How to Catch the Lowest Airfare Deals

/ JP Esquejo

Traveling becomes more and more affordable nowadays due to variety of promo fares. With the presence of a number of low-cost carriers, finding a cheap airfare to your next destination is never difficult, if and only if, you book it some weeks (or months) ahead of the actual flight, especially if you’re planning to fly at a peak season. As a regular promo fare abangers, the cheapest flight I got was from Manila to Taipei and Manila to Kuala Lumpur at PhP121 each! (This was the time when the PhP550 terminal fee was still payable at the airport). Nowadays, all-in fares advertised by most LCCs will cost you for as low as PhP1299 for a one-way international flight. Take note that these seats are very limited and you should grab it at the earliest time possible. Here are some tips for particular airlines:

  • Cebu Pacific Air – This airline is almost always on sale. They release the cheap tickets at 12 o’clock. If they have an ongoing sale that runs from August 13-18, expect that there will be another set of cheap fares on August 19 at midnight or at noon. To get the exact advertised price, let go of the in-flight meals, baggage allowance, and insurance.
  • AirAsia – Like the first one, this is almost always on sale. Their advertisements are sometimes deceiving because the prices they show on the banner is the cheapest fare from the set of destinations. For example, they post “Fly from Manila to: Kalibo, Macau, Davao, Shanghai for as low as PhP988, all-in” yet the Manila-Kalibo flight only has this fare. Their biggest sale, PhP0 fares (not including taxes and fees), happens at midnight. AirAsia Big Members have the advantage to book one day prior to the release of big sales, so better sign up for a membership. It’s free.
  • Skyjet Airlines – This airline has few destinations, and its cheapest Batanes sale is the most awaited one. Usually this sale comes out on a travel expo, which opens at 10am while at around 8am it’s already making a long queue outside the event center. Normally it has cheap sales for Caticlan and Coron as well, but its advertised prices are not inclusive of taxes and fees.
  • Jetstar Airways – This airline has its weekly promo called “Friday Fare Frenzy”, which obviously happens every Friday. This sale only runs from 8am – 11pm. Prices advertised are exclusive of taxes and fees, like the previous one.

How to get informed with the upcoming seat sale?

  • Follow their social media accounts

Facebook and Twitter accounts of these airlines are always active and is updated with the ongoing seat sales. Sometimes they post hints about the upcoming big ones, especially AirAsia. It’s best to set their posts to “see first” in Facebook news feed settings, so you’re sure you don’t miss any of the promos.

  • Check their website frequently

The banners on their website shows the current promo fares that they offer.

  • Sign up for the membership

Becoming a rewards member for these airlines not only gives you the chance to save points and redeem flights, but to receive frequent newsletters that inform you about the next seat sale.

  • Become a credit cardholder

Banks that are affiliated with these airlines let you be informed with the next seat sale as well, and sometimes there are travel expos that are exclusive for cardholders, particularly BDO.

  • Attend travel expositions

There are seat sales that are only available during a travel expo. The best thing to do when this happens is to go at least three hours before opening, especially if you’re going for Skyjet. Citibank credit cardholders are lucky because they are prioritized on these events and have a separate line from the regular attendees.

So while it’s early for the next year adventures, plan your trip already. Here is a cheat sheet for your reference of long weekends in 2017, made by TripZilla. (Click the link!)

Happy Booking!

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