Justin Penny, Head of Aviation at Flight Centre UK, one of the largest independent global travel agencies, has shared his 10 top tips and tricks for saving money on your holiday
- Consider long-haul to get bang for your buck
There is massive value to be found in South East Asia to destinations such as Vietnam, particularly for a two week family holiday. With the steep rising prices for hotels, food and airfares to European destinations, a week’s holiday could look to be similar in cost to a two-week break to Asia. Here, spending money will stretch a lot as the pound is stronger and the exchange rate works in Britain’s favour.
- China is back on the cards
Pre-pandemic, transiting in China for 1-2 nights for routes to Australia and New Zealand was the norm, but in the immediate months after the pandemic travel restrictions eased, British travellers remained hesitant of this layover option. Confidence in the country has slowly been increasing and reemerging low-cost Chinese airlines are reinstating their onward routes to Australia and New Zealand. These budget airlines help to save pennies, but more options available have a knock-on effect on legacy carriers like Singapore Airlines and Qantas who need to lower their prices to remain competitive.
- Ensure to book well in advance, to avoid price hikes
Booking as far in advance as possible will help avoid paying through the roof for flights, especially if you’re considering travelling business class. Here the prices can vary wildly, but last-minute purchases will put you in the corporate booking window where businesses are prepared to cough up to send their staff around the world at a moment’s notice. Booking early for business class could see you saving almost £7,000 on some routes.
- Travel agents are back in vogue
No longer passé, travel agents can offer many advantages over booking online, since online booking sites do not always list all available fares. Some airfares have booking criteria whereby they can only be booked offline, which travel agents are able to do on your behalf.
- Opt for different departure and arrival airports
Look for destinations where they have more than one airport nearby. Crete, Cyprus, and southern Spain are some good examples of this. If public transport is well developed or the traveller already plans to rent a holiday car, then exploring different arrival and departure airports can result in savings. It doesn’t have to be an inconvenience; in fact, it can enhance a trip by allowing families the opportunity to see different regions within a destination.
- Multi-centre trips
If you’re already considering taking two trips in a year, combining them into one and enlisting a travel agent to source the best possible round-the-world fares to do that can lead to savings. For long-haul trips to destinations such as Asia and Australia, look to score cheap domestic flights or even international flights to other Asian nations to find the best-value airports.
- Premium economy on the rise
For the best deals on premium economy, booking closer to your departure date can see the fares being just 10-35 per cent more than economy, whereas on average they tend to be 85 per cent more expensive. If you’ve ever considered making the upgrade, there are ways it can be affordable.
- Be your own airline expert
Planning doesn’t go amiss. Keep tabs on when airlines announce their summer schedules and look to book your flights as soon as they launch. It’s unlikely for fares to get any cheaper than when they were first announced.
- Try out an unusual destination
According to Flight Centre UK data, among the 20 most popular destinations for British travellers this month are Zimbabwe (9th place), Argentina (12th place), and Seychelles (13th place), up 32, 24, and 61 places in 2023, respectively. Argentina’s currency has never been better priced for the UK market, while travel to the Seychelles is the most competitively priced it’s ever been.
- Travel outside of term time
While difficult for families, travel in the 72 hours leading up to or one day immediately after the school holidays can help you find cheaper flights. Often, the holiday can be altogether cheaper outside of term time even when taking into account the fine for unauthorised absences.
