A MONEY-SAVVY mum has shared some of her secret holiday tips after successfully purchasing flight tickets to Spain for a whopping £1,449 less than they would usually be.
Louise Rozhon had been using flight tracker app AirHints when it notified her last month of a low price of £189.96 for four people to fly to Fuerteventura on 17 February.
However, three weeks later, the 49-year-old was pinged again by the app, which informed her that the same deal had skyrocketed to £1,639.40 for four people.
Louise from Tenby, Wales has since taken to social media to share her shock at the incredible increase in prices – as well as some of her own handy tips for holiday bargain hunting.
Images from Louise’s app show the plane tickets listed, with the original cost of two adults jumping from £91.98 to £816.70.
Two child tickets can also be seen climbing from £45.99 to an eye-watering £408.35.
In her post to social media on Tuesday, she wrote: “Wow, it pays to book early – price six weeks apart.”
Louise continued on to explaining that she uses multiple devices when booking tickets to prevent browser cookies from affecting price rates.
She added: “I often have two or three devices on the go at the same time. I had been watching and waiting and decided to go for it.
“Checked today out of interest and couldn’t believe my eyes.”
The post received dozens of likes and comments as many expressed their shock at seeing the difference in price.
One person wrote: “We made the mistake of not booking early enough, we live and learn. We’re gonna book ours tonight in fear of them getting even dearer.”
Another person said: “That’s flipping ridiculous.”
A third commented: “I saw this on all routes but [am] expecting a sheer drop during school holidays or just after. Watch that space.”
Another joked: “Half-term horrors.”
A fifth wrote: “We booked our Christmas flights last March. Then I watched the price drop.
“I’d assumed [the] earlier the better and prices would only move in one direction but as it turns out it’s not always the case. It was the Christmas holidays, so I didn’t think prices would come down.”
Many frequent flyers are unaware of travel hacks that can easily bring down a hefty price.
Hacks include purchasing plane tickets on a Sunday, logging out of Google accounts, browsing websites in incognito mode and clearing cookies from browsers.
Speaking today Louise shared her travel tips: “My parents live in Fuerteventura, so we travel there three to four times a year. We always book our accommodation and flights independently.
“I monitor the price up until about eight weeks before and then tend to book around the eight-week mark. I use a flight tracker website called AirHints which sends me alerts when the price changes.
“We paid just under £350 [for flights and hotel] on 23 January and today’s price (I just checked) is £1676.56. This is a shocking increase, I couldn’t quite believe it when I checked.
“I only logged in to see how many empty seats there were on the flight.
“I also take out an annual travel policy for the whole family but make sure it is one which you can use to travel alone or as a couple, for example, as some only cover you when all named people travel.
“We live in Wales, so we always look at English half-term dates and look to fly from a Midlands or London airport as prices tend to be lower with less families travelling – the only exception is Bristol as most of Wales use that one.
“When booking accommodation we always look for somewhere with a washing machine so we can travel with hand baggage only.
“Travel in your warm outfit and carry the beachwear, an evening outfit and a few spares.
“One thing I never leave home without is my euro adapter and a six-gang extension lead for all the devices a ten and fourteen year-old need.
“Our eldest is autistic and most airports have a scheme which not everyone knows about.
“Many let you use the fast track route though security and there is sometimes a quiet waiting area.
“Birmingham and Bristol airports use the sunflower lanyard and you just look out for the sunflower symbol around the airport.
“Staff are trained to spot you and offer help. Also pre-order your liquids from Boots and collect airside so you don’t have to bring small bottles through security.”
At the time of writing, the tickets for a flight from Birmingham to Fuerteventura on 17th February now cost £1,676.56 and show no signs of reducing in price.
