It is quite difficult for travel agencies to compete nowadays with online discount airfares when it comes to international airfares. While Expedia, Travelocity, Cheap Tickets, Hotline and Priceline are all good bets to have the lowest prices on international fares, they are not the only ones in this market.

There is a huge range of options available to the savvy traveler, too many to name here. You can expect to find quite a wide range of pricing within the various online discount services. Differences of 30 to 50 percent, while not the rule, are also not uncommon, so it is wise to check all the sites for the best deal. And just because one site has the best deal on one particular flight does not necessarily guarantee they will be best on any other discount airfares.

Always check multiple sites and check back with them often. Sometimes you will find that it is cheaper to break up a long flight with a connecting city into multiple tickets. Depending on the location and demand, savings could be substantial. At this point in time however, online discount sites are unable to do this, so you’ll have to check it yourself.

Something to take into consideration with connecting flights though is to make sure you allow for enough time to account for late arriving flights to the connecting city. Some discount tickets, by their very nature, have a number of restrictions and you may not able to receive a replacement or refund if you miss connecting flights.

Fares on international flights are even more sensitive to travel dates then domestic flights. Flexibility is the key to securing the best deal on airfares. When looking online for fares, always select 'any time' departures and '2 or more connecting flights' for the cheapest airfare options. However if you can be flexible with your travelling dates, you can possibly save a fair amount of money.

In peak travelling times, even being able to leave or return a day or two either side of your initially planned dates can save you hundreds of dollars. For example by choosing a December 21st departure instead of December 22nd, I was recently able to save over 300 dollars on an airfare to Thailand.
Try to purchase all flights as far in advance as possible and if your trip is longer than 30 days, consider buying separate tickets instead of round trip. Spending some time researching the many options available to you will give you the most savings.