Best way to get really cheap air tickets

There are several ways to ensure that you do not pay over the odds for your airline ticket.
Book Early
To begin, airline ticket prices vary more or less as tickets are sold, thus it is highly unlikely that you will ever pay the same price for an airline ticket as the same person next to you (unless you booked your tickets at the same time). Indeed, you may even be paying twice as much for the same seat depending upon when you purchase your ticket.

Each airline works on a yield management system which is used to calculate an airfare based on the season, local events, competition, time of the year and so on. The demand for a particular flight route at one of these times is then calculated into a percentage of airfares available. Using figures from previous similar circumstances, i.e. the same time last year, the airfare is calculated based upon the natural demand that should arise.

In short the earlier you book the better the price you are likely to get, though sometimes it is possible to get cheaper flights after the earliest possible time to book, simply because the metrics used to calculate the original price have changed, for example if England did not make the World Cup Finals - so now there will be a lower demand for England fans booking tickets to fly to the World Cup Finals.

Book Online
Many airlines offer web-only special offers as an online booking attracts lower overall administration costs.

There are number of major online travel consolidators such as Travelocity, Orbitz and Expedia which make it very easy to compare the prices of several airlines. If you want to get smart, then compare several travel consolidators best prices as they too will each have their own rates with the same airlines.

Go Local
If you’re travelling long haul, many foreign airlines promote their discounted tickets to foreign travel specialists in the relevant ethnic areas as they attract a high level of local travellers visiting home regularly. For example, if you’re planning to travel to Beijing, check out the travel agent in your local China town as they are likely to have a range of super flight deals to China.

Fly Business
Incredibly at peak travel periods such as Christmas and New Year, business tickets on major routes can actually work out cheaper than standard economy flights, plus you'll get some extra leg room to stretch.

Think Laterally
If you have the option of more than one airport to choose from for your departure and point of arrival always factor in the cost of airport transfers. The cheapest flight may end up costing more by the time you factor in bus, train, taxi fares.

Become a Student
Students can benefit from a range of special deals through student travel specialists such as STA Travel.

Become a Courier
Believe it or not, free flight courier services do exist. The catch is you have little control over where you going to fly, and you wonÂ’t be able to check any luggage in as thatÂ’s why they are using in the first place, namely to use your kilo allowance to safely carry their package overseas. Importantly, you rarely will get to see the package that your are couriering, which would certainly make me paranoid. A cheap way to travel, but we recommend against it.

Travel around the world
If you are planning several long haul flights, a multi-stop round the world ticket will tend to work out cheaper than two long haul flights. Most major airlines BA, Qantas offer a particularly competitive flight packages which allow six stops at most major international capitals for in the region of $1,250.00