And here’s how to find them…
Finding a great flight deal is a rush. When the place you never dreamed of actually going is cheaper than the place you are tired of going back to, it’s simply riveting. Airlines know that, and they’re addicted to launching sneaky deals, aimed at tempting savvy customers into an extra booking. But if they make it too easy – everyone will get in. To offer exciting deals while avoiding the masses, airlines have started launching secret deals in exclusive travel apps and websites that you won’t find almost anywhere else you look – so here’s how to find them…
Hopper, the popular flight booking app, has launched partnerships with airlines such as Turkish, LATAM and Air China to nab so called “exclusive fares”. These are flight deals which are in theory not available on other websites, and purport to save up to 35% off public prices. Simply download the Hopper app, enter a flight search, choose to “watch” a trip and look out for any deal that says “exclusive fare”. It’s hard to believe these deals won’t appear anywhere else at all, but in some instances they may, and given Hoppers ability to help you track prices – it’s a worthy download anyway.
Airlines such as Swiss, Qatar and many more occasionally choose to “hide” their best deals, never making them available on online travel agencies, Google Flights or other booking platforms. To find them you’ll need to click through from their email list, or go directly to their respective websites and look for their special offers pages. For example, Swiss recently had a flight from Paris to Hong Kong for €349 by clicking their special promotions page, but if you search anywhere else on the web, the lowest price is €412. Qatar, British Airways and many other airlines often launch 2 for 1 sales, where the prices won’t show up in any major search results. You’ve gotta search and book directly with them to find the deals, and you’ve gotta know to search for two.
To be fair, if there’s a good one, your favorite travel website *cough* – like this one – will likely share it anyway, but joining airline email marketing lists does a lot more good than harm. If you don’t want endless airline emails going to your sacred personal email, create a marketing email address, which you can peruse on a daily basis for special flight offers and turn off notifications for. Many airlines offer discount codes with up to 40% off flights for a limited time. If you just went to the airline website, or your favorite travel booking site – you’d pay full price. But by having the code, you can secure amazing savings. Maybe even enough to bump up to business class!
Sure, we did mention it a bit earlier, but airlines love offering the best deals if you’re willing to buy two tickets. They’ll go even lower if you buy two tickets and a hotel room off of them. Many airlines will sell you flight and hotel for less than the price of flights if you’re booking two flights and sharing one hotel room. If you searched for flights and hotel separately you’d overpay by a long shot, but if you’re savvy enough to combine the two and search for two people, you can really save.
Hi my name is Duncan Bureau, President Air Canada Rouge
Air Canada has terminated its agreement with Hopper for misleading statements as it relates to secret fares. Air Canada has Publicly denied this has contacted Hopper to stop making these claims
Please remove this incorrect information regarding Air Canada
You will also know that WestJet has also denied these fares and based on public announcments they too have terminated any agreement for the same reason as Air Canada
I didn’t know you can get cheaper flights by buying two tickets at once. Great tip!