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Air travel abroad for employment or tourist purposes can be exciting as you can experience travelling to other places beyond your current locality. The downside of such overseas travel is that it’s not for everyone as flying by plane is not as cheap as paying bus fare. Unlike visas that cost less than a few yen/dollars, airfare costs more than a hundred to thousands of Yen/dollars. Security fees, airport taxes constitute half of the ticket’s price. Here, you can find some ways to get cheaper flights with these tips:

 

Quick Fact: What goes into Airfare fluctuating price

Airlines offer various rates depending on their category such as regular and budget carrier. 

To understand why some airlines are budget and others aren’t, these factors affect airfares:

• Aircraft type - the Airbus A320 versus ATR (the less aircraft type used the less maintenance and training for pilots.

• Airport Capacity - High turnarounds (the time needed to unload an aeroplane and prepare it for the next departure) can cost more.

• Airport fees - Cheaper airport fees mean cheaper tickets. Such fees include government taxes, security fees, and landing fees.

• Competition - An airline with a monopoly for a certain flight route can charge higher airfare.

• Connecting flights - Direct flights cost more than flights with one or two connecting flights.

• Flight distance - The farther the destination, the more expensive the ticket, although it’s not always the case.

• Load factor - Convenience and number of seats

• Oil price - Oil price hike affects aviation fuel and thus ticket price.

• Time of purchase - Buying within a week before the flight can mean a hefty priced ticket.

 

• Book connecting flights

Connecting flight refers to indirect flights that require you to transfer to another plane. Such connecting flight involves two tickets (1st and second flight). For instance, if you’re from Paris, France and your destination is Tokyo, Japan, your connecting flight would be Paris (Charles de Gaulle airport- CDG), to Doha (Hamad Airport) and the second flight is Doha to Tokyo (Narita Airport). On the other hand, direct flights include flights from the point of origin to destination without the intermediate airport - for instance,  Manila (NAIA) to Tokyo (Haneda/Narita).

Connecting flights are usually used for longer flights such as from one continent to another continent such as Brisbane, Australia to Quito, Ecuador. The pros of connecting flight - you can visit the connecting airport or country while waiting for your second flight and the airfare is cheaper. The cons -  it can take longer to arrive at your destination and it can be a bit of a hassle finding the boarding gate. On the other hand, direct flights are used for short and medium distance flights such as two destinations in one continent. For example, Manila to Jeddah.

 

• Book in advance

Booking in advance - more than a month before the flight can save money as airlines rush to fill up their seats and clear inventory. Other internet sources tell that booking too early can save money but this can backfire since you’ll end up paying undiscounted tickets. On top of that, lower-rated tickets carry strings attached you may regret later such as being non-refundable and non-cancelable.  How far in advance should you book depends on the season. According to cheapair.com, the best time to book in advance is from three weeks to four months.

 

• Summer - 47 days before the flight

• Spring - 90 days before the flight

• Autumn - 69 days before the flight

• Winter - 62 days before the flight

 

• Check alternative airports

You usually fly from your country’s capital airport but taking flights from alternative airports can save you time and money. Alternative airports are places near or in the vicinity of the main airport. 

Here are the reasons why using such airports is cheaper:

• It’s easy to navigate around a small or less congested alternative airport, thus a fast turnaround time.

• It’s easy to go to and from the airport due to less traffic.

• It will help you save airfare due to lower fees and taxes of an alternate or smaller airport.

 

If you’re in Tokyo, Japan, the alternative airports to Haneda are the following:

 

International airports near Haneda (HND)

 

Name	Location	IATA and ICAO codes	Distance from Haneda
Narita International Airport	Tokyo, Japan	NRT/ RJAA	82 km
Ibaraki Airport	Omitama, Japan	IBR/ RJAH	90 km
Mt. Fuji Shizuoka Airport	Shimada, Japan	TOY/ RJNT	359 km
Niigata Airport	Niigata, Japan	KIJ/ RJSN	365 km
Chūbu Centrair International Airport	Tokoname, Japan	NGO/ RJGG	369 km
Sendai Airport	Sendai, Japan	SDJ/ RJSS	381 km
Komatsu, Japan	Komatsu, Japan	KMQ/ RJNK	446 km

 

Note: IATA = International Airtransport Association

          ICAO = International Civil Aviation Organization

 

• Fly with budget airlines

Budget airlines are those airline companies that offer airfares that are cheaper than other airlines. These low-cost carriers can offer low fares because:

       -  They have no extra luxury services such as onboard TV and games seat at the back of each passenger seats.

       -  They have streamlined services - They use one to two types of the plane model or brand thus saving on maintenance and training of the staff.

       -   They or some have seats that don’t recline, which saves the airline some maintenance and time for cleaning.

       -   They don’t operate in large airports that can charge higher maintenance fees and taxes.

       -   They fly on shorter routes

       -   They don’t have intermediate travel agencies that sold air tickets - hence no extra charges.

       -   They have fast turnarounds due to less airport traffic congestion.

 

On the other hand, regular airlines are more expensive because:

       -    They have extra luxury services such as game consoles and TV for each backseat.

       -    They provide extra inflight catering services.

       -    They use larger airports thus more or higher maintenance fees.

Here are some of the budget airlines in Japan or airlines that fly from/to countries that are near/ to Japan.

 

• Use air miles or points

 

Air miles are loyalty programs offered by airline or credit card companies and others ( oil and gas, liquor, restaurants, electronics, jewellery, clothing).  The airline and credit card tie-up to offer rewards for frequent flyers as they earn points depending on how far they fly. Such accumulated points can be used for free tickets and goods. Air miles are akin to other marketing programs used by convenience stores, department stores, clothing stores and jewellery. 

Signing up for air miles is free and many airline companies offer such programs.  You can also sign up through credit card companies such as Visa, JCB, Diners Express, American Express, and MasterCard. To accrue such points, you must sign up with the air miles program and enter your bank account details. Accruing air miles with a credit card takes effect once you pay your credit card.

 

You can earn by:

 

• Using airline dining programs 

• Opening a bank account

• Filling out a survey 

• Spending on some non-airline partners of a specific airline (hotels, jewellers, electronics, apparels)

•  

Some of the Best Air Miles Programs (1)

Here are some of the air miles programs that cover business, economy and first classes. The links go to each respective airline’s rewards/redeem points sites.

 

Air Canada Aeroplan

All Nippon Airways Mileage Club 

American Airlines

Asiana Airlines

British Airways

Cathay Pacific Asia Miles

Japan Airlines Mileage Bank

Etihad Guest

Korean Air Skypass

Virgin Atlantic Flying Club

 

Notes: 

• Some airlines are shifting to revenue-based loyalty programs by basing air miles on the ticket price rather than the accrued flight distance (1).

• Depending on your country’s policies an airline mile is taxable at a certain amount (Ex. $600 above) but miles or purchases by using a credit card are not taxable.

• Search with more than one search engine (Google flights, Momondo)

 

A travel search engine is popular today as there are many competing sites that list, sort and detail airfares. Relying only on one airfare search engine will make you miss cheaper opportunities/airfares available in other sites.  

Here are the lists of airfare/Online Travel Agencies (OTA), Agreggator or travel search engine sites at the time of this writing (October 2019) 

 

Flight search engine	Type	Best for
Skiplagged	Aggregator
Momondo	Aggregator/OTA	A broad search engine that shows cheaper tickets than Skyscanner
Skyscanner	Aggregator
TripAdvisor	(Aggregator)
Agoda	(Aggregator)
Jetradar	(Aggregator)	Shows budget airlines that are not shown in other sites
Kayak	(Aggregator)	Lower prices
Booking.com	(Aggregator)
Airfarewatchdog	(Aggregator)
Hipmunk	(Aggregator)
CheapOair	(OTA)
Expedia	(Aggregator)	Fast filtering
Priceline	(OTA)
Kiwi	(Aggregator)
Adioso	(Aggregator)	User experience
Orbitz	(OTA)
Hotwire	(OTA)
Travelocity	(OTA)
Google Flights	(Aggregator)	Speedy search
Hopper	(OTA)
Flight Network	(OTA)
Vayama	(OTA)
Airbnb	(OTA)