Airfares have skyrocketed since the Covid setback, but Daily Scandinavian is here to help you arrive by plane in Scandinavia at the best possible price. How to get the lowest airfare to Scandinavia? Read on and find out! The same advice applies to Scandinavians searching for flights to far-away destinations.
First, there is no strict rules when it comes to finding the best airfare. You’ll find lots of advice on the internet, but most of it is waste of time. Airlines use advanced computer and pricing algorithms to determine their prices.
Our first serious advice is therefore, never search by destination. Go to the Google Explore map instead and enter dates, your departure airport and leave the destination open (or pick a region, such as Scandinavia). You’ll get an instant picture of which places are cheaper to reach. If you want to find out which airline flies where, use whichbudget.com. You can also try Kayak, Luxury Escapes, Google Flights or Skyscanner. These sites let you compare airlines as well as see which days of the week offer better value.
Related: New Flight Connection Between Scandinavia and Spain
Use the best flight search engines
All search engines have inflated flight costs as part of taking a cut from the airlines. Some search engines (e.g. Expedia and Booking) consistently inflate much higher than others (listed below). It pays to familiarize yourself with sites that offer the best prices.
Skyscanner (see above) is our #1 choice)
Going is expert at finding sale & error fares.
Skiplagged is a hidden city ticketing search engine.
Airfarewatchdog (lists top sale & error fares from your city.
Kiwi.com (combines all airlines to create routes that are cheaper than booking with just 1 airline.
Momondo (a broad search engine that sometimes shows cheaper fares than Skyscanner)
JetRadar (includes budget airlines, which many search engines don’t)
Google Flights (good tool to quickly compare flight dates – but not always the best prices)
Finally, no single search engine is consistently perfect (though we typically find the cheapest price on Skyscanner or Momondo ) As such, you may need to try a combination of search engines to ensure you’re not missing any results. There doesn’t seem to be one that gets the cheapest flight 100% of the time.
Be Flexible with Your Travel Dates and Times
If you are going to fly when everyone is flying, then your ticket is going to cost more.
Try to be flexible with your dates. If you are dead-set on visiting Copenhagen, go to Copenhagen in the spring or fall when fewer people visit and airfares are cheaper. The solution is to fly off-season.
It’s also almost always cheaper to fly during the middle of the week than on a weekend because most people travel on the weekends and airlines hike their prices then. In addition, prices are cheaper if you fly after or on a major holiday. Early-morning or late-night flights are also cheaper because fewer people want to travel then (who wants to wake up early?!).
When searching on Google Flights, simply click on the date field to expand the calendar view and you’ll immediately see the cheapest days to fly within a two-month window.
Related: Experience Visby & Gotland by Braathens Regional Airlines (BRA)
Book two one-way tickets
Before booking, try to check the prices of booking separate one-way fares. Chances are that you end up saving money.
Set an airfare alert
Sites like Google Flights allow you to do this, and then notify you when there is a drop in price.
Be Flexible with Your Destinations
If you can’t be flexible with when you fly, at least be flexible with where you fly. It’s best to be both, but if you really want to save the most money and get a cheap flight for your trip, you at least need to be flexible with one or the other.
Airline search engines have made it really easy to search the entire world to find the cheapest ticket. You no longer have to search manually, city by city, day by day. Websites like Skyscanner and Google Flights offer explore tools that allow you to put in your home airport and see a map of the world with all the flights on it. This allows you to easily compare multiple destinations without having to brainstorm every possible option. You’ll likely even find some interesting destinations you hadn’t even thought of either!
The truth about airfare is that there’s always a deal to some destination — it might just not be your first choice. However, if you’re flexible about where you want to go, you’ll always get a deal and save a ton of money in the process.
Consider commuting by train or bus
When time is on your side, consider commuting by train or bus. Instead of flying into Gothenburg, fly to Oslo instead (if it makes financial sense). It doesn’t take long (or cost much) to get between the two cities. The bus fares are surprisingly low. I7. Consider some land travel
It’s also a different experience.
Plan a stopover
Flying direct can have a huge impact on how much you pay for your flight, especially if you’re crossing an ocean. And you’re traveling to see the world. True?
Fly for free with travel reward card
If you don’t have a airline scheme yet, don’t fret – all you need is one travel reward credit card and hitting the minimum spend can land you a major point bonus, often enough for a free flight.
Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card
Enjoy a one-time bonus of 75,000 Miles once you spend $4,000 on purchases within 3 months from account opening
Rewards
2 Miles per dollar on every purchase, every day. 5 Miles… ⓘ
Foreign Transaction Fee
None
Annual Fee
$95
Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
Earn 80,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. That’s $1,000 when you redeem through Chase Ultimate Rewards®.
Rewards
Enjoy benefits such as 5x on travel purchased through Chase… ⓘ
Foreign Transaction Fee
$0
Annual Fee
$95
Earn 60,000 bonus ThankYou® Points after you spend $4,000 in purchases within the first 3 months of account opening. Plus, for a limited time, earn a total of 10 ThankYou® Points per $1 spent on hotel, car rentals, and attractions (excluding air travel) booked on the Citi Travel℠ portal through June 30, 2024.
Rewards
Earn 3 Points per $1 spent at Restaurants and Supermarkets…. ⓘ
Foreign Transaction Fee
0%
Annual Fee
$95
Fly Budget Carriers
You can almost fly around the world on a budget airline. They might not be as comfortable and you may need to pay for premium upgrades like checked bags and meals, but they bring the world to your doorstep without costing your shirt..
Budget airlines mainly service short and medium-haul routes. While most budget carriers (notably Norwegian Air) scrapped their long-haul routes during COVID, some of them will probably return once the travel industry recovers.
For now, budget airlines mainly operate regionally so it’s really easy to find a cheap flight, even during this age of higher prices.
Here is a list of the most affordable airlines in the world:
CANADA
Air Transat (often has some of the cheapest international flights, especially to sunny beach destinations)
UNITED STATES
Southwest (consider their credit card with Companion Pass – every time you fly, your friend flies too – and 50,000 bonus points after hitting the minimum spend of $1,000 in the first 3 months)
WOW Air (cheap flights to Europe)
AUSTRALIA
NEW ZEALAND
ASIA
Scoot (owned by Singapore Airlines)
EUROPE
Norwegian Air (Consider their Credit Card from Bank Norwegian)
Don’t wait on seat sales – your savings are generally bigger the further ahead you book
How Do You Get the Lowest Airfare to Scandinavia? compiled by Tor Kjolberg