How to Find Cheap Airfare for Easter

Most of the time when you think about the Easter holiday, you probably think about egg hunts of your youth, the eggs you’ll dye with your own kids this Easter, or wearing your “Sunday best” to church. In short, it’s traditionally thought of as a holiday spent with family.

That doesn’t mean it can’t be a great time of year to travel, however, whether it’s for an Easter holiday celebration or not.

Because the date Easter falls on is a bit of a moving target, the first order of business is knowing when Easter is this year. Easter tends to pop up anywhere from the end of March through the end of April, which makes it ideal for taking advantage of spring travel deals – although the later in April Easter appears, the better chance you have in many places for nicer weather. Still, if saving money is your biggest concern, then planning a trip around Easter is a great option.

>> In 2012, Easter is on Sunday, April 8.

Fly on Budget Airlines

Even though it’s the big names like American, United, and Delta that come to mind first when most people think about flying, there are many more options when it comes to airlines these days. The U.S. doesn’t have as many budget airlines as Europe does, but there are some – enough that you should definitely look into using them in order to save money on your Easter airfare.

This tip is especially handy if you’re more interested in just getting out of town than you are concerned about where you go, because you can just start looking at the various low-cost airlines that fly from your home airport and see what cities they fly to. But even if you’ve got a particular destination in mind, don’t overlook the budget airlines that fly there – and you might also want to check them on their own websites, as some don’t provide their fares to the big booking engines.

>> Read more about budget airlines in the United States
>> Read more about budget airlines that fly to Mexico
>> Read more about budget airlines that fly to Canada

Use Alternate Airports to the Big Hubs

Depending on what city you’re flying into or out of, you might have a few options when it comes to airport. Big cities like New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago have multiple airport options for travelers to consider – and some tend to be more budget-friendly than others. Sometimes this is due to there being more budget carriers at one airport than another, and sometimes it’s just because the fees for doing business at that airport are lower overall for the airlines.

Whatever the reason, prices are absolutely not the same from one airport to another in one city, so it’s worth checking the fares into all reasonable airports in the area. Find out what the alternative airports are to the big hubs in the United States and widen your search.

Learn When Flights Are Cheapest

This sounds like a no-brainer, but it’s actually something you can do with any trip you take – regardless of whether it’s around a holiday, or where you’re going. Because there are days of the week when flights tend to be cheaper, and certain times of the day when flights are cheaper as well. Around holidays this can get skewed, but it’s a good place to start when you’re trying to figure out when to travel.

Generally speaking, Wednesdays are the cheapest days to fly – followed by Tuesdays and Saturdays. In terms of the cheapest times of day to fly, the earliest flights of the day are almost always going to be the cheapest ones (and it makes sense, since no one wants to be awake at that hour). After that, you can check on red-eye and other late-night departures for lower fares.

Be Flexible

Easily the most important tip for saving money on airfare – whenever and wherever you go – is to be as flexible as you can be when you’re booking your trip. That means not narrowing your travel dates down too far so that you only have a few options to pick from. It also means being open to other airports that might be nearby.

Most online booking sites will help you be flexible by offering boxes you can check that say things like “my dates are flexible” and “search other area airports” – meaning they’re doing the hard work for you. If you don’t see those options on the booking site you’re using, you might think about looking at another booking site! Failing that, you can still check out alternate dates and airports to get an idea of the price differences, you’ll just have to do the work yourself – plugging in different days, times, and airports until you have a more complete picture of the price fluctuations.

photo by terren in Virginia