Looking for a cheap flight out of Kansas City? Here are tips to ease summer travel

Itching to get out of Kansas City this summer? Many Americans, eager to travel again, are flocking back to airports.

But flight prices might come as a shock for those of us who haven’t traveled in a while.

U.S. airlines carried 46.6 million passengers in April 2021, marking a 9.5% increase from the month before but remaining significantly lower than the 76.1 million passengers who flew in April 2019.

As the number of passengers is increasing, so are travel costs.

“Back in April, you couldn’t give away a seat, practically, to go on one of the airlines,” Mark Ebbitts, owner and president of Shelton Travel Service, a Kansas City travel agency, said. “Now, in late June-early July, everything is just crazy priced. It’s higher priced than I’ve ever seen it, and it’s harder to find availability.”

So how can you reduce the pain to your wallet and still get that trip you’re looking forward to taking? We have some tips:

Kansas City International Airport is probably your best bet.

Flights out of KCI are generally cheaper than those of Des Moines (DSM), Omaha (OMA) and Wichita (ICT), according to airfare data kept by FinanceBuzz. This is largely due to the budget airlines that fly out of Kansas City, including the addition of Spirit and Allegiant, though it’s important to look out for the many hidden fees that these airlines add to the flying experience.

Look for hacker fares.

Hacker fares refer to booking two one-way flights — often on different airlines — instead of one round-trip flight. This strategy allows travelers to find the lowest prices across airlines for both flights and is easily done with travel websites like Kayak.

Book early.

Travelers can save up to hundreds of dollars by booking flights early. Ebbitts says it’s best to book flights 6-8 weeks in advance. Though flight prices do fluctuate, you shouldn’t wait for prices to drop. More often than not, the cost will only go up (by a lot).

If you decide to try your luck and wait for prices to drop, consider setting an alert through Google Flights that will notify you if that happens.

Be flexible.

Many experienced travelers know that it’s often cheaper to fly in the middle of the week. However, that may no longer be the case — at least right now.

“Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Saturdays, in the olden days were the least expensive days to travel, and now we’re not finding that as much,” Ebbitts said.

This means it’s a case-by-case basis, and there’s no sure-fire day to snag a low-cost ticket.

Think about demand, instead: Prices tend to be more expensive at times when more people want to fly. If you’re looking to find cheaper flights, avoid flying around holidays and big events that attract crowds from out of town. Early morning flights are also often more affordable than afternoon and evening flights (and they encounter fewer delays, too).

Invert the travel process.

Instead of deciding where and when to travel and then finding the cheapest flights that match that itinerary, you can go into the booking process looking for the cheapest destination and time and mold travel plans accordingly. Most travel agency websites have a “go anywhere” option that allows you to search for flights to various destinations so you can find the cheapest place to travel.