User:Ted Beal/Flight hacking

Flight hacking is a term that designates the act of chasing for the best flight deals which implies either dragging fares as low as possible or getting the best value for money. In order to do so, a "flight hacker" will try to make the most out of all channels of distribution available: OTAs, carriers' websites, aggregators. Flight hacking relies on understanding the variables that influence airfares and identifying one or several where there's leeway to save money. These variables are related to:

1. Where: places of departure, destination and possible layovers
2. When: days, weeks & months before departure, day of the week and time of the day
3. How: point of sale & currency

Flight hacking is one component of travel hacking: a combination of ways to cut expenses in all aspects of traveling (accommodation, sight-seeing, food, communication…etc).

Good timing and planning

Flight hacking is about seizing opportunities, hence the necessity of having a flexible schedule in order to book at the right time and at the right place. Depending on the time of the week and the day, prices and additional fees can vary. Flight search engines and aggregators never display final prices in search results, extra fees are usually added throughout the booking process and these fees vary according to the time of day. On the other hand, airlines can offer similar or cheaper prices if you take the time to compare. On top of that, several airlines are missing for aggregators' database, this is especially true for low-cost carriers who will offer cheaper fares. A savvy traveler will bounce from aggregators, OTA's and airline websites to find the real best price.

Stopovers

Stopovers can lead to significant savings when applicable. Knowing nearby airports that offer cheaper fares is critical. Travelers can design their own itineraries buying each leg individually. They combine carriers finding a connection between flights that wasn't suggested by search engines which saves them money in comparison to commonly used routes.

Cross-ticketing

Cross-ticketing relies tweaking routes in order to trick airlines' fares. For instance, by booking 2 round-trips that overlap resulting in total price that is inferior to the one of two consecutive round-trips. This technique is relevant for travelers frequently flying to the same destination. When booking for a A-B/B-A roundtrip, one can book the second round-trip right away as follows B’-A’/A’-B’ in a way that inbounds and outbounds are inverted. So instead of booking and flying respectively round-trip #1 and round-trip #2, you will book both and fly A-B/B’-A’ then A’-B’/B-A.

Maximizing you miles

Miles/points accrual opens opportunities for big discounts and sometimes free flight tickets. Miles aren't solely collected when flying but also by subscribing to frequent-flyer programs enabled by partnerships between retail brands, banks, hotel chains and airlines alliances. These programs regularly promote special offers by which one can gain big amounts of miles by consuming products from one of the partners involved. This activity is especially developed in North America.

"Fuel dumping"

This expression referring to fuel jettison is also technique focuses on fuel surcharges. International aviation has agreements determining who must charge the passenger whose journey is composed of several flights. Depending on the itinerary, fuel surcharges might have to be claimed by the carrier operating the shorter leg of all, leading the amount drop considerably. Fuel surcharges are sometimes detailed as one part of a fare's total amount, in that case, it is possible to "dump" them and get away with a much cheaper flight ticket. The right additional leg, a "3X" or "third strike", can lead to a decrease in the fuel surcharge, hence a decrease of the total fare. Instead of booking a regular round trip, one would book one or several additional legs as part of a multi-city trip without flying them. Fuel dumping remains an obscur practice as those who master it don't want airlines to find out about it.