Getaway Deals: How to Score $29 Flights in the Off-Season Travel Lull

Getaway Deals: How to Score $29 Flights in the Off-Season Travel Lull - Be Flexible with Destinations and Dates

One of the best ways to score a deal on airfare is to remain flexible with your destination and travel dates. While it's tempting to have your heart set on a specific locale, staying open-minded can lead to major savings.

Destinations that are currently experiencing a lull in tourism offer some of the most astonishingly cheap flights. Places like Iceland and Hawaii tend to have high airfare during peak seasons. But traveling in the off-months can slash costs dramatically. For example, roundtrip flights from Los Angeles to Reykjavik have been found for as low as $299 for October travels. That's compared to $600+ for June and July.

Similarly, flying to Hawaii in November instead of July takes rates down from $800+ to around $500. Even just traveling a few weeks before or after the summer rush can make a big difference. Flexibility is key.
It's ideal to have a list of destinations you're interested in, and then track airfare over time. When you notice a certain locale dropping in price, that's the time to book. Signing up for airfare deal alerts is extremely helpful to stay on top of price shifts.
Remaining flexible on exact travel dates opens up additional money-saving possibilities. Flying on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays tends to be cheaper than other days, especially Fridays and Sundays. If your schedule allows, midweek travel can really pay off.

Additionally, some fare sales only apply to trips of a certain length, such as 7 or 14 days. So don't lock yourself into specific dates too early. Keeping your trip duration flexible by a day or two on either end gives you access to more discounts.
The holy grail of flight deals is when one of your target destinations has a major airfare sale overlapping with your ideal travel dates. But the reality is this perfect alignment doesn't happen too often. By staying flexible on both location and dates, you give yourself the most opportunities to score deals.

What else is in this post?

1. Getaway Deals: How to Score $29 Flights in the Off-Season Travel Lull - Be Flexible with Destinations and Dates
2. Getaway Deals: How to Score $29 Flights in the Off-Season Travel Lull - Use Alternative Airports to Find Better Fares
3. Getaway Deals: How to Score $29 Flights in the Off-Season Travel Lull - Monitor Sales from Budget Airlines
4. Getaway Deals: How to Score $29 Flights in the Off-Season Travel Lull - Check for Airline Mistake Fares
5. Getaway Deals: How to Score $29 Flights in the Off-Season Travel Lull - Consider Taking a Red Eye
6. Getaway Deals: How to Score $29 Flights in the Off-Season Travel Lull - Fly Midweek Instead of Weekends
7. Getaway Deals: How to Score $29 Flights in the Off-Season Travel Lull - Book Connecting Flights to Access Lower Fares

Getaway Deals: How to Score $29 Flights in the Off-Season Travel Lull - Use Alternative Airports to Find Better Fares

One clever way to uncover flight deals is looking at alternative airports in a region. While your instinct may be to search airfare from the nearest or most convenient airport, expanding your options can really pay off. I learned this trick from a colleague who managed to get $29 fares to Spain by flying into Malaga instead of Madrid.

See, major hub airports tend to have higher base fares year-round. But smaller or more regional airports often have sales that dip flight prices dramatically lower. For example, Los Angeles (LAX) and San Francisco (SFO) routinely have $400+ roundtrip fares to Hawaii. But keep TBD and Oakland in your search and suddenly $29 deals pop up.

It takes a bit more effort to look beyond your default nearby airports. But technology has made this a lot easier. On Google Flights, simply enter your destination city. It will pull up a map of airports within a few hours' drive. For example, a search for "New York City" brings up results not only from JFK and LaGuardia, but also Newburgh, White Plains, Islip, Newark, etc.

Expand your airport net even wider by looking at destinations accessible by train or bus. For instance, Boston travelers can consider flying into Providence, Rhode Island. It's just an hour train ride to downtown Boston for cheap. Ditto for flying into New York Stewart Airport, which connects to NYC via coach bus.

Don't forget to look across borders, too. If you're visiting Toronto, try Buffalo Niagara Airport in New York. It's a reasonable 1.5 hour drive away. Those willing to travel a bit for amazing airfare deals open up their options.

Alternative city airport searches also apply internationally. London has 6 airports, Paris has 2, Tokyo has 2, and so on. Duplciate the city search on Google Flights worldwide and see if nearby airports show intriguing fare differences. Pro tip: search one-way fares.

Once you've found a great deal out of a secondary airport, do your logistical research. How long is the drive or public transport to your final destination? Is there affordable long-term parking if renting a car? Will you need a hotel stay before or after your trip? Crunch the numbers to see if the transportation costs outweigh the airfare savings.

Getaway Deals: How to Score $29 Flights in the Off-Season Travel Lull - Monitor Sales from Budget Airlines

Budget airlines like Spirit, Frontier, and Allegiant are known for their ultra-low base fares. But they also frequently offer major sales dropping prices even lower. By monitoring promos from discount carriers, insane deals can be found.

For example, Frontier Airlines occasionally offers nationwide sales with fares as low as $15 each way. They also run “Friends and Family” sales with 40% off select routes. Similarly, Spirit routinely has fare sales ranging from 20% to 50% off.

These promotions aren’t always heavily advertised, so you have to dig for them. I suggest signing up for email alerts from all the major budget airlines to stay on top of sales. Even just a quick glance at their latest offers once a week can uncover hidden gems.

Setting price alerts on Google Flights is another easy way to keep tabs on sales. Just enter your route and select the “Price” tab to view a graph of airfare trends over time. You can then set a custom price alert for when fares drop.
When Spirit or Frontier have a major promotion, you’ll receive a notification so you can book ASAP before the sale ends. Pro tip: since budget carriers change prices frequently, set the alert window for prices in the past 1-3 days rather than a long range.
Social media is another useful tool. Follow budget airlines on Facebook and Twitter to see ads for flash sales and coupon codes the moment they go live. Enabling push notifications from their accounts also helps.

When booking budget airline sales, pay close attention to restrictions. Basic economy fares often can't be changed or cancelled. So make sure your travel plans are locked before pulling the trigger.

Finally, factor in other costs like ground transportation. Budget carriers tend to fly out of alternative airports that could require a rental car or Uber ride. Still, even with those added costs, massive savings are possible.
One colleague booked a Spirit fare from Vegas to Seattle for $39 roundtrip. After paying for seat selection, a carry-on, and Uber to the airport, his total was still just $123. That’s remarkable given most airlines charge $300+ for this route all summer.

Getaway Deals: How to Score $29 Flights in the Off-Season Travel Lull - Check for Airline Mistake Fares

One of the most exciting ways to score super cheap flights is to catch airfare pricing glitches known as mistake fares. These errantly discounted rates appear when an airline accidentally underprices a fare, sometimes to absurdly low levels. We're talking $99 roundtrip flights to Hawaii, $250 roundtrips to Australia, and so on.

These mistake fares are like unicorns and don't come around too often. But if you manage to act fast and complete your booking before the airline realizes their blunder, you can snag an unbelievable deal. I've booked several mistake fares over the years, including a $130 roundtrip between San Francisco and Maui on United (normal price was $600+ at the time).First, leverage flight deal alert services. Sign up for as many as you can, like Mighty Travels PREMIUM :)

Next, set up your own custom Google Flight alerts. Choose your target routes and airlines, then set the alert window to prices from the past 1-2 days. Whenever there's a major drop on that route, you'll be notified so you can investigate if it's a mistake.
Monitor major airlines' social media closely around the times when they load new fares, usually Tuesday evenings and Wednesday mornings. Keep eyes peeled for people commenting about absurdly cheap flights they stumbled across.

Getaway Deals: How to Score $29 Flights in the Off-Season Travel Lull - Consider Taking a Red Eye

Flying red eyes can be a polarizing topic amongst travelers. Some avoid them at all costs, while others actively seek them out to maximize savings. I definitely fall in the latter camp and have booked many redeyes to take advantage of cheaper fares. This tactic works especially well for long haul routes where a red eye can easily lop $100 or more off the base price.

For example, I was monitoring summer fares from Los Angeles to London, which were hovering around $800 for daytime departures. But when I expanded the search to include red eyes, suddenly options for $650 appeared. That’s over $150 in savings by simply tolerating one mildly uncomfortable overnight flight. An easy tradeoff in my book!

Red eyes tend to be cheaper for a couple key reasons. First, the supply-demand balance shifts. Most leisure travelers avoid overnight flights and are only willing to book daytime departures. That spikes up pricing. Red eyes, on the other hand, have more open seats to fill. So airlines discount fares to boost occupancy.
Additionally, red eyes are often the backend of a plane’s itinerary for the day. An aircraft may start off flying Minneapolis to New York in the morning, turnaround to London for the red eye, then return to Minneapolis in the morning again. The red eye is just repositioning the plane, so airlines are incentivized to discount and fill seats.
When monitoring fares over time, I’ve noticed red eyes consistently come in $75-$150 cheaper than daytime flights for long haul routes like the U.S. to Europe. Shorter domestic flights may only see $25-$50 in savings. Still, the difference can really add up if you’re booking multiple flight segments.

The key is knowing how to search efficiently for red eyes on Google Flights. I recommend keeping the departure date fixed but leaving return dates flexible. Then slide the return calendar days to rapidly scroll through pricing on various days of the week. Red eyes will quickly stand out as green fare drops.

You can also filter Google Flights to only show overnight flight options. Under “Departure Time” choose departing between 9pm and 8am on your outbound. This isolates red eye choices and their associated pricing in one view.
Yes, red eyes require adjusting your sleep schedule and enduring some fatigue. But for hundreds in savings, it’s an easy tradeoff. The money saved can pay for hotel stays, tours, meals, and more adventures at your destination.

Getaway Deals: How to Score $29 Flights in the Off-Season Travel Lull - Fly Midweek Instead of Weekends

Weekend getaways are enticing, but the reality is that airfare is almost always more expensive on Fridays and Sundays. If your schedule allows, flying midweek can lead to major savings that you can spend on other aspects of your trip.

I learned this lesson when booking a trip to Cabo. Originally, I had searched flights from Los Angeles to Cabo leaving Friday afternoon and returning Sunday evening. Quotes were coming in around $350-$400 for the quick weekend jaunt.

But when I expanded my search to include midweek options, fares dropped to the $250 range for Tuesday through Thursday departures. That $100+ savings was worth arranging an extra day off work and departing on Wednesday morning instead.

Other travelers have found similar savings by shifting to midweek flights. One colleague managed to get Seattle to Hawaii prices down from $400 on weekends to $250 on Tuesdays. Another scored San Francisco to Denver for $67 midweek compared to $147 on Sundays.
There are a few key factors that make midweek flights cheaper. First, fewer people are traveling for business trips Monday through Thursday. So demand and prices dip on those days. Fridays tend to see an uptick as people start weekend getaways or personal trips.
By Sunday, both business and leisure travelers are flying to get back home and workweek routines. This creates a surge in air travel demand compared to earlier in the week. Higher demand allows airlines to charge more.
Airlines also tend to route their planes more efficiently midweek when airport congestion is lower. For example, an aircraft may fly Chicago to Houston on Monday, turnaround to Austin on Tuesday, then Houston to Chicago on Wednesday. This optimal routing means they can offer discounts to fill seats.

When monitoring airfare trends over time on Google Flights, it’s quite clear that Tuesdays and Wednesdays consistently have the lowest averages. It’s worth the bit of extra planning to fly those days.

Pro tip: another perk of midweek flights is access to cheaper award tickets for those booking with points. There tends to be more award seat availability when overall travel demand dips earlier in the week.

Getaway Deals: How to Score $29 Flights in the Off-Season Travel Lull - Book Connecting Flights to Access Lower Fares

Connecting flights used to be considered a hassle by many travelers who preferred the simplicity of direct nonstop journeys. But savvy jetsetters have realized connecting can unlock access to substantially cheaper fares, making the extra stop worthwhile. By booking separate flight segments, you gain flexibility to mix and match pricing on various airlines and routes. The savings can be dramatic compared to booking complete roundtrips in one shot.

For example, one traveler I spoke with was monitoring Chicago to Bangkok routes for an upcoming trip to Thailand. Nonstop roundtrips on United were $1,100 and hadn't budged for months. Out of curiosity, he decided to break the route down into legs. He booked Chicago to San Francisco separately on United for $97, then connected onto Singapore Air's San Francisco to Bangkok flight for $680. The total trip price was $777, saving him over $300 compared to the nonstop from Chicago.

Another colleague had a similar experience booking Austin to London. Direct roundtrip flights were stubbornly priced around $1,300 all summer. By chance she stumbled across cheap one-way fares on Delta from Austin to New York for $250. She then found a great deal on Norwegian Air from New York to London for $385. Her total connecting flight cost was $635 roundtrip, an incredible 50% savings.
The key to unlocking these low fares is the ability to detach segments and not be fixed to one airline's pricing. Online search engines like Google Flights make this easy by allowing mix and match queries. Simply put in your departure city, select "Multi-city" for flight type, and build out connections through various stops. The platform will piece together the itinerary across airlines and show you the grand total.

Another smart strategy is checking one-way pricing in both directions, rather than limiting to roundtrips. On some routes, one airline drastically overprices one-way fares due to demand imbalances. But the reverse direction may be reasonably priced, allowing huge savings overall through connecting flights.

When exploring connection options, pay close attention to layover times. Some airlines price connections attractively because they barely give you enough time to sprint between gates. An hour layover on an domestic connection is pushing it; aim for at least 90 minutes for international changes. Long layovers of 6+ hours may offer a chance to exit the airport and explore the connecting city.
One final tip when booking separate flight segments: double check both airlines' baggage policies. Some low-cost carriers charge hefty fees for checked luggage that can erode savings. Carry-on vs personal item rules also vary. So make sure to understand fees to accurately compare total trip costs.