If you haven't tried using Skyscanner to search for cheap flights, let me just say this one thing to you-- *How dare you?!
*The Office inside joke :p
Skyscanner was first introduced to me in 2013 by my friend, Sheng, who travels frequently. It was 2AM; we were at the McDonalds near Clarke Quay. (I was in SG for the holidays!) She gave me good advice on how to travel the way she does-- with checking for cheap fares to anywhere in the world as the first step. Starting that point on, this app has become a staple on my phone and I have always booked the cheapest flights with its help.
This tip, or as the millennials say, lifehack, was actually inspired by the logic behind Skiplagged, a competitor flight searching app. I first read about it last year, and at the time, the flights were mainly catering to USA skip-connections. To try to explain it simply, this app was taking advantage of the cheaper fares if you only ride from Point A to Point B, instead of using Point B as a layover to go to Point C. Now, why didn't I just search from Skiplagged then? Where does Skyscanner fit in?
Here's a more concrete example
Originating: Singapore
Destination: Phuket, Thailand
There's a long vacation next weekend, thus every flight search result is more expensive than usual.
Flights from Skyscanner were priced a bit below S$350. There is one that's only S$280 but the timing would make me have to apply for an extra vacation day so that was automatically not an option.
As good as the logic behind Skiplagged is, during my fare search, the prices were still priced higher than the fares offered by the results in Skyscanner. Take note as well of the duration, ranging from a 2-hr flight to a 25-hr flight, with layover in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Now, making a layover even on a short distance would have been okay with me if it means I can save money, but even with the skip-connections over KL, it would still be cheaper to avail of any fares offered by the Skyscanner search result.
Creative Skyscanner Search
Now we go to the purpose of this post, where I show you how a flight route that Skiplagged wanted me to do at S$473 for a return flight with a layover.
Flight 1: Singapore to Phuket - S$117.33
I got so excited booking this flight, that I actually forgot to screenshot the search result. Instead, here's a peek of the itinerary I have received after booking. Scored a relatively cheap one way direct flight for S$117.33, the cheapest outbound flight from Singapore during date of searching for fares.
Flight 2: Phuket to Kuala Lumpur - S$54
For the return flight, I searched a one way flight to Kuala Lumpur. It won't be a holiday in Malaysia to I was guessing the the fares would be cheaper. And ir was. With the lowest priced at S$54, I booked a night flight out of Phuket and onto KL.
Flight 3: Kuala Lumpur to Singapore - S$59.67
For the next leg, I took the fare priced at S$59.67. There was a cheaper option but this one will get me enough sleep at KL and get me to Singapore in time for work.
From the original round trip flight of S$320-350 from Skyscanner and S$473 from Skiplagged, the total cost of the fares from 3 flights was significantly lower.
GRAND TOTAL: S$ 231
I documented the screenshots while booking all these flights on my battery-drained phone. Got too excited with the savings, so much, that I thought it would be worth making a post about. In hindsight, it is still an expense. Saying I was able to save is bullshit. But this is an expense I wanted to make, so keribels.
To be on the responsible side of ~*blogging*~, the best tip I can give is to plan ahead and book your flights earlier. It will save you a lot more cash. Make it secondary, knowing that an app can help you decide which flight to take based on prices and airline options. More often than not, it will help if you know you have a choice.
Visit Skyscanner.com to start your search!
On that note... OMG I'm going to Phuket this weekend! I am excited! #firsts
This tip, or as the millennials say, lifehack, was actually inspired by the logic behind Skiplagged, a competitor flight searching app. I first read about it last year, and at the time, the flights were mainly catering to USA skip-connections. To try to explain it simply, this app was taking advantage of the cheaper fares if you only ride from Point A to Point B, instead of using Point B as a layover to go to Point C. Now, why didn't I just search from Skiplagged then? Where does Skyscanner fit in?
Here's a more concrete example
Originating: Singapore
Destination: Phuket, Thailand
There's a long vacation next weekend, thus every flight search result is more expensive than usual.
 |
| Screenshots of round trip fare results from Skyscanner app |
 |
| Screenshots of round trip fare results using Skiplagged app |
Creative Skyscanner Search
Now we go to the purpose of this post, where I show you how a flight route that Skiplagged wanted me to do at S$473 for a return flight with a layover.
Flight 1: Singapore to Phuket - S$117.33
I got so excited booking this flight, that I actually forgot to screenshot the search result. Instead, here's a peek of the itinerary I have received after booking. Scored a relatively cheap one way direct flight for S$117.33, the cheapest outbound flight from Singapore during date of searching for fares.
Flight 2: Phuket to Kuala Lumpur - S$54
For the return flight, I searched a one way flight to Kuala Lumpur. It won't be a holiday in Malaysia to I was guessing the the fares would be cheaper. And ir was. With the lowest priced at S$54, I booked a night flight out of Phuket and onto KL.
Flight 3: Kuala Lumpur to Singapore - S$59.67
For the next leg, I took the fare priced at S$59.67. There was a cheaper option but this one will get me enough sleep at KL and get me to Singapore in time for work.
From the original round trip flight of S$320-350 from Skyscanner and S$473 from Skiplagged, the total cost of the fares from 3 flights was significantly lower.
GRAND TOTAL: S$ 231
I documented the screenshots while booking all these flights on my battery-drained phone. Got too excited with the savings, so much, that I thought it would be worth making a post about. In hindsight, it is still an expense. Saying I was able to save is bullshit. But this is an expense I wanted to make, so keribels.
To be on the responsible side of ~*blogging*~, the best tip I can give is to plan ahead and book your flights earlier. It will save you a lot more cash. Make it secondary, knowing that an app can help you decide which flight to take based on prices and airline options. More often than not, it will help if you know you have a choice.
Visit Skyscanner.com to start your search!
On that note... OMG I'm going to Phuket this weekend! I am excited! #firsts
