I’m not just good at finding cheap airfare, I’m great at it. But I can’t take all the credit. I find my flights with Skyscanner, the best airfare analysis tool out there!
Once you know how to use Skyscanner well, you can become great at finding both cheap and sustainable airfare, too.
The first time I used Skyscanner, I was planning my first backpacking trip and I needed to keep the trip as cheap as possible. I was traveling off-season, but it also was Christmas time, so I wasn’t sure what deals I could actually get around the holidays.
It turned out that I could find tickets from North Carolina to Eastern Europe for about 500 USD in early-mid December (and it wasn’t even the cheapest option, just the most convenient for me). My trip’s grand total ended up being just around $1000 for 2 weeks of travel. If it wasn’t for Skyscanner‘s ability to scan airfare for the best deals, my trip could have easily been 500-1000 USD more.
There are plenty of sites out there that also scan for awesome airfare deals, and I’ve tried them all. Sometimes they will out-price Skyscanner, but those flights tend to be more inconvenient (longer layovers, multiple stops). Of all the sites I’ve used, Momondo may be Skyscanner‘s biggest competitor in finding deals… But I still prefer Skyscanner‘s system hands-down!
Here’s why finding flights with Skyscanner is all the rage.
The Map Tool
When planning trips, I’m not always dead-set on one place. I see which cheap options are available first, then choose from those.
Let’s say I’m visiting London and I want to visit another city in Europe for a week. All I do is click “Map” on the home screen and it shows me all the airports and which are the cheapest using an interactive map tool.
Other websites do this too, but Skyscanner does the best job at making the options organized and easy to digest.
If I find a place I’m interested in, I can click on the circle and see which dates work. If that destination won’t seem to work out, I can easily exit out and try another location.
The “Everywhere” Option
When you’re entering your departure and arrival cities/dates on the home page, you may notice that Skyscanner gives you an option to browse arrival cities located “everywhere”.
This is yet another way that Skyscanner lays out your options so that you are informed of the best destinations for your budget within your dates. What’s cool with this option is that they also give you a hotel estimate and a guide. I always recommend finding hostel accommodations because they are cheaper and way more fun.
This option also gives you more of a side-by-side comparison of flights within countries you really want to visit. For example, if you’re strongly considering Italy, you can directly compare flights arriving in ALL the airports in Italy.
See the “cheapest month” options for departure/return in the picture? If you’re flexible, you can see which months are cheapest to fly to your desired location!
The Greener Choices
Skyscanner allows me to choose flights that are better for the environment. By choosing a “greener” flight, I get to fly planes that emit less carbon. These flights are usually non-stop and use newer planes modeled to decrease their carbon footprint.
Have you heard of “flight shame”? This term, also known as flygskam, has been coined since 2017. It refers to the shame people feel after traveling via airplane despite knowing how much pollution it emits into the atmosphere. Now that eco-conscious travelers are beginning to feel “shame” after using airplane transportation, both train and boat transportation has increased. A lot. Besides, these alternative modes of travel can provide some pretty amazing views.
However, we don’t always have the time to take a train across the continent. There aren’t many options that can take us across the ocean. Airplanes travel is necessary, but we can be more responsible about the flights we choose.
Skyscanner is awesome because it identifies the more eco-friendly flights, and they’re usually within the cheaper price ranges!
The COVID-19 Insights
Skyscanner tells you exactly which flights have the best cleanliness ratings. It also tells you which airlines provide flexible ticketing. Some airlines are more transparent than others, but Skyscanner did the work for you so that you can compare the safest options.
The Fight Against Overtourism
The world is making a shift toward sustainable travel. Click here to open a new tab and read more about this topic.
Harry Duke of Sussex has developed an organization called Travalyst. The goal of the organization is to educate travelers on how they can help preserve the cultures they are visiting. The site states:
We want to be the driving force that paves a new way to travel, helping everyone explore our world in a way that protects both people and places, and secures a positive future for destinations and local communities for generations to come.
Travalyst
Skyscanner and Travalyst have partnered to combat overtoursim and support local communities. Read more about their developing partnership here.
Every travel choice has an impact on the local communities. Skyscanner wants to educate you so that your impact is a positive one.
Next time you buy a plane ticket, consider visiting Skyscanner for sustainable, budget-friendly airfare deals. COVID-19 is making the future of airfare unpredictable, but if you book flights with Skyscanner, airfare deals may not be so difficult to find.
Have you used Skyscanner? What do you think? Have you tried browsing flights to see what deals you can get? Comment below or reach out to me here!
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