So here’s the thing. I’m planning this trip to visit family overseas, right? But man, plane tickets? Pure robbery these days. Every time I looked, my wallet cried. Saw this video online talking about secret websites for cheap flights. Usually I think “yeah, right,” but figured I might as well try it myself. Couldn’t hurt worse than paying full price.
Getting Started: Feeling Skeptical
First, I went straight to the airlines’ own sites. British Airways, Lufthansa, Emirates – clicked through them all. Prices were sky-high, like always. Big airlines just don’t seem to care about giving deals unless you live on their points. Wasted like 30 minutes.
Next, I tried the usual suspects everyone knows. One big name travel site everyone uses for everything? Yeah, that one. Prices were… better? Not great, but a tiny bit softer than the airline sites. Still felt like paying tourist prices. Another popular one, similar deal. Found flights, but it didn’t feel like any special secret deal. More like just standard booking.
Digging Deeper: Trying the “Secrets”
Alright, time for the stuff I didn’t know about. Remembered that video mentioning sites designed just for finding flight deals, not booking hotels or whatever. Found one called like Kiwi or something. Looked kinda messy but I put my dates in anyway. Boom! Found options the big guys didn’t even show. Crazy long layovers sometimes, but if you just want cheap? Huge difference. Like, savings big enough to maybe add another trip savings.
Then I tried this tool specifically for students and young travelers I heard about. Really simple site, just boxes to fill in. Found flights easily, prices were definitely cheaper than the main platforms. Looked good for flexibility. Felt easy.
Finally, I pulled up this app everyone kept mentioning for finding price errors and weird routings. Searched my destination. It gave me way more flight paths than anything else. Found prices way down, like half off a mainline carrier price, by just connecting through somewhere random I hadn’t thought of. Trick is knowing how to search with it. Takes playing around.
Putting it to the Test
Okay, so I had five tabs open:
- Airline site (BA) – €850
- Big Travel Site #1 – €780
- Big Travel Site #2 – €775
- Kiwi-like Site – €650 (with long layover)
- Student Site – €690
- Price Error/Routing App – €600 (connecting via surprise city)
The airline site was the obvious loser. Big travel sites were just meh. The “secret” places? Big jumps down.
The Booking Moment
Nearly went with the €600 error/routing find. Seemed too wild not to try. But then that €650 flight with the layover from the Kiwi site popped into my head. It used one of the airlines I prefer. Less adventurous, still saved a huge chunk. Plus, the app showed me the historical prices – seemed legit good, not some fake glitch. Pulled the trigger on that one. Felt solid.
End result? Saved about €200 compared to the easiest option on the big travel site. Almost €250 off the airline price. All it took was ignoring the first few results everyone else clicks and looking at the tools built purely to find cheap seats.
Honestly? Feels good knowing where to look now. Won’t just click the first search anymore. Lesson learned: skip the general travel shops when just looking for a plane ticket deal.
