cheap international flights

How do you find those cheap international flights? There are many options when to choose from. Whether you choose from budget airlines, round the world flights, region/continent tickets or the simple point A to B ticket, jafatravel.com considers the pros and cons of each and points you in the right direction to find a bargain. As a budget traveller or backpacker, the more money you can save on flights, the more money you can spend once you arrive doing the things you like best.  

The questions below are designed to help you decide where to start looking for those cheap international flights.

Do you have lots of time for your travels?

If time is not a concern, then consider the questions below about flexible itineraries and flying halfway around the world. The more time you have, the greater your ability is to find those cheap international flights either through a budget airline or a round the world ticket. If you're very organised, you'll be able to arrange budget airline tickets right around the world. Whichbudget.com is a site which provides details on which budget airlines fly where and will help you with this planning.

If you don't have lots of time, stick to point A to B tickets or look at budget airlines which fly directly to your destination.  They will do the job and mean that you won’t be sacrificing your valuable holiday time being stuck in airports or transit.

Do you have a flexible itinerary?

If yes, then fly by a budget airline. Budget airlines are a great way to find cheap international flights. You'll save money on flights which can be used elsewhere.  You might need to have an extra stopover which you hadn't planned but this could be an opportunity to spend a couple of days in a place which you may not otherwise visit.

It's a great advantage if you have a flexible itinerary whilst travelling. That allows greater flexibility when deciding on how you are going to reach your destination.  This also opens up a lot options when deciding what flight you are going to buy.  You will have a greater choice of airlines and will be able to choose from budget airlines.

If you don't have lots of time, then your options will be limited. You can still save some money by choosing a budget airline but the extra time spent with stopovers and secondary airports may not be worth it. The best option may be to look out for a sale from a normal airline.

Are you travelling halfway around the world?

If you're flying halfway around the world (ie New York to Bangkok) you might as well fly the rest of the way around the world by purchasing a round the world flight.  It may cost slightly extra than a return ticket, but it by far offers the best value for money.  But if you are really budget conscious, stick to the normal ticket.

Buying round the world flights are the best value airline ticket as it offers you flexibility and the widest choice of destinations. You'll be able to choose from almost any destination you can think of.  The best part is that it will give you the opportunity to visit places you never thought of going to.  Even if it is only for a couple of days, you'll still learn something about a place and may put it on your to do list for later.

With the abundance of budget airline operators, you can fly right around the world via budget airlines, but only if you are organised.
If you're not flying half way around the world, you probably will have moved onto the next question.

Are you flying to many destinations within a continent/region?

Both large plane alliances (Oneworld and Star Alliance) have "continent" or "region" tickets which allow you to take many flights within a particular area (eg many flights within Asia or Europe). This can save you considerable money if you are flying around to different locations within a particular region.

Another way to achieve this is again through budget airlines. However, as mentioned, you'll need to be organised. If not, it might end up costing just as much as a continent/regional ticket.

Options for cheap international flights

Budget airline travel

Read about:

• why travel by budget airlines
• things to be wary of whilst flying budget airlines
• why budget airlines are successful and make a profit

Round the world tickets

Read about:

• round the world flights