How to get train tickets. How to buy cheap air tickets to anywhere in the world: all the tricks for saving on tickets and a selection of useful resources

18.11.2019

Proven and reliable ways to find cheap air tickets are to use the aggregator sites Skyskanner and Aviasales. They scan all airline ticket agencies and give out those with the lowest prices. These are my favorite sites, both of them, I always use only them.

If you have enough time, then be patient and monitor your tickets periodically. Often the price varies greatly, and for the same flight. Some strange algorithm - today one price, tomorrow another, the day after tomorrow a third. Some kind of puzzle, by God! Therefore, tickets for favorable price need to be tracked and caught.

So I was lucky to buy tickets for 12 thousand cheaper than the regular price for my dates. I've been tracking the price for over a month and for good reason. Emirates was holding a sale, and I was one of the lucky ones. But wait too long best price It’s also not worth it, because it may not decrease, but on the contrary, it may increase.

It also happens that air tickets at the lowest price are sold on the carrier’s website. In this case, I look for tickets on the Skyskanner and Aviasales websites, see which airline operates the flight I need and check the prices on their website. If it turns out that tickets are cheaper on the carrier’s website, then I buy them there.

So we bought tickets to Vietnam. Skyskanner showed 16,200 rubles. for the flight Moscow-Ho Chi Minh City, and on the Aeroflot website they bought the same tickets for 14,800 rubles. We saved 2800 rubles on two tickets. Compare prices, don’t rush to buy at the first place, look for options!

Subscribe to our newsletter. Aviasales and Skyskanner offer their users a convenient “Subscribe to the desired flight” service. All you need is to select the airport of departure and arrival, as well as the desired dates. When the price changes, you will receive an email indicating the new price. This method saves a lot of time and does not require manual tracking.

Although there is still some drawback - if you track tickets yourself, you can “snatch” a super ticket. When, for example, one of the airlines put on sale 10-20-30... promo tickets. Such tickets are snapped up like hot cakes and, as a rule, they are no longer included in the mailing list. Therefore, do not rely on one newsletter, try to periodically search on your own.

Use flexible search. See also flights for upcoming dates. I have often observed that prices can be two times lower if you fly a day earlier or vice versa, a day later. Very strange pricing, but the fact remains a fact.

Flights with connections tend to be cheaper. For example, a Moscow-Ho Chi Minh City ticket costs 18,000 rubles, and Moscow - Hanoi, with a transfer in Ho Chi Minh City costs 15,000 rubles. It may be worth looking for flight options to a neighboring country/city, provided that the transfer is in the city you need, and you did not check your luggage. Just leave the airport and don't fly any further.

This is what happened with Rome. Tickets Moscow - Rome cost 11,000 rubles, and Moscow - (with a transfer in Rome) cost 9,000 rubles. We bought these tickets, but did not fly to Genoa, but got off in Rome. But here it’s worth knowing - if you took a round-trip ticket, but during the “there” flight did not fly after the transfer, then your ticket will be cancelled. This trick works if you take a one-way ticket only, or make a “partial” flight on the way back.

Often round-trip tickets will cost less than one-way tickets, so check and compare. If you already know the exact return dates, then it makes sense to immediately take a return ticket. I even found flights where it was cheaper to buy a round-trip ticket, but not fly back, than to buy a one-way ticket.

Aviasales has a very convenient thing - a calendar low prices. Using this function, you can see what the price is for the upcoming dates and set up a filter depending on your requirements. It greatly simplifies the search if there is no strict reference to dates.

I also noticed that the price may vary depending on the country in which you are looking for tickets. My sister and I were looking for tickets at the same time, she is from Italy, I am from Russia. For the same flight I was given a lower price by 35 euros.

International flights often have the cheapest tickets if you depart and arrive in the capital. For example, if you are planning to travel from St. Petersburg to Bangkok, then it makes sense to look at the cost of the Moscow - Bangkok flight and, perhaps, it will be cheaper to travel by train to Moscow than to overpay when flying from St. Petersburg. This is exactly what we did when we planned. We took a ticket from Moscow to Bangkok and went to Koh Samui by train + bus.

Personally, I have not yet flown on charter flights, but I have heard from many tourists that you can fly on charter flights at a low price. Charter flights— flights that are booked by tour operators. If not all tours in a destination have been purchased and there are still seats on the plane, then the remaining tickets will be put on general sale. As a rule, this happens several days before departure, so you shouldn’t count on a charter flight. Charter flights can be found here:

oneaero
air charter
charters
allcharter

Some companies, especially low-cost airlines, charge an additional fee for luggage. If you have the opportunity to travel with hand luggage, then you can save a lot on your flight.

Almost every airline has its own loyalty program. For each flight you accumulate points/miles and when you reach the required number of points, you can exchange them for an air ticket, or upgrade your ticket category from economy to business class. So we collected miles on Transaero, flew with them to, to, to, Ukraine and Russia.

All you need is to register in the loyalty program of the airline you need and add your flight, for which you will be awarded points/miles. As a rule, you can register your flight within 6 months from the date of the flight.

If you are flying international flight and make a transfer within the country of departure or arrival. Then it makes sense to look at the prices separately: separately for international flights, separately for domestic flights. In a month we are flying to India, and when we were looking for tickets Simferopol - Delhi, the price was higher than if we took a separate ticket Simferopol - Moscow, Moscow - Delhi. In the first option, the price was almost 40% higher.

Compare prices, be varied. Use as many of the methods described in this article as possible to find a ticket at the best price. If you need help purchasing tickets, write in the comments, I will try to help!

Special offers

This is interesting

Good afternoon, my readers! Any independent travel starts with purchasing air tickets. Today I will tell you how to save as much as possible and what tricks you can use to buy a cheap air ticket.

I have been traveling independently without the help of travel agencies for almost 10 years and always try to buy tickets abroad at low prices, which I search on the Internet on various sites.

There have been times when I accidentally found myself in a very interesting countries and cities thanks to purchased inexpensive air tickets.

Do you want to fly to China as often and cheaply as possible? different countries? I will reveal all my secrets and teach you the tricks of purchasing cheap tickets.

Where to buy cheap tickets?

The most convenient way to buy cheap air tickets is through the Internet in the following ways:

on the official websites of airlines,
on the charter exchange,
on search aggregators.

To purchase cheap tickets on the website of a certain airline, you need to subscribe to their newsletter and receive news about promotions and discounts.

Several times a year, large companies hold very profitable promotions with discounts of up to 50%, follow the newsletters and buy much cheaper than the standard price. Most often, airlines hold promotions and ticket sales during the off-season – in February-March and October-November.

A great way to save money is to buy a cheap ticket on the exchange charter airlines, where travel agencies dump their unsold offers.

Charters are irregular flights with departures on certain days and can sometimes be postponed or cancelled, you need to be prepared for this.

Look for flight tickets on the following websites:

chartex.ru,
aviacharters.ru,
tourdom.ru.

On search aggregator sites you can see all airline offers and compare their prices. To choose the most suitable and cheapest option, you can subscribe to a direction you are interested in or connect several options: find a low cost, buy cheap flights, use the map and price calendar.

The best services for finding cheap air tickets are:

Momondo,

To stay updated on new budget tickets for the destination you are interested in, you can subscribe to one of these sites by leaving your email.

Buying tickets online is much more convenient and saves you time and money. You don't need to go to the office, you can be anywhere in the world and pay via the Internet. All flight information and e-ticket you will receive it by mail, all you have to do is print it out and come to the airport with it and your passport.

When to buy air tickets?

Plan your trip and purchase tickets in advance if you want to get them at a good price. Usually the price increases every day in the last two weeks before departure, and when purchasing 2 - 3 months or earlier, there is a chance to save 30% of the cost of the flight. If you are planning your summer vacation in advance, it is more profitable to buy tickets in December.

In rare cases, you may get lucky and get inexpensive ticket a day or several days before departure. If you are not too attached to specific numbers, always look at the price for a neighboring date, it may turn out to be 20% cheaper.

A very important point is the choice of day of the week and departure time. Tickets are usually sold at the lowest prices for morning and evening flights and midweek (Tuesday to Thursday). On weekends prices rise for obvious reasons. Also during the holiday season and holidays Air tickets are more expensive, but in the off-season you can buy them much cheaper.

Don’t forget to buy round-trip tickets, it will be 20–30% cheaper than if you buy separately in each direction.

When choosing a city of departure or arrival, compare prices for air travel in neighboring cities; they may turn out to be much cheaper and can be reached by land transport (by train or bus).

For example, flights from Moscow are cheaper than from St. Petersburg. It’s the same in Europe - you can fly cheaply to Brussels and from there, in a couple of hours, get to Paris by bus, or fly to Girona and get to neighboring Barcelona by bus.

It is better to make the purchase itself at night or in the morning before the start of the working day - at this time there is a greater choice of flights and prices are lower.

The best time to buy a ticket is on Wednesday at 1 am. This is due to the fact that many airlines offer discounts and Special offers on Sunday or Monday evenings, you can redeem them by reservation within 24 hours, and after that on Wednesday tickets appear again at a low cost (if they have not been redeemed).

Map and calendar of low prices

For the convenience of searching and booking cheap air tickets, aggregator sites have a convenient low-price calendar function, where you can see all offers by month and select the cheapest option for specific dates. Using filters, you can eliminate unsuitable options and find out information about interesting events, events and holidays in certain months.

Another convenient and original function is the low price card. It will help you find all the inexpensive options on the world map according to the given parameters. By specifying travel dates, specific or approximate range, desired budget for air tickets, turning on the visa filter, you will see all the most budget prices for flights to different countries.

A price map and low price calendar are available on the Skyscanner and Aviasales websites.

What are low-cost airlines?

Low-cost airline is a low-cost airline with minimal service. The low cost of flights for low-cost airlines is determined due to the lack of additional services and possibilities: non-refundable tickets, minimum amount of luggage, paid meals during the flight.

Air tickets for low-cost airlines cost from 10 euros if purchased in advance or on special offer. But in order to fly at a really low price and not face unexpected surcharges at the airport, you need to carefully study all the rules of the low-cost airline and follow them.

First of all, this concerns luggage transportation. You are only allowed to carry on board the aircraft hand luggage with a total weight of 10 kg and your suitcase or bag must not exceed the dimensions of 55 x 40 x 20 cm. Carriage extra baggage is paid separately and is quite expensive. Therefore, think over this issue in advance and it is better to pay for baggage transportation on the website online than to face this requirement at the airport itself and pay a much larger amount.

Air tickets for low-cost airlines cannot be returned, and for changing the date you will be asked to pay a fine, that is, if there are changes in plans, it will be much easier to buy a new one.

Also pay attention to the location of the airport you are flying into. For example, when flying to Milan, Dusseldorf, Munich, you do not arrive in the city itself, but in a neighboring suburb, which may be 50 km away.

In this case, you will have the opportunity to see new town and save on housing, which will cost much less than the neighboring tourist city of Milan.

If you don’t have the time or desire for this, then find out in advance how to get by train or bus to the city you need and check the schedule so you don’t have to pay for an expensive taxi.

Low-cost airlines flying from Russia to Europe:

Victory,
EasyJet
Wizz Air,
AirBaltic.

Low-cost airlines with flights within Europe:

Ryanair,
EasyJet
Germanwings,
Wizz Air,
Air Italy
AirBaltic.

C full and others low cost airlines you can read our next article.

Cheapest flights

The cheapest flights can be found on search aggregator sites by choosing a flight with transit or stopover. A transfer at the airport can last from several hours to several days, which will give you an additional opportunity to visit another country.

You can choose a long transfer from a day using a stopover, connecting it for free or for a fee depending on the number of days of transit.

Not all airlines provide this service; to do this, when booking, you must select “composite or difficult route"or the "multiple destinations"/"multicity" buttons. If necessary, additional transit visa, the airline will help you arrange it, and will also provide a transfer and a discount on hotel accommodation.

Most often, transfers and stopovers are used for trips with long flights to countries and destinations such as the USA, Canada, Southeast Asia, Latin America with transfers in Istanbul, Dubai, Doha, Singapore, New York, Bangkok, etc. This service of long transfers is most often carried out by large airlines, for example, Turkish Airlines, Emirates Airlines, Singapore Airlines, Qatar Airlines, Etihad Airways.

Buying air tickets with transit or stopover not only reduces their cost, but also allows you to take a break from long flights and see another country for the same money.

How to use airline miles?

If you fly with the same airline often, save up miles and buy cheaper tickets. A mile is the distance of your flight. Accordingly, the further you fly, the more bonus miles You'll get.

The most popular loyalty programs for purchasing air tickets:

Aeroflot Bonus,
Lufthansa Miles & More,
S7 Priority,
Panorama Club.

Using the accumulated miles, you can get new tickets, use business class instead of economy class, or receive pleasant gifts from partners in the form of a discount to a restaurant or spa.

Large banks cooperate with many airlines (Sberbank, Raiffeisenbank and others) and have a joint loyalty program (for example, Aeroflot bonus together with Sberbank). By making purchases using their joint partner card, you can also receive bonuses, which you can then spend on purchasing an air ticket.

Now let’s take a closer look at how to accumulate miles and use them correctly:

You must register in the loyalty program and subscribe to the newsletter to receive all the news about ticket promotions, partner programs and all changes in the bonus program.
Earn miles while flying. To do this, during online check-in or at the airport, enter your card number in the loyalty program.
Earn miles without traveling. Use cards to pay and receive bonuses. You can view the entire list of loyalty program partners on the website and use their services. This can be not only banks and their cards, but also hotels, restaurants, travel companies etc.
Make the most of all the benefits of participating in the loyalty program - you can spend time in the business class lounge, skip the line at boarding, and take extra baggage for free.
Keep an eye on current sales and promotions to make sure you use your miles correctly. You can redeem your miles for an air ticket and fuel surcharges, or just for the air ticket and pay the surcharges separately. Or take advantage of the opportunity to fly business class over long distances. If you are a Miles & More member, you can use your accumulated miles to make purchases in the Miles & More Shop or pay for hotels.

How can I get some money back from purchased air tickets?

Recently, it has been very popular to return part of the purchase price using an affiliate program. The same goes for air tickets.

To do this, you need to register in the affiliate program on one of the sites, follow a special referral link, purchase a ticket and receive compensation for the purchase in the amount of several percent. The larger the purchase amount or the number of flights, the more money you can get back.

This is a great option for saving money. From each air ticket you can return 0.5 - 3% of the cost. This will be more noticeable if you fly frequently.

You can get cashback on the following sites:

Momondo,
Anywayanyday,
AirBaltic.com
Qatarairways.com
City.travel,
Travelplanet24.com.

The most important tricks when buying air tickets

With every purchase or search, the computer remembers all your actions, and the next time you contact you, you will see prices with an increased cost.

To avoid this and outwit the system, while saving a lot, I have a few tips:

Turn on incognito mode so that the browser shows new data every time and does not remember your past requests. To do this, use the keys Ctrl + Shift + N in the Google Chrome browser, Ctrl + Shift + P in the Internet Explorer browser, and in the Opera browser select “Tabs and windows” and “Create a private window”.
Clear the cache on your computer - this is necessary to clear your browsing history. If you have already searched for low-cost flights, then when you make a similar request “Buy cheap tickets” again, the system will remember your data and give you limited results.
Use anonymizers (hideme.ru, hideguard.ru, hidemyass.com or others) to hide your location.
Don't use a MacBook when booking and purchasing airline tickets - many airlines are tailored to a specific laptop model, and if you buy with a MacBook, you will be shown the most expensive options.
When booking on special search sites, use complex (composite) routes. By choosing several cities for your trip, you can save a lot.

I hope my article was useful to you, and my tips will help you travel more often and inexpensively. If you also know some tricky ways to buy cheap air tickets, write in the comments and share your experience.

If you still have questions, we suggest you read our instructions for profitable purchases.

How to buy cheap air tickets if you thought about it in advance

Plan your trip in advance. You will have time to study the route, seasonality of the destination and other intricacies of travel. Approach purchasing an air ticket no later than 2-3 months before departure, when tickets first go on sale.

Low Price Card

When is the cheapest time to buy tickets to popular destinations?

At first we thought of rolling out a predictive model that, depending on the Bitcoin price and Trump’s mood, would predict prices for Egypt. But we decided to simply take seasonality statistics from our website.

Buy the cheapest air tickets for the New Year holidays

When to buy tickets for the May holidays

How to buy cheap air tickets for the summer

How to buy a plane ticket cheaply if you have no time at all

Vibers, maps and calendars - we, of course, came up with a good idea. But what if you need to buy cheap air ticket on a plane right now and there is no time to hunt for discounts.

There's not much to recommend here, but there are some ideas.

Composite route

For example, a flight Moscow - Riga - Oslo could easily cost less direct flight Moscow - Riga. Airlines will never remind you that in the first case you can just get off in Riga.

This option is ideal when you are flying light. Well, or you can ask to check your luggage to the transfer point, arguing that you have important things in your bag that you will need while waiting for the second flight. Attention! In this case, you need to buy a one-way ticket, otherwise if you don’t show up in Riga, the entire return chain will be ruined.

Departure/arrival to a neighboring city

Check flights from neighboring cities where you can reach by land transport. Thus, most flights from St. Petersburg are an order of magnitude more expensive than similar ones from Moscow. Flying to Girona is cheaper than flying to Barcelona, and the distance between the cities is about 100 km.

Well, check the website where you buy your ticket. Every day, fraudulent sites appear on the Internet selling fake tickets. We do not allow such pages into our search; we have a serious multi-stage face control system. But we didn’t stop there - we are looking for bad guys all over the Internet using the realticket.rf service. And we recommend that you check a suspicious seller before purchasing. Suspicious ones are those who pay via transfer to a Sberbank card or have a very low price.

A new, convenient form of service has appeared on our website, which allows all passengers to purchase a ticket on a specific route at a time when there is no longer any hope left in purchasing it. And all because there were no more empty seats. Well, this is a big problem for those who urgently need to go on a business trip, for treatment, a funeral, or to a business meeting scheduled literally two or three days before it. But you should not despair - there will always be a solution, and just when you are no longer expecting it. Automatic issuance of “Catch a Ticket” tickets is a service that will prevent unwanted developments.

How the service works

The profitable and quite convenient “Catch a Ticket” service consists of purchasing travel ticket exactly the train that suits you according to all the requirements and requested parameters. It goes in the direction you need, has a class of service convenient for you and even a suitable departure time. “But where can it come from if only an hour ago all the seats were occupied?” - you ask. And the answer lies on the surface:

1. The services of JSC Russian Railways canceled their own reservation;

2. Another passenger returned a ticket due to cancellation of his trip;

3. By decision of the station administration, additional carriages are attached to the train, which very often happens on some popular routes. For example, during the summer holidays or winter holidays.

Attention! As a rule, the “Catch a Ticket” service is valid on all trains and in all directions, while one user has the opportunity to apply for only one ticket.

How to apply for a travel document using the “Catch a Ticket” service?

To apply for a ticket in the direction you need using the revolutionary “Catch a Ticket” service, you should use the ticket search system for a specific route on our company’s website. If there are no tickets available, and next to the train number you see a button with this offer, click immediately. Your request falls into the automatic processing section, in which our employees constantly access the Express terminal, track the movement of tickets, continuously monitoring the supply market and the availability of free seats on all directions of Russian Railways AOA trains.

After leaving a request using a certain form, do not forget to leave your contact information (email address, your number mobile phone), so that our support service, if there are free seats on the train you specified, can immediately contact you.

When you receive a letter to your address or a call notifying you about the availability of tickets, you immediately complete the purchase of a ticket. Have a nice trip!

Additional terms

If you decide to cancel the previously ordered “Catch a Ticket” service, you should cancel the order so that our managers will remove your request from the processing queue.

You will have to pay for the service of automatically issuing a ticket “Catch a Ticket” additional fee, which is reflected in the relevant documents (invoice, delivery note, etc.).