Carmine

Have you ever noticed how some of your friends seem to get away on a lot of holidays each year? Maybe they're just lucky, or maybe they know the secrets to finding cheap airline tickets.

Before internet usage became so common, the trick to finding the best deals on flights often involved waiting until the very last moment and then phoning a specialist flight broker.

Such brokers were often able to offer extremely competitive last minute deals, allowing you access to cheap prices. They were able to get their hands on cheap tickets because some airlines would find themselves with excess capacity and would look to brokers to fill seats.

From a consumer point of view, getting access to airline tickets at lower prices often involved showing great flexibility, making plans at the last possible chance.

Today, the internet allows all of us to get access to the very latest information on airline ticket prices. Whether you're looking for domestic flights or travel overseas, you can quickly find out the best prices available using one of the numerous price comparison websites that have sprung up in recent years.

Yet, despite this change in approach, flexibility remains the key to finding the best deals available.

Let's look at some practical tips on how flexibility can help to make savings. The first consideration should be the time of year that you are intending to fly. Some months or weeks see higher flight prices than others, with prices being driven up by factors such as national holidays and school term times.

You can use this knowledge to your advantage. If you aren't travelling with children, then moving your intended dates by a couple of weeks to avoid the higher priced school holiday dates can often save you a lot of money.

The time of day that you fly is also important. Most travellers like to travel at a time of day that does not involve them having to make an early start or a late end to their day of travelling. This pushes prices up during the middle of most days.

Once again, by being flexible you can use this to your advantage. Consider travelling on an early morning flight, or returning slightly later in the evening - you'll find that the price makes it worthwhile!

There are plenty of cheap airline ticket deals around - be prepared to be flexible and you too can become a frequent flyer.

Keith Barrett writes has written on all aspects of tourism, from his work on Cyprus airports to articles on the Far East. This article may be used by any website publisher, though this resource box must always be included in full.