Tips for booking affordable flights

The five tips are as follows:

1. Early bird catches the cheapest flight:
   If you have time on your side, book your tickets far in advance. Ticket prices are influenced by supply and demand, so where possible try not to book the day before. When kulula offers tickets to the public, it starts by selling the lowest fares. As those tickets are taken up, the next batch of tickets are released and priced accordingly. This goes on until the aircraft is full. Tickets over busy periods such as special holidays, long weekends, major sporting events and concerts will always be more expensive, so book as far in advance as possible. If you are heading to the coast for the summer holidays - book your tickets now to get better deals.

2. Keep calm and fly on a quiet day:
   If your work and leave schedule allows, try to book a Tuesday, Wednesday or Saturday flight. These are generally the least busy days of the week, which means less demand for seats, and less demand means lower prices. Just think about how many business travellers are trying to get home on a Friday evening and to work on a Monday morning - the most expensive days to fly are Thursdays, Fridays and Sundays as flights on these days are in high demand.

3. It's all about timing:
   Avoid favourable peak times as these flights are most expensive. Flying mid-morning can save you a good few hundred rand, and you will not have to contend with traffic on your way to the airport. Also, flying later in the evening from 7.30 pm onwards is usually a more affordable option.

4. Avoid the mainstream:
   When flying to a city with more than one airport, check which route offers cheaper flights. In the greater Gauteng area, flying to and from Lanseria airport is often cheaper than O.R. Tambo International Airport, as they charge lower airport taxes, so airlines can afford to charge less for these tickets. Although it may mean car rental and more travel time, it might still be worth it.

5. Make the most of loyalty rewards:
   Sign up for kulula's newsletter and get alerts when tickets are going on sale the day before so you can be ready to jump online first thing in the morning. If you are a kulula credit cardholder you can earn kulula moolah whenever you swipe your credit card. Your kulula moolah can be used to pay or part-pay for flights booked on kulula.com. Discovery Vitality members qualify for a discount when booking kulula flights, and eBucks customers can pay or part-pay for kulula flights using their accumulated eBucks.

For further information about kulula, go to www.kulula.com.