In all honesty: Research, research, and more research. I learned a lot along the way and I hope I can help you save some money too!
Tip #1 Start Looking Early
After I was accepted into my program back in March, I immediately started looking at flights. I didn't know then when I was leaving but I wanted to price tickets and figure out what my options were with the itinerary.
There are many reasons flights are priced lower than other. One is a less than stellar itinerary that you need to look out for. If you aren't careful you could end up with a 50min layover in a busy airport; you are garunteed to miss your next flight. Or you'll have a 14 hour overnight layover. Spending the night in an airport doesn't seem ideal to me.
There are many reasons flights are priced lower than other. One is a less than stellar itinerary that you need to look out for. If you aren't careful you could end up with a 50min layover in a busy airport; you are garunteed to miss your next flight. Or you'll have a 14 hour overnight layover. Spending the night in an airport doesn't seem ideal to me.
Tip #2 If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is
When using price comparison websites, do a little research on the actual airlines' websites too. An example is a $1,300 ticket through American Airlines being offered at $700 sounds a little off. If the price only differs by a few hundred it could be a great deal, but $600 is too good of a discount.
Tip #3 Do a little background on the travel sites themselves
Before booking through a travel website like Student Universe; look at some customer reviews. Student Universe comes highly recommended by travel blogs and has some great deals, but some of the customer experiences are so terrible. While they are a great option for people, it concerned me how horrible it can be if something goes wrong. I would definitely trust the site if I was buying a cheap domestic ticket but I don't want to risk this much money.
Price comparison sites are a great resource because you don't book through them, you buy your ticket from the airline itself or a trusted travel site like TripAdvisor. One comparison site I used was Skyscanner because it is used by a favorite travel blogger of mine PsychoTraveller. I also used Google.com/flights and that is where I found my ticket.
Google flights found me a ticket through Asiana Airlines that was only $688. The result told me to call the airline to book the ticket. When I called Asian they reffered me to their website where I found my ticket from Dallas to Shanghai for $654. Thankfully, Stillwater has a flight through American Airlines to Dallas for $106 so it all worked out to $760. I only paid for a one-way ticket because I don't know when I will be flying back.
Price comparison sites are a great resource because you don't book through them, you buy your ticket from the airline itself or a trusted travel site like TripAdvisor. One comparison site I used was Skyscanner because it is used by a favorite travel blogger of mine PsychoTraveller. I also used Google.com/flights and that is where I found my ticket.
Google flights found me a ticket through Asiana Airlines that was only $688. The result told me to call the airline to book the ticket. When I called Asian they reffered me to their website where I found my ticket from Dallas to Shanghai for $654. Thankfully, Stillwater has a flight through American Airlines to Dallas for $106 so it all worked out to $760. I only paid for a one-way ticket because I don't know when I will be flying back.
Tip #4 Pay attention to baggage fees
When booking a flight with multiple connections with different airlines, pay attention to baggage fees. Sometimes the airlines with no fees is not considered the primary carrier so you'll end up paying fees through another airline. Thankfully for my flight, Asiana is the primary so I don't have to pay the fees for my Virgin America flight.
Tip #5 When flying to Asia, book with Asian airlines
Booking through an American based airline like American or United, you could end up paying double. Here are some comparisons of tickets for August 1st as of July 4th (lowest prices):
United Airlines DFW - PVG: $1,511
American Airlines DFW - PVG: $1,104
Asiana Airlines DFW - PVG: $711
China Eastern Airlines DFW - PVG: $860.90
United Airlines DFW - PVG: $1,511
American Airlines DFW - PVG: $1,104
Asiana Airlines DFW - PVG: $711
China Eastern Airlines DFW - PVG: $860.90
Tip #6 Read reviews for airlines you haven't flown before
Make sure to read recent reviews and even watch videos on Youtube to see what flights are really like. The only bad reviews for Asiana were about their Los Angeles customer service office. Every other review I saw compared their experiences to that of Korean Air (a high class airline) and they are definitely better than United or American. I will do a review of my experience once I fly in August.
In the end, research saved me almost $600 and got me a better quality flight. Instead of flying American and China Air, I will be flying Virgin and Asiana whom have better customer service (and food from what I read).
Be on the look out for my posts reviewing my flights. They should be up a few days after my flight on August 26th+27th since I will be writing them in the air!
In the end, research saved me almost $600 and got me a better quality flight. Instead of flying American and China Air, I will be flying Virgin and Asiana whom have better customer service (and food from what I read).
Be on the look out for my posts reviewing my flights. They should be up a few days after my flight on August 26th+27th since I will be writing them in the air!