Can You Really Get Cheaper Flights Using a VPN?

You’ll find countless blog posts and online discussions about using a VPN to get cheaper flights, but is it really possible? This article will dive deep into the factors influencing ticket prices. We’ll also share some of the discoveries we made while booking airline tickets using CyberGhost VPN, and look at the realities of using a VPN to find cheaper flights. 

Use a VPN to Get Cheaper Flights in 3 Short Steps:

While our guide is full of useful tips to save on airline fares, you can also instantly start looking for savings with our VPN. Using CyberGhost VPN to book cheaper flights couldn’t be simpler: 

  1. Sign up for CyberGhost VPN. It’s quick and easy.
  2. Log in and choose a server location to change your IP address.
  3. Tap the big button to connect and start searching for flights in your browser.

What Causes Flight Ticket Price Fluctuations?

Popularity of the Destination 

It’s no surprise some destinations are just more popular than others. If the demand is high, ticket prices are likely to increase too. On the flip side, even if it’s a popular location, demand will likely drop in times of political turmoil or after natural disasters, along with flight prices. 

Seasons and Holidays

People tend to avoid destinations if the weather is too hot, too cold, or too wet. So, you can expect airlines to offer lower-cost tickets based on what time of year it is. Similarly, ticket prices will usually be more expensive during school or bank holidays and popular tourist events. 

Your IP Location 

If you’re in a country, state, or even city with a high concentration of wealth, you may see higher prices online than when browsing flights from a less affluent region. Airlines sometimes tailor prices depending on your location to maximize profits, believing that people in wealthier areas can afford to spend more than people in less well-off places. 

How websites determine your IP location: Every network you use has a unique set of numbers, like a digital ID, assigned to it by the ISP or company that owns that network. This ID is your IP address and it helps you send and receive data. Every IP address is also registered to a specific location and booking websites can use your IP address to see your location and tailor prices based on where in the world you are. 

Your Geolocation

Similar to your IP location, airlines use your geolocation to determine where you are, then calculate how much to charge you based on their data about that region. While your IP address gives away your approximate location, your browser’s HTML5 geolocation feature helps websites more accurately pinpoint your location. It uses GPS, Wi-Fi, and cell towers to triangulate your device’s whereabouts. Websites and apps can also use your smartphone’s location services to see where you are.

The Airline’s Location 

Airlines have been known to offer lower online prices to locals than to those booking tickets from outside the country. That means you may get cheaper flights when booking online in the country where the airline’s headquarters is located as opposed to booking from a neighboring country.

Currency Fluctuations 

Due to conversion rates, your flights will be cheaper when buying online tickets from a country with a weaker currency if you earn income in a stronger currency. Currency values fluctuate, so keeping an eye on the exchange rate can help you time your purchase and save money.

Your Online Behaviour 

Like most websites, airlines and flight aggregators can track your online behavior. They’re known to tailor prices based on, for example, how many times you’ve searched for a flight and how long you spent looking at ticket prices. 

Have you ever noticed a price jump when taking a second look at a flight option? This could be due to demand but it also may be the airline’s attempt to create a sense of urgency and compel you to buy before the price changes again.

How websites track your online behavior: Websites use cookies and various kinds of trackers to collect and store your information. Cookies and trackers can show websites what pages you visited, how long you spent on a page, what products you’ve purchased, and other information.

When You Book and Which Day You Depart

You might have noticed many travel blogs and websites recommending that you book flights on a specific day. The day they recommend changes every now and then, but you’ll likely have seen them mention that flights are cheaper when you book on a Monday or Tuesday. Airlines have never commented on this trend, but many people swear by it. Apparently, both the day you make the booking and the day you fly can both influence the ticket price.

The same goes for how long you book a flight in advance. Most people recommend booking your flight at least a few months in advance to ensure a cheaper flight – with some saying 1 and a half months before departure is the sweet spot. Others recommend waiting until the last minute as airlines get desperate to fill seats and will offer them for cheaper. Of course, then you also risk that flight getting booked up before you secure a ticket.

When Other People Book

Airline seats are priced in batches, with the airline determining which seats within each class get grouped together and how much to charge for seats in every batch. The number of seats can be different from one batch to another as well, with one having a handful of assigned seats while another has 15 or more grouped together. 

When you look at flight prices in a specific class, the airline automatically holds a seat from a batch for you, to ensure you get that price. If the seats in a batch are filled while you’re searching, you’ll get assigned a seat from a different batch – which may be more expensive seats. This means, that if you’re searching for a flight at the same time as other people, or you’re just unlucky and the cheaper batches are booked up, you might get bumped into a more expensive batch of seats.

Can You Really Get Cheaper Flights Using a VPN?

While doing research for this article we came across Reddit users claiming to have saved $100+ on flights simply by changing their IP location with a VPN. Changing your IP address to one from another country can make airline websites think you’re there, even when you’re not. That way, you can compare prices between regions and possibly get lower-cost flights. 

Of course, we had to test it for ourselves. We tried different combinations between VPN servers, destinations, and airlines – comparing prices and hunting high and low for a deal. The result? 

All the price comparisons we made resulted in little to no difference. Not the answer you were expecting to see here, right? It’s true – airlines and flight aggregators offered the same prices no matter the location we chose. That said, there may still be some truth to the claim. As you saw above, so many variables go into determining flight prices. Your situation may be different from ours. 

The day and time you book, which days you fly, how far ahead you book, which currency you use, your behavior, and your location all factor into what airlines will charge. Since your location is just part of the equation, it won’t make a massive difference on its own. Even so, you’ll find people who claim to have saved money on flights by changing their location with a VPN – and it can’t hurt to use every tactic available to shave off some of that ticket price bloat.

How to Get Cheaper Flights Using a VPN

Based on the information above, and our own experiments, you can’t just turn on a VPN and change your location to get a cheaper flight. It’ll take a few more steps than that along with some time spent searching – and a dash of luck. 

We’ve put together a comprehensive guide by combining all this information, so if you want the best shot at trying to get cheaper flights with a VPN, here’s how to do it.

1. Get a VPN 

A VPN is the easiest and quickest way to change your IP address and mask you location, but you want a VPN with a wide variety of server locations. The wider range of available server locations allows for price comparisons across more regions. 

CyberGhost VPN has servers across 100+ countries; our app lets you change your IP address to almost anywhere in the world as often as you like. You can try it for yourself with our industry-leading 45-day money-back guarantee.

2. Clear Your Cookies, Cache, and History 

As mentioned above, travel sites use cookies to regulate flight prices according to your behavior – currently and in the past. A website may incrementally increase the flight prices you see each time you visit a page to compel you to buy. Clearing your cookies can prevent it from tailoring prices based on your browsing habits. 

Similarly, web servers often install temporary files on your browser’s cache to help pages load faster the next time you visit. Clearing your cache will remove these files from your browser, making it seem to the web server like you’re a first-time visitor. Clearing your browsing history will do the same. 

Whether you’re using Chrome, Firefox, or Edge, a quick visit to the settings menu is all it takes to clear your cookies, cache, and history data so you can begin your search with a fresh slate. It’s important to do all three because it’s impossible to know what data a website will use to determine its pricing. If you don’t want to clear your cookies and cache from your favorite browser, use a different browser – preferably a privacy-oriented browser that blocks trackers and cookies.

Pro Tip: Browsing in Chrome’s Incognito mode or Firefox’s Private mode stops your browser from storing your history, cookies, and other site data that websites can use to track you. 

3. Set Up Your Booking Plans

Before turn on your VPN, it may be a good idea to set up a plan for how to approach your flight booking first. Decide how long you want to wait before your preferred flight dates to start the booking process. Then choose which locations and airlines you’re going to compare before making the purchase. Finally, decide the day (or days) and time you want to set aside to look at flight prices. Based on our research, the ideal day to make a booking is on a Monday or Tuesday, and the ideal time to book is when it’s late night or early morning at your departure location.

When choosing the locations you want use for comparing flight prices, it may be worthwhile to do some extra research about booking flights from that region. Do they accept foreign credit cards or local payment methods only? Will paying with a non-local currency redirect you to higher pricing for the same seat? 

4. Connect to a VPN Server

Open CyberGhost VPN and connect to a location of your choice to change your IP address. Next, search for your flight and find the lowest ticket prices available in that region. Take a screenshot of the available flight and its price or write it down on some paper. 

Repeat this process to compare prices between regions, remembering to clear your browser’s cookies, cache, and history between each search. This way, you have the best chance of ensuring your previous searches won’t affect your current search.

CyberGhost VPN makes it super easy to switch between servers. Simply select your preferred server location and click the power button. In seconds, you’ll have masked your IP address with one from that city or country.

Screenshot of CyberGhost VPN's interface showing multiple server locations.
CyberGhost VPN’s easy-to-use Windows app.

Which Countries Are the Cheapest for Booking International Flights?

If you’re looking for a quick answer here then you’ll likely be disappointed, but – it depends on your circumstance. People in developing countries like Brazil, India, or Algeria may get cheaper flights than those in Germany, France, the UK, and the US. You can connect to servers in a less wealthy country to compare prices when booking international flights.

You can also try booking flights in the same country as the airline’s headquarters. For instance, if you want to fly Avianca Airlines, set your IP address to Colombia to see if the prices go down before you book. You may also need to keep the website set to the local language (Spanish, in this case) as people have reported price increases after switching to English on airline sites. 

Another way to potentially save on flights is to set your IP address to one from Australia, where it’s against the law to have hidden fees. 

Ultimately you need to run tests, comparing prices between countries until you find a cheaper flight. If this seems like too much hassle, you may be right. That said, there are still plenty of other reasons for using a VPN, especially for travel. We’ll touch on this later.

Which Websites Have the Cheapest Flight Prices?

The best websites for finding cheap flights are flight aggregators like Google Flights, Skyscanner, Expedia, and Kayak. These websites search multiple airlines and agencies and make it convenient to find the cheapest flight options available. That said, it may be still cheaper to book your flights directly with the airline. You can compare the results on these pages directly with the prices airlines offer on their own sites, where possible. 

A few things to keep in mind when making your comparison: Many flight aggregators offer savings via deals with airlines, but they add their own fees and these can stack up. You may be charged extra in-service fees for things like selecting your seat or even getting in-flight meals. You may also end up paying more in hidden costs if the aggregator left out taxes or checked baggage fees in the initial price. On top of that, booking through an aggregator site often means you won’t be able to use your airline miles or earn any miles either.

You may be able to get some of the cheapest flights available when booking through discounted airlines instead. Below is a list of the top 20 low-cost airlines according to the airline and airport review website, Skytrax:

AirlineCountry 
Air Asia Malaysia 
ScootSingapore 
VoloteaSpain
FlynasSaudi Arabia
Transavia France
IndiGoIndia
Vueling Spain
AirBalticLatvia
IberiaSpain
RyanairIreland
EasyJetUK
Fly Dubai Dubai
Jet2UK
EurowingsGermany
JetstarAustralia
Sky Airline Chile
JetSmartChile
Allegiant AirUSA
Jetstar AsiaSingapore
Sun Country USA

Is It Legal to Use a VPN to Book Cheaper Flights?

Yes, it’s legal to use a VPN to find and book cheaper flights. No country has laws against using VPNs to book flights, but some countries (including China and the UAE) limit or ban VPNs entirely – so it’s best to check your local laws if you aren’t sure. 

A VPN is cybersecurity software you can use to boost your online privacy and security. It also lets you change your IP address to one from another country, which is 100% legal. If you manage to snag a deal on airline seats with your VPN running, you can’t get in trouble, as there are no laws against it.

Why Use a VPN for Travel?

Considering the effort it takes to get cheaper flights with a VPN, you may be wondering “Why should I even bother using a VPN?” 

Well, a VPN doesn’t just help you change your virtual location. It also offers invaluable peace of mind by protecting your online privacy no matter where you are, but especially if you use unsecured public Wi-Fi while traveling. You see, VPNs encrypt your connection using powerful algorithms that prevent network admins, snoops, and cybercriminals from seeing your online activity. You can safely access your online banking or share personal information with hotels and airlines without worrying about anyone stealing your sensitive data.

You can also use a VPN to get cheaper prices on car rentals and hotel bookings. We tested this too, and found using CyberGhost VPN to change our IP location provided noticeably lower pricing compared to searching without it. To read more about that, take a look at our post on shopping with a VPN.

FAQ

Is it cheaper to book a flight with a VPN?

Possibly, but it may require some legwork. Airlines often vary the prices they charge depending on where you are when you book the flights. They’re able to do this because they can determine your general location based on your IP address, which is registered to the region you’re in. You can use a VPN to change your IP address and compare prices between regions before you buy. Remember to clear your browser’s cookies, cache, and history between each search. That way, your previous searches are less likely to influence the prices you see when you search again. 

Can a free VPN get me cheaper flights?

You may be able to find cheaper flights using a VPN, but not while using a free one. We ran extensive tests, and, while it was hard to reliably find cheaper flights using a premium VPN, it was nearly impossible with a free VPN. Free VPNs have limited server locations which limits your IP location options. 
You’ll also put your personal information at risk when booking flights with a free VPN as many collect and sell your data for profit. If you want to try getting cheaper flights with a VPN, follow our guide and switch between any CyberGhost VPN server across the 100+ countries our network covers instead.

What is the best VPN to use for cheap flights?

CyberGhost offers the best VPN for hunting down cheap flights. You can compare prices between a variety of regions with our sprawling server network across 100+ countries. Better still, our easy-to-use apps make switching between servers a breeze on any device. You can use your app to change your device’s IP address location to almost anywhere as often as you like. All it takes is a few taps to download CyberGhost VPN and start seeing local airline ticket prices.

Should I use a VPN on a plane?

Yes. Especially if you’re concerned about privacy and security. Public Wi-Fi, be it on a plane, in a hotel, or at an airport, is often unsecured. If you connect to the Wi-Fi on a plane, you’re sharing the network with all the other connected passengers, who may be able to abuse the connection to spy on you or steal your data. CyberGhost VPN secures your traffic with powerful VPN encryption to keep all prying eyes off your sensitive data, including anyone sharing the network with you. 

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