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Tips and tricks to find cheap weekend flights

Rick Seaney  |  Special for Paste BN

So you want to get away for a weekend but don't want to break the bank? Definitely doable, just see which strategy works best for you. Note: All ticket prices below were found on FareCompare.com last week, but fares can and do change without notice.

1. Move to a bigger airport

This is a traditional way to cut costs because bigger airports usually have cheaper fares. Take a look at these round-trip fares:

  • Richmond, Va., to Boston, Fri.-Sun.: $190
  • Same trip from Washington, D.C.: $147

Now let's move to Southern California:

  • Burbank to San Francisco, Fri.-Sun.: $339
  • Same trip from Los Angeles International: $205

But like everything in the air travel industry, there are always exceptions.

2. Move to a smaller airport

Let's stay in the greater Los Angeles area for a moment but look at a different, smaller airport:

  • Los Angeles to San Francisco, Fri.-Sun.: $205
  • Same trip from Long Beach: $143

Credit the Long Beach bargain to its status as a focus city for discount carrier JetBlue. To make things even more interesting, Southwest says it expects to fly from Long Beach later this year.

3. Buy earlier

Buy too late, pay too much. Here are some perfect examples for Fri.-Sun. flights between New York and Boston:

  • Less than one week in advance:  $352
  • One to two weeks in advance: $253
  • Three weeks in advance: $139

The fare plateaus for a while after that. So buy early, but not too early (more than three months in advance) or you'll probably pay a mid-range price, which won't be the best deal.

4. Move your days around

Ever think of trying a midweek getaway? Take a look at these Houston-New Orleans flights:

  • Fri.-Sun.: $137
  • Thurs.-Sun.: $99
  • Tues.-Thurs.: $81

So many ways to save and one last strategy that works for weekends away or weeks in Europe: Always compare airfares. No single airline always has the best deal and if you don't compare, you'll never know if you could have found a cheaper ticket.

FareCompare CEO Rick Seaney is an airline industry insider and top media air travel resource. Follow Rick (@rickseaney) and never overpay for airfare again.

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