Cheapest Possible Flights: 7 Booking Hacks That Exposed Fares as Low as $28

Cheapest Possible Flights: The Direct Answer

Hack 1: Hunt Ultra-Low-Cost Carrier Base Fares First

Ultra-low-cost carriers (ULCCs) strip the ticket down to a seat and a seatbelt. Everything else costs extra. That model produces base fares that can be dramatically lower than what you’ll find on full-service airlines for the same route, as long as you’re willing to travel without checked bags, seat selection, or flexibility.

Route research for this guide found a $68 one-way nonstop fare on Frontier from ORD to FLL departing October 2, 2026, a 192-minute flight. On the LAX to LAS route, Frontier showed a $28 one-way nonstop (80 minutes). And LAX to PHX came in at $88 one-way nonstop (94 minutes), also on Frontier. All three were observed via Travelpayouts on August 7, 2026.

Frontier appeared as the lowest-priced carrier on multiple routes in our data pull. That’s not a coincidence. ULCCs price their base fares to fill seats, then recover revenue through add-on fees for bags, seats, and changes. The tradeoff is real: if you need a carry-on roller bag or want to pick your seat, the final cost climbs. But if you can pack into a personal item and accept a random seat assignment, the base fare is genuinely bookable at these prices.

Start your search with ULCCs before expanding to other carriers. If the base fare works for your travel style, you’ve found your floor price. If not, you at least know the lowest available number on that route, which gives you a benchmark when evaluating other options.

Hack 2: Compare Nearby Airports Before You Commit

Your departure airport isn’t always the cheapest one serving your metro area. Checking two or three nearby airports before you book takes about five minutes and can reveal meaningful price differences on the exact same destination.

greenspicks reviewed three LA-area airports for Las Vegas flights on August 7, 2026: LAX returned fares from $28, SNA from $57, and ONT at $63, all one-way nonstop on Frontier. Same destination. Same carrier. Different origin airports, different prices.

The spread between LAX and SNA was $29 on those particular dates. That’s real money, especially if you’re booking for two people. The ONT fare of $63 came from a single observation (limited fare data, so verify current prices before booking), but it still illustrates the point: airport choice matters.

Prices also shift by date and carrier from the same airport. One SNA to LAS fare on Breeze Airways for January 2027 came in at $110, compared to the $57 Frontier fare departing October 4, 2026. Same origin, same destination, very different price. The combination of airport, date, and carrier creates the final number.

If your metro area has more than one airport, search each one separately. The cheapest option won’t always be the closest one to your home.

Hack 3: Default to One-Way Tickets and Stack Them

All 26 fares greenspicks observed for this guide were one-way. That’s not an accident. One-way pricing is the default comparison unit for budget travelers because it gives you the most flexibility.

When you book two separate one-way tickets, you can mix carriers, airports, and dates on each leg. Your outbound might be $28 on Frontier from LAX to LAS. Your return could be on a completely different airline departing from a different airport if the price is better. You’re not locked into one carrier’s round-trip bundle.

Consider two observed fares: LAX to LAS at $28 one-way on Frontier (nonstop, 80 minutes, departing October 12, 2026) and ORD to MIA at $93 one-way on American Airlines (nonstop, 198 minutes, departing October 15, 2026). Both are one-way bookings. Both let you shop the return leg independently.

For readers building multi-stop trips, our guide on how to find cheap one-way flights covers segment-stacking strategy in more detail.

Hack 4: Target Off-Peak Departure Dates

Even small shifts in your departure date can move the price. On the LAX to LAS route, greenspicks observed $28 on October 12, $29 on October 26, and $32 on October 24, all on Frontier, all nonstop. The variation is modest here (just $4 across two weeks), but it exists.

On longer routes, date choice matters more. LAX to NRT (Tokyo Narita) on Zipair showed $398 for a January 25, 2027 departure versus $490 for October 25, 2026. That’s a $92 difference on the same route with the same carrier, driven entirely by departure date.

The practical takeaway: checking multiple departure dates on the same route often reveals price differences. Try at least three dates before you commit. Avoid dates around major holidays if your schedule allows it. For a deeper look at how departure timing affects fares, see our guide on the cheapest months to fly from the US.

Hack 5: Use Fare Alerts Instead of Manual Searching

Manually checking fares every day is tedious, and you’ll miss drops that happen overnight or midweek when you’re busy. Fare alerts solve this by monitoring a route for you and sending a notification when the price changes.

The setup is straightforward. Pick your origin, destination, and a range of travel dates. The alert tool watches for price movement and pings you when something drops. greenspicks observed fares as low as $28 across checked routes on August 7, 2026. Alerts help you catch similar drops automatically, without refreshing a search page every morning.

For specific tool recommendations, see our roundup of the best apps for booking flights. And for a breakdown of purchase-timing strategy, check our purchase-timing playbook for booking the cheapest day to buy airline tickets. Our flight price tracker tips also cover how to set up monitoring effectively.

Hack 6: Compare Booking Sources for the Same Flight

The same seat on the same flight can show different prices depending on where you book. An online travel agency, a metasearch engine, and the airline’s own website may each display a different number for an identical itinerary. The differences are sometimes small. Sometimes they aren’t.

Checking a metasearch tool alongside the airline’s own site takes under two minutes and can surface a lower fare. You’re not committing to anything by searching. You’re just making sure you aren’t overpaying for a ticket that’s cheaper on another platform.

Make it a habit: before you click “book,” open one more tab and run the same search somewhere else. Two sources is the minimum. Three is better if you have the patience.

Hack 7: Check Long-Haul Budget Carriers for International Routes

Budget long-haul carriers exist, and they can dramatically undercut what you’d pay on a traditional airline for international routes. The tradeoff is similar to domestic ULCCs: stripped-down service, no included meals, fees for bags and seat selection. But the base fare savings on a transpacific or transatlantic flight can be substantial.

greenspicks pulled Travelpayouts fares on August 7, 2026, and observed LAX to NRT one-way nonstop fares from $398 on Zipair, with a flight duration of approximately 705 minutes (about 11 hours 45 minutes). Across 11 observed fares on this route, prices ranged from $398 to $490, all on Zipair, all nonstop.

On the transatlantic side, one observed fare showed JFK to LHR at $287 one-way nonstop on Air France, with a flight time of 435 minutes (about 7 hours 15 minutes), departing October 8, 2026. This is a single observation with limited fare data, so verify current prices before booking.

What greenspicks Observed Across 11 Routes on August 7, 2026

The table below shows one representative fare per route, pulled via Travelpayouts on August 7, 2026. These are individual one-way fare snapshots across different dates and routes, not an airline-by-airline price ranking or a guaranteed current fare.

Two routes had enough data to show a meaningful range. LAX to LAS returned three fares from $28 to $32. LAX to NRT returned 11 fares from $398 to $490. Every other route had one or two observations, which means those prices are directional snapshots, not benchmarks you should rely on without checking current availability.

The Cheapest-Flight Checklist: Run This Before Every Booking

These seven steps map directly to the hacks above. Run through them before every flight purchase.

1. 1
   Search ultra-low-cost carriers for your route first

   Start with budget carriers to establish the lowest available base fare. This becomes your price floor for the route. Remember that add-on fees for bags and seats will increase the total if you need them.

2. 2
   Check nearby airports in your metro area

   If your area has more than one airport, search each one separately for the same destination. The price difference between airports serving the same city can be meaningful.

3. 3
   Price one-way tickets separately instead of round-trip

   Booking two one-way tickets lets you mix carriers, airports, and dates on each leg. You’re not locked into one airline’s round-trip pricing.

4. 4
   Try at least three different departure dates

   Prices vary by departure date, sometimes by just a few dollars, sometimes by much more. Checking multiple dates on the same route is one of the easiest ways to find a lower fare.

5. 5
   Set a fare alert and wait for a price drop before booking

   Fare alerts monitor your route automatically and notify you when prices change. This catches drops you’d miss if you only searched manually once or twice.

6. 6
   Compare at least two booking sources for the same flight

   The same flight can show different prices on different platforms. Check a metasearch tool alongside the airline’s own site before you click “book.”

7. 7
   For international routes, check budget long-haul carriers

   Budget carriers operating long-haul international routes can offer significantly lower base fares than traditional airlines. The service is stripped down, but the savings on the ticket itself can be worth it.

What This Data Does and Does Not Cover

FAQ: Finding the Cheapest Possible Flights