Flying international can add up in a hurry so it always helps to find a great deal.
Fortunately, the folks at Scott’s Cheap Flights have analyzed thousands of flight deals over the past 12 months to uncover the best airlines to fly for cheap flights from every U.S. state along with a handful of helpful lessons for air travelers looking to save on international flights.
In it’s latest report, the email subscription service sending cheap flight alerts to its 2 million members found that most deals from your nearest airport will be bookable on one of the big three U.S. carriers—American Airlines, Delta Air Lines and United Airlines—despite dozens of international airlines serving the U.S.
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What’s more, travelers flying out of an airport monopolized by one airline will usually find the best deals on that carrier’s competitors.
“For example, Phoenix (PHX) is an American Airlines hub but we found nearly 20 percent more deals on United,” the report states. “Conversely, Denver (DEN) is a United hub but we sent nearly 20 percent more deals on American. Boston (BOS), Detroit (DTW), Salt Lake City (SLC) and Minneapolis (MSP) are all Delta hubs as well, but we saw more deals from those airports (and from the wider states those airports are located in) on American.”
The experts at Scott’s Cheap Flights also encourage travelers to not ignore the international carriers and smaller U.S. airlines.
After all, forty percent of deals the service sent over the last year were on smaller or foreign carriers such as JetBlue, Alaska Airlines, KLM and British Airways, among others.
Scott’s Cheap Flights points out that these type of airlines may be the only one that travels to your destination in some cases.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, the most deals were found on airlines that are part of the world’s largest global airline alliance, Star Alliance (35.5 percent)—which includes United and Air Canada, among others—followed by SkyTeam (23.7 percent) and Oneworld (20.7 percent).
Ultimately, travelers who cast a wide net are the most likely to be successful when searching for a great flight deal, according to Scott’s Cheap Flights, which recommends becoming a member to receive the best fares as they become available or using websites like Google Flights to search multiple airlines at once.
For those eyeing an international getaway in the new year, the flight experts at Scott’s Cheap Flights recently revealed the 20 destinations that will be cheaper to visit in 2020.
