As a savvy traveler based in Glasgow, I’m always on the hunt for airfare deals to stretch my budget further. While Scotland’s largest city isn’t the cheapest place to depart from, you can definitely find bargain flights if you know where to look. Let me share my insider tips for booking cheap air tickets out of Glasgow Airport across Europe and beyond!
Take Advantage of Low-Cost Carriers Glasgow is blessed with an abundance of low-cost airline routes thanks to carriers like EasyJet, Ryanair, Jet2 and Wizz Air. These budget airlines offer cheap base fares that can be an absolute steal – but watch out for aggressive fees on extras like checked bags, seat selection, and inflight refreshments. For rock-bottom prices, stick to the “no frills” and just bring a free personal item on board.
I’ve snagged ridiculous £20 one-way fares to destinations across the UK and Europe simply by being flexible with dates and times. Favorite spots I’ve flown to for under £50 roundtrip from GLA include London, Dublin, Amsterdam, Prague, Tenerife and Krakow. The key is booking well in advance when loads are light.
Scour Budget Airline Fare Sales To maximize savings, I also keep a close eye on periodic fare sales the low-cost carriers run. EasyJet and Ryanair in particular love to have flash sales a few times per year. I’ve seen mind-blowing £9.99 one-way fares to cities like Barcelona, Faro, Malaga and more during these promotions.
Of course, limited seating is available at the absolute cheapest rates. But being quick on the draw when the sales launch can yield huge savings compared to normal fares. I’ve booked trips to the Mediterranean and beyond for literal pennies by stacking a couple £10 one-way tickets together.
Search Sculpt for Hidden City Opportunities
A sneaky way I’ve found cheap international flights is by taking advantage of “hidden city” ticketing opportunities that pop up in flight search engines. Essentially, airlines will sometimes price long-haul routes with a connection more affordably than nonstop routings. By skipping or “sculpting” the final leg, you can fly directly to the connecting city for way less!
For example, I’ve seen tons of hidden city fares from Glasgow to the US recently by searching on Google Flights. Routes from GLA to places like Las Vegas, San Francisco, and Miami are regularly far more expensive than routings that connect through those airports on the way to places like Vancouver. So you’d book the cheaper “connecting” fare to Vancouver, but simply get off and leave the airport in the US connection city without taking the final leg. Savings of £200-300 or more each way are common.
I know it sounds shady, but it’s completely legal from a customer standpoint as long as you don’t check bags. Airlines frown upon it and may deny boarding if they catch on. But it’s a great way for canny travelers to take advantage of airfare inefficiencies and visit all kinds of destinations for much less!
Look for Flight + Hotel Packages For bigger trips, especially to faraway destinations, I’ve found great deals on vacation packages bundling airfare and accommodation together. Big online travel agencies like Expedia and CheapOair do a great job surfacing affordable packages combining cheap charter air with budget hotels or vacation rentals.
These deals are especially abundant for sun destinations like Florida, Mexico, the Caribbean and other tropical hotspots. I’ve booked 2-week packages from Glasgow to places like Cancun, Jamaica and Puerto Vallarta with roundtrip air and an all-inclusive resort for under £800 per person – a total steal!
Mix Airlines and Use Open-Jaw Routing Keeping an open mind and mixing airlines can yield massive savings too. Sometimes I’ll book a cheap flight with one carrier to get me near my final destination, then buy a separate cheap one-way flight on a different budget airline to complete the trip.
Stockholm is a great example – low-cost carriers rarely offer affordable nonstops from Glasgow. But I’ve booked roundtrips from GLA to Copenhagen on RyanAir for £70, then bought a £30 one-way on Norwegian to hop across the strait into Stockholm’s Arlanda Airport. At £100 for an open-jaw trip to Sweden compared to £300+ for traditional roundtrip fares, that’s a no-brainer!
For longhaul trips, I use a similar strategy of flying cheaply to a European hub on a low-cost carrier, then booking an affordable longhaul flight to my final destination from there on a different airline. It adds an extra stop, but the savings can be substantial.
Don’t Forget About Traditional Carriers While the cheapest fares are usually with the ultra low-cost airlines, don’t completely ignore the traditional carriers like British Airways, Virgin Atlantic, KLM and Air France either. Especially for longhaul travel, they can offer reasonable fares – especially if you’re willing to depart very early in the morning or take more indirect routings. Flying from Glasgow to the US can often be under £400 roundtrip if you mix in a budget European carrier for one leg.
Traditional airlines also offer amenities like refreshments, more generous luggage allowances, lounge access and the ability to earn/redeem frequent flyer miles. So they can make sense if you want a bit more comfort and service for longer flights.
Compare Nearby Airports Finally, Glasgow travelers should always compare fares against nearby airports in Edinburgh, Prestwick Airport and even further-flung options like Manchester, Liverpool, Newcastle or Dublin. Budget airlines in particular frequently offer totally different route networks and prices from alternate airports in the region. You’ll often find much lower fares if you’re willing to drive 60-90 minutes to the departure point.
When I plug my dates into Google Flights or Skyscanner, I always check the “nearby airports” option to see if driving to another city can save me hundreds on airfare. For example, flights from Prestwick to Amsterdam can sometimes cost half as much as the same route out of Glasgow. Taking these variable departure points into account opens up tons of new possibilities to save big!
So those are some of my favorite tips for seeking out the cheapest flights from Glasgow! Whether it’s a low-cost carrier from GLA, flight packages, separate tickets, hidden cities or driving to a different airport, savings are absolutely out there if you’re willing to put in the research. At the end of the day, the absolute cheapest fare will always win out for me in order to stretch my travel budget further. A few hours of hunting can yield incredible deals to make those bucket list trips attainable.