There are many different factors that go into determining the price of airfare. There are so many factors, in fact, that airlines use complex software programs to work out their fares.

That being so, there are some small changes that you can try when booking airfare that will usually result in significant savings. They will, of course, require a little bit of flexibility on your part. Below are a few ideas:

Travel Dates
Certain days of the week (often Tuesday through Thursday, or Friday night through Sunday morning) reap cheaper fares.

Departure Time
Particular hours of the day (e.g., early-morning or late-night departures) usually offer discounted fares.

Number of Stopovers
A connection (change of planes) or a one-stop flight is sometimes cheaper than a nonstop.

Airlines
You might try exchanging a major airline like American or Delta for a budget carrier like AirTran, ATA, Frontier, JetBlue, Spirit, or another. While smaller and more economical, they maintain high standards of service. If you haven´t tried one of these airline, you´ll be pleasantly surprised when you do.

Airports
Most large metropolitan areas have more than one airport. The fare could depend on which airport you use. Check out the fares for departing and/or arriving at a smaller airport. You may even try an airport in a nearby city. If you plan on renting a car anyway, the extra time driving may be worth the savings.

There are two things to remember when researching fares. One, time is money. Consider the time you spend researching as work. How much would you pay yourself? Calculate this into the fare price. If you spend two hours to find a fare that saves you $100 on an international flight, how much did you actually save?

Two, flexibility has it´s price. If departing at 3:00 a.m. on a day you don´t want to is going to ruin the first part of your trip, don´t do it. Pay the extra money for a more enjoyable travel experience.

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