Conference season for TalkBox is has started! Part of that preparation was booking flights for our TalkBox team (14 conferences this year!).
In addition to business travel, we have booked quite a number of flights (especially from our 2 year trip covering 5 countries with our two little guys). I wanted to share with you how I find the best available prices on paid flights. My hope is that this will help you stretch that family travel budget to explore more together.
The main tools that I use to find the cheap flights are Matrix Airfare Search, Skyscanner, Skiplagged, and Southwest.
In this video I show how I used each of these websites to find the lowest airfare.
MATRIX AIRFARE SEARCH
The reason I like to start with Matrix is that it gives me a clear view of the options for my trip, such as the non-stop routes, airlines, nearby airports, times, and a calendar view of prices. You cannot book tickets on the Matrix Airfare Search. Once I find the flight I want to take, I book it on the airline’s website.
Website: matrix.itasoftware.com
SKYSCANNER
Usually Matrix will give me the best prices but I want to make sure, so I also do a quick search on Skyscanner. Similar to Matrix Search, it also offers nearby airports search and a calendar view of the lowest airfare prices.
Website: skyscanner.com
SKIPLAGGED
And just to make sure I am getting the best option, I do one more search at Skiplagged. Their signature move is that they can find flights that are called “hidden city” tickets. This means you want to book a ticket from A to B but a ticket from A to C with a layover in B is actually cheaper than a ticket just from A to B. By booking the ticket from A to C, you just don’t take the second flight from B to C since B is actually your final destination. Of course, you cannot check bags on this type of ticket so that does limit the usefulness of this for family travel. But I check Skiplagged anyways, just in case.
Website: skiplagged.com
SOUTHWEST
Usually, Southwest won’t show up in the search results from the websites above. Since we live in a Southwest city, I always check what Southwest has to offer. Even if the other airlines have airfares that are a little cheaper, we often will pick Southwest because of the free checked baggage allowance and the overall friendly staff. Also, Dallas Lovefield airport is such a breeze to fly!
Website: southwest.com
That wraps up my process for finding the lowest costing airfare for our family trips and business trips. Technology is always changing, so please let me know if you have found something better!
Safe travels!
Hector
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