How to find the cheapest flights in India: a practical playbook
Cheap flights are rarely about luck. The travellers who pay less tend to repeat a handful of habits: they compare the right numbers, they give themselves a little flexibility and they let tools do the waiting for them. Here is the playbook we use ourselves.
1. Compare the total, not the headline fare
The fare you see in a search list is rarely the amount you pay. Between the results page and the payment page, most Indian booking sites add a convenience fee per passenger and per flight segment, and some add payment charges for certain cards or wallets. Meanwhile, a coupon code may take money off. Two sites showing the same ₹4,200 fare can end up ₹500 apart at checkout.
That is why Aeroport shows a net price for each site: the fare, plus that site's typical fee, minus the best eligible coupon. Treat it as an estimate, then confirm the final figure on the payment page before you pay.
2. Move your date by a day or two
Fares on the same route can swing widely between neighbouring days. Mid-week departures — typically Tuesday and Wednesday — and early-morning or late-night flights are often cheaper than Friday evenings and Sunday nights, when business and weekend travellers compete for seats.
Use the 14-day price strip on any search to spot the cheaper days at a glance. Even a single day's shift can save more than any coupon.
3. Book in the sweet spot
Airlines release seats in price "buckets". As the cheap buckets sell, the price steps up. For domestic Indian routes, booking roughly 3 to 6 weeks ahead usually lands in a good range; for international trips, 6 to 10 weeks is a sensible target, and longer for peak seasons like Diwali, Christmas and summer holidays. Last-minute bargains do exist, but they are the exception.
4. Check nearby airports
Many cities have more than one airport within reach — Mumbai now has two, Goa has two, and cities like Delhi, Lucknow and Bengaluru sit within a few hours of alternatives. A cheaper flight from a neighbouring airport can be worth it once you add the cost and time of getting there. Our search suggests the airports closest to you; try each one.
5. Use one coupon — the right one
Most portals allow a single coupon per booking. A flat-discount code is often better on cheaper tickets, while a percentage code with a cap suits pricier ones. New-user codes are usually the most generous, so if you have never booked on a particular site, that site may be the cheapest for you specifically. Some sites also offer a code that waives the convenience fee instead of discounting the fare — compare both.
6. Let a price alert do the waiting
If your trip is weeks away, you do not need to search every day. Set a target price and let Aeroport check the route every morning at 06:00 IST. When the fare drops to your budget, you will see it in your alerts — and by email if you add one.
7. Read the fare before you pay
A cheap "lite" or "saver" fare may exclude checked baggage, seat selection or free changes. If you need a 15 kg bag, compare fares that include it, or add the bag cost to the cheaper fare. The cheapest ticket is the one that covers what you actually need.
Rule of thumb: compare like with like — same flight, same baggage, same flexibility — then pick the lowest total.
