Value of Flexibilty and Timing Increasing your chances. If you are unable to adjust the time of your departure and the time of your return, it makes your chances of a cheaper flight much less likely.  When purchasing tickets, it is usually good to have a flexible range of dates for your travels.  While this is not always possible, it is optimal.  If, on the other hand, you are unable to have flexible dates, be sure to check flights early in order to improve your chances of getting the best deal possible.  The longer you wait, the less likely it is that you will find cheap air tickets.  Flexibility and timing will help you find flights that have lower prices.  If you are unable to adjust the dates of your vacation, you will be hard pressed to find cheap tickets on the exact times you desire.  If you are able to adjust your vacation to cheap tickets, however, you are more likely to find better deals. If you are able to extend the acceptable hours of your flight, often you can find significantly cheaper flights even on the same day.  If you are able to extend your travel by a few days in either direction, you can often find flights that are hundreds of dollars cheaper than those only two days away from them!  Flexibility is essential to finding cheap international flights since the only schedule you can control is your own.  Searching for dates within a broad window will allow you better access to cheaper prices. Finding good prices is not often easy.  In fact, it can require many hours of searching, cross-referencing, and exploring the Internet for viable options.  A cheap air ticket is the holy grail of international travel, and they are often hidden away under layers of cheap international air ticket services, which makes it even harder to find legitimate prices.  Thus, we realize the importance of online resources.  These online resources will allow you to explore different options and optimize the chances of finding cheap air tickets within the window your flexibility has established. Online resources are a necessary source. For finding cheap air tickets, a number of which are described below, online resources are essential.  Many websites are specifically designed to facilitate the process of your finding cheap international air tickets.  One specific site is SmarterTravel.com, which allows you to enter dates and destinations, and provides links to various cheap air ticket services, consolidating them in one site.  Because of this, the process will be sped up dramatically. Other such sites include Kayak.com, iFly.com, and Orbitz.com, among others.  These sites provide detailed information and compare flights.  If you have frequent flyer miles with a particular airline, this too can help you get cheaper air tickets.  Ultimately, cross-referencing the prices offered by various airlines is helpful.  Going through a cheap ticket consolidator like TravelHub.com will allow you to let the database connect you to flights, even in neighboring airports, which will allow you to find cheaper air tickets provided you have flexibility. Cheap airline tickets are easiest to come by when a consistent airline is used to build up frequent flyer miles and qualify for member discounts.  If you do not travel often enough to do this, then a combination of online resources will help you find cheaper tickets.  Because of the expansion of cyberspace, there are always more online sources.  These are very often interconnected and provide different numbers.  Because of this, no one site offers everything you need to find a reasonable price for your international travels. Protecting your wallet. One of the first things to consider is one's budget.  It is often helpful to set this before investigating prices to keep one's travels within one's means.  One of the most difficult aspects of purchasing cheap air tickets is finding ones that are actually cheap for you.  While many tickets are relatively cheap, they may still be beyond your means.  For this reason, one of the most helpful ways to guide your search for a cheap air ticket is to have a figure in your head beforehand.  While this is a rigid parameter, it does prevent you from buying when you might find cheaper air tickets on another site.  Flexibility is important, but within the context of your own financial situation. If your budget is limited, then your flexibility should increase to make up for your financial limitations.  If your budget is the greatest limitation, being open to different destinations can help you find cheaper tickets too.  During school breaks, like the beginning and end of summer, Thanksgiving, and Christmas, cheap air tickets are much less likely to be discovered.  Because of this, it is advisable to search for tickets in a timely manner and be flexible as to the dates you travel in order to keep within your budget limitations.  Finance, flexibility, and flying - by understanding these things, you will be more likely to find cheaper air flights within your financial range.