The four decisions that determine whether you pay £350 or £750 for the same flight.
Step 1: Be Flexible on Dates (Saves 20-40%)
The single biggest variable in flight price is date. The difference between a Saturday departure and a Tuesday departure on the same route is typically £40-120. The difference between school holiday weeks and non-school-holiday weeks on popular leisure routes is typically £80-200.
The tools:
Google Flights date grid: search a route, then click “Date grid” in the calendar view — the grid shows the price of every combination of outbound and return date. The cheapest combination is immediately visible. This takes 3 minutes and consistently finds savings of £50-150 over fixed-date searches.
Skyscanner’s “Whole Month” view: search origin to destination, select “Whole Month” in the date field — the cheapest day of the month to fly is displayed with the price difference from the most expensive day. The cheapest day is typically Tuesday or Wednesday.
The specific rules:
- Avoid flying on Fridays, Sundays, and bank holiday Mondays — the leisure travel peak days
- Fly out Tuesday or Wednesday, return Tuesday or Wednesday
- Avoid August (the UK school holiday peak), the Christmas-New Year period, and Easter week
- The cheapest window for most routes: November, January (excluding Christmas-New Year), February, and early March
Step 2: Book at the Right Time (Saves 10-30%)
The booking window:
The common wisdom (“book as early as possible”) is partially correct and partially wrong.
For summer flights (June-August): the cheapest prices are available 10-14 weeks ahead for most UK leisure routes. Earlier than that and you’re paying close to the launch price; later than that and you’re paying the last-seat premium.
For off-season flights (November-March): the prices are more stable and booking 6-8 weeks ahead typically gives the lowest available fare.
The specific windows by destination:
| Destination | Best Booking Window |
|---|---|
| Short-haul Europe | 6-10 weeks ahead |
| Medium-haul (Morocco, Turkey, Egypt) | 8-12 weeks ahead |
| Long-haul (SE Asia, Japan, South America) | 10-16 weeks ahead |
| Peak summer (July-August, any destination) | 14-18 weeks ahead |
The Tuesday myth: Airlines have historically released sale fares on Tuesday nights — the theory being that the sales are loaded Tuesday and the repricing happens Wednesday. The effect is less consistent than it once was with dynamic pricing, but Tuesdays and Wednesdays remain statistically slightly cheaper for new bookings.
Step 3: Use the Right Tools
Google Flights: The most powerful flight search tool for the discovery phase — the date grid, the price tracking (set a price alert for a specific route and Google emails you when the price drops), and the “Explore” map showing where you can fly from your airport for your budget.
Skyscanner: The best comparison tool once you know your dates — searches all airlines including some budget carriers that Google Flights doesn’t index. Use the “Price Alerts” function for the 2-3 weeks before your target booking window.
Going (formerly Scott’s Cheap Flights): The email alert service that identifies routes where the price has dropped dramatically (error fares, flash sales, empty seat sales). The free tier gives the most significant deals; the premium tier (£25/year) gives the deals first. For the traveller with flexible dates, Going has found £350 return fares to Japan, £180 to Morocco, and £290 to Colombia in the past year.
The airline directly: For the final booking, check the airline’s own website against the comparison site price. The airline direct is sometimes cheaper (no agent fee) and gives better change/cancellation terms.
Step 4: Use Points and Cashback
The Avios system:
British Airways Executive Club points (Avios) are earned on: British Airways credit cards (the Barclaycard Avios Mastercard — 1.5 Avios per £1 spent), BA flights, and partner purchases. Avios can be redeemed against BA flights at a variable rate.
The specific redemption value:
Avios are worth most on short-haul economy redemptions where the taxes and fees are low. A London to Edinburgh flight in economy costs 7,500 Avios + £17.50 in taxes — the Avios effectively cost £35-50 to earn (through credit card spending), saving the £80-150 cash price. The value per Avios on short-haul is approximately 1.2-1.5p each.
On long-haul, the Avios value decreases due to the high surcharges British Airways adds to partner redemptions. The best Avios long-haul value: the off-peak business class redemption to the US or the Middle East.
The cashback alternative:
Topcashback.co.uk and Quidco.co.uk both offer cashback on flight bookings through their links — typically 1-4% on the booking total. On a £500 flight: £5-20 cashback. Small but free.
The Open-Jaw Flight
What it is: Flying into City A and home from City B — eliminating backtracking.
Why it’s the same price: The majority of airlines and booking systems price open-jaw itineraries at the same level as returns, because they are assembling two one-way fares at the same time.
When to use it: Any trip where you’re naturally moving in one direction. Italy (Rome in, Venice out), Greece (Athens in, Santorini or Corfu out), Southeast Asia (Bangkok in, Singapore out).
