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How to Save Money on Flights with Skyscanner

Of all the tools we used for finding bargains in the travel world, Skyscanner was number 1, until the day we found ourselves at the check-in desk with non-existent tickets. That update and scam warning is further down the page. Our tips on how to save money on flights with Skyscanner still stand and are here for you to use. Skyscanner is a great tool, but beware of certain 3rd party ticket vendors – Skyscanner has contacted me and this vendor was removed from its databases. So go ahead and open Skyscanner USA right here, (in a separate window – if you’re on mobile you’ll need to grab the Skyscanner app, also from the link above.) I’ll give you some tips. Through using Skyscanner and the tips here we saved ourselves £100 per person, £300 total, on our flight to Sri Lanka.

Let’s take a look at how to use Skyscanner to scan flights and find the best bargains for 2023.

We still prefer Skyscanner to new flight scanner comparison tools, including Kiwi, it also often gives us cheaper prices than going direct to the airlines themselves but that comes with our warning below.

Read the tips, and use these skills and hacks to find the best routes, days, and deals, but proceed with caution and find out what happened to us.

What are Skyscanner Flights?

Skyscanner is an online booking website that allows you to easily find cheap flights anywhere in the world. Easily find great hotels to accommodate your gang and hire transport to get around once you are there.

Simply put, Skyscanner is like an online travel agent which searches hundreds of airlines and booking agencies across the world to rank the flights for you. The flights are then listed in the order of Best, Cheapest, and Fastest depending on your preference. Finding flights with Skyscanner is so easy because it stops you from checking out all the competitor’s websites one at a time, instead, seeing all the flights at a glance.

How to book a flight with Skyscanner

Similar to Kayak, it is possible to book through Skyscanner with certain OTAs that they have partnerships with, however, these fares only appear if they are among the cheapest options.

In most cases, you won’t actually book your flight through Skyscanner; instead, Skyscanner will refer you to an OTA or the airline that offers your chosen flight and you’ll book with them. This means that sometimes, Skyscanner’s listed fee isn’t necessarily the fee you end up with. Let’s use an $818 direct flight from Chicago to Rome as an example.

As shown before, once you click the “Select” button you’re taken to a list of OTAs that are offering this route. This $818 fare is being offered by AirfareExperts.

What are Skyscanner’s main features?

Skyscanner Price Alerts

Skyscanner Price Alerts are a great way to track prices on a particular flight. You can save money by monitoring a flight you’re interested in and buying it when Skyscanner’s price alert email tells you that prices have dropped.

You will receive a daily email letting you know of price variations. This free service can be activated for several flights, but you will still receive only one email: that hack makes price alerts less spammy.

How to activate Skyscanner Price Alerts

You just need to search for a flight as described in steps 1 to 4 above. Then, you’ll have 2 options:

Skyscanner will automatically open a pop-up window suggesting that you create an alert for this flight. You just need to write your email address and click the button!

Skyscanner’s Cheapest Month (or Year) Feature

With the Cheapest Month feature, you can instantly view and select the cheapest month (or year) to book your flight. Once again, it’s perfect for flexible travelers. If you’re wondering how to save money on flights, you have to be flexible, by the way.

How to find the cheapest month to fly

Click on the date, then “Whole month” instead of a specific date. From there, select the month when you want to fly, or the “Cheapest month” if you’re very flexible.

By default, Skyscanner displays the flight prices by month in their flight calendar, with the lowest prices in green and the highest ones in red.

How to Save Money on Flights with Skyscanner

Skyscanner is a powerful flight search engine that can help you save money on flights. It allows you to search for flights from multiple airlines and travel sites, and compare prices to find the best deals.

Here are some tips on how to use Skyscanner to save money on flights:

Be flexible with your travel dates: One of the easiest ways to save money on flights is to be flexible with your travel dates. Skyscanner allows you to search for flights across an entire month or even year, so you can find the cheapest days to fly.
Set up price alerts: If you have a specific travel date in mind, but want to wait for a better deal, you can set up price alerts on Skyscanner. Simply enter your travel details and select “Get Price Alerts” to receive notifications when the price of your flight changes.
Use the “Everywhere” feature: If you’re not sure where you want to go, or just want to find the cheapest destinations, use Skyscanner’s “Everywhere” feature. This will show you the cheapest flights to destinations all over the world.
Search for flights in incognito mode: Some airlines and travel sites use cookies to track your search history and raise prices if they see you’re interested in a particular flight. To avoid this, search for flights in incognito mode or clear your cookies before each search.
Be flexible with your departure and arrival airports: If you live in an area with multiple airports, search for flights from all of them to see if one airport has significantly cheaper fares than the others. You can also use Skyscanner’s “Nearby” feature to search for flights from nearby airports.
Book your flight at the right time: Skyscanner’s data shows that the best time to book flights is usually around 7 weeks before departure. However, this can vary depending on the destination and time of year, so be sure to check Skyscanner’s “Best Time to Book” feature for specific recommendations.
Consider alternative airlines: Don’t just stick to the big airlines – smaller, budget airlines can often offer significantly cheaper fares. Use Skyscanner to search for flights from a variety of airlines to find the best deal.