Getting the Right Flight Tips & Tricks

FLIGHTS

Here are some helpful tips in your flight search:

Start Early

It's never to early to start your research, but we recommend within 4-5 months of the trip you should get serious about booking the flights. The earlier the better, as the selections both in terms of the cost, but also non-stop versus multiple stops and seat selection get worse as you get closer to the flight time.

Be Flexible

Don't rely on just one website to identify your flights - there are many to use. Here are a few that we use:

- Google Flights

- Kayak

- Scott's Cheap Flights (a great resource to notify you when deals pop up, but to get maximum service from it you will need to pay a fee - we think it is worth it if it saves you airfare costs).

• As you dig into your search, delete the cookies and browser history every couple days - it helps keep them from raising the prices as you keep looking at their websites. Their sneaky that way.

• As you find pricing that you like, we recommend you go directly to the airline website to purchase the airfare. It helps if there is a problem with the flight dealing directly with the airline rather than a 3rd party booking service can be a much better experience.

• When you find a great fare, and the dates, time and locations all line up, be prepared to jump on it and commit as fares change daily.

Multi-City Flights

If at all possible try to NOT fly round trip from the same airport. For example on our 2022 Art in Europe Grand Tour if you flew round trip from London it would mean flying into London, finishing in Paris, then taking a train or flight back to London, and probably staying a night in a hotel all just to save a few hundred dollars. The time and effort we believe is not worth it. Another example, a few years ago we went on a trip to Athens, so we thought by catching a much cheaper flight into London and then catching a cheap flight to Athens would save us money because it was "too expensive" to fly home straight from Athens. But by the time we flew back to London, stayed the night and ate two meals, the ease and effort of flying out of Athens would have saved us so much time, effort and stress. Cost was about break even when all was said and done. When traveling to Europe, try to change your flight habits - think one way in and another way out from another airport.

When Your Ready to Buy

• Read the Rules. Make sure the fare you select is the appropriate one for your needs. For example, some cheap fares don't allow seat selection, or if you need more leg room perhaps consider upgrading to a larger seat. Make sure the airfare and seat is what you want.

• Make sure you use your passport name - a name change later can be a major hassle.

• If you need to make a change after you book contact the airline directly, and if you are in Europe and need to go home early, head over to the airport and see if they will allow you to fly home early if there is room on the same flight.

Always take a second or third look to make sure before you click to buy!