wait to make your purchasing decision until the very last minute.
Clearly, this type of involvement can be time-consuming, so if you’d rather free yourself up to start researching the restaurants you’d like to visit on your well-deserved vacation, your best bet is to just let Hopper do the work — that's literally what it was designed for.
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