International air travel in Nigeria has become very expensive these days. One of the basic reasons is the foreign exchange crisis. According to a report by the Punch, international carriers operating in Nigeria have repeatedly complained about their inability to repatriate funds to their home countries. The report also revealed that blocked funds belonging to these airlines have risen to about $600m and this is due to the inability of the Central Bank of Nigeria to make the dollar available for the carriers to repatriate.
As a result, the country is faced with high fares, reduced capacity and limited travelling options in the aviation sector, which will likely worsen if there are no interventions. But this does not mean you should stop travelling. Where there is a means, there is always a way.
Therefore, below are five ways to get cheap international travel tickets in Nigeria:
Ask Google
When in doubt, ask Google. Why? Because Google pretty much provides all the information you need. Go on the platform and type flights heading to your destination. Then click on your departing or returning date. A calendar will come up and show you the cheapest options to fly. Even better, Google will provide insightful tips on which days are cheaper to fly.
Book your flights early
Many air travellers often rely on last-minute deals. Last-minute deals are usually available about a week or a couple of days before the departure date. They often happen when an airline notices that they still have empty seats a few days before departure. So, they slash their prices to fill up those spaces to avoid recording a loss.
However, last-minute deals are often unreliable. The smart thing to do is to book your flight very early, months before the date of departure. Flight tickets have a tendency to be cheaper when they are first released, which is typically a year before the flight. So, check out the flight heading to your destination and book early before the demand for tickets rises.
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Book flights within working days
The best days to book flights are between Mondays to Thursdays. You can also find great deals on weekends, especially on Sundays. However, most airlines prefer to throw in the best deals during the working days because weekends are often higher priced due to demand.
Check many airline sites
All airline fees are not the same. So, it is okay to check as many as possible to get the cheapest deals. SFO, DUB, Kayak, Sky Scanner, Expedia and Google will provide different flights, different prices and different airlines available. Take your time to window shop and when you find the deal that best suits you, book directly to the airline.
Clear your cookies or go incognito
Like a lot of things, flight ticket prices are often customised to match the search frequency. If you are regularly searching for ticket prices, especially for the same routes, chances are the prices provided will be high. To work around this, clear your browser cookies or search in incognito mode. You can even use a different device to book your flight. This way, there will be no record of your previous searches and you will be able to see the cheapest prices the airlines offer.
Conclusion
Booking a flight should not be as tedious as it seems to be. You must not clear your bank account just to get an international ticket. However, note that there are peak travel seasons and off-peak travel seasons. Therefore, the guaranteed way to book international tickets is during off-peak seasons and very early before the date of your flight.
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