1.
Don't fly on weekends.
You may find yourself paying an extra $25-$40, since airlines take advantage of peak times to hike their prices, and you may also waste a lot of time being stuck in traffic.
2.
Fly from Monday to Wednesday.
3.
Don't fly during holidays and otherwise during peak season.
Again, airlines take advantage of holidays.
4.
Stay from a week to 90 days.
You get discounts on your ticket.
5.
Save as much as $1000 by booking connecting flights instead of direct ones.
6.
Get the senior citizen discount if you are eligible.
7.
Go with a smaller airline.
The large airlines have a lot to spend on advertising, and they get that money from the passengers.
8.
Find people online who are selling cheap tickets.
9.
Buy your tickets at least 20 days before your actual departure date.
The cheap ones get sold out fast.
10.
Fly at "inconvenient" times, like very early in the morning or very late in the evening.
11.
Book your flights as one-way tickets rather than round trip.
This may also give you the time you are looking for.
12.
Make sure you know of any additional fees in advance, for example baggage checking or fuel.
13.
Wait until the very last minute before the flight to book your flight.
Airlines often slash the fares in half after they see that the seats will be empty if they don't.
Being patient and researching on airlines' sites and searching places like Craigslist for people who decided not to travel after are also good ideas.