JET YOURSELF A BIG BARGAIN

There are now too many variables at play – like airline, destination and time of year – for you to count on a last-minute or early-bird booking being cheapest. Book during a sale or short-term price drop (often a flash sale) on your chosen route. business travellers who care more about schedules than cost. One airline – TUI, formerly Thomson – bucks this trend because they usually sell seats linked to package holidays. So a week or two before departure they will drop prices on empty seats.

Last week we found flights to Thailand and Sri Lanka for £280 return, Barbados and Mexico for £279, and Mauritius for £349. Summer school holidays in Scotland start and end earlier. So even with the cost of a train ticket, travellers from England might find a bargain if they can fly out of Edinburgh in late August – and vice versa for Scottish travellers Not all sales are the same, so make sure you keep track of fares to know when a “real” sale is taking place. If you plan to book a flight during the next seasonal sale, then keep an eye on prices to your destination in the weeks leading up to it to see if the price has changed. If it hasn’t, it might be better to wait.

■ HOLIDAY: Jack has visited 50 countries on the cheap HERE are Jack’s five best tips for bagging those bargain flights: Almost all airlines raise prices sharply around two weeks before departure, even if flights are nowhere near full. It’s to cash in...