Have you ever done a nationwide holiday search, to find a good deal? More often than not, you’ll see that the cheapest flight out there will be from Gatwick. It’s frustrating isn’t it? Especially if you don’t live that close to London! The cost of flights more regionally, especially during high season, tend to be stratospheric when compared to the capital flight costs. I decided to use this to my advantage, and opted to travel to the cheaper flights, instead of the other way around!
Yes, this means you need to travel further, but this isn’t necessarily more expensive, which let’s face it, would defeat the object. Last year, I found a cheap flight, and even with the cost of driving down there and my Gatwick parking spot, it still worked out cheaper than my regional flight, and I had a nice leisurely drive, and a few hours in London to add to my experience.
You do have to be a little clever with your searches where this is concerned, but if it saves you money, then don’t discount it all together. You’ll find cheap parking facilities at ParkBCP, which I use regularly, I’ve always received a top quality service to date.
The key to finding that bargain flight is flexibility, and if you’re more open to where you can fly from, as well as date, you’re more likely to bag a cheap deal. Rigidity never saved anyone any cash!
I head to Skyscanner, and I enter in ‘UK’ on the departure field, and ‘all month’ on the date field. I then choose accordingly, and tailor it according to price and my needs. If you do have the flexibility to be able to be a little choosey in this way, you will find the better deals out there.
The same can be said for those deals you see on Teletext and in your Travel Agent’s window – they’re almost always cheaper from Gatwick or Stansted, so save yourself the frustration and just see how you can work around it for a cut price cost. It can be done, and anything you can save at this point will give you more to play with when you’re out in resort, which let’s face it, is always where it’s needed the most!
Make your journey leisurely and you probably won’t even notice the time. I stop en-route, calling for a coffee and breakfast, take my time, listen to music, and keep my stress levels low. The same can’t be said for when I have to catch the train or bus!
So, the next time you find that cheap deal, don’t be disheartened when you see the departure airport – get creative and work around it instead!
