It's Sunday which means it's time for another episode of Gunnarolla University.

今天是星期日，我們每周 Gunnarolla University 的時間又到啦！

Synchronizerman wants to know about how to plan a trip abroad if you're on a budget?

Synchronizerman 想知道如何小資出國玩。

Well, there are tons of steps involved in planning a trip, but in today's lesson I wanted to focus on booking flights and how I use Google to find the best fares.

嗯，其實制定旅遊計畫時會涉及到很多層面，但今天我想聚焦在訂機票這件事情上，我會示範如何用 Google 來找最划算的票價。

Class is in session.

課程開始囉！

First of all, time for a paradigm shift.

首先，我們應該換個思考模式。

Don't tell yourself you're looking for the cheapest fare, you're looking for the best available fare that you are comfortable paying.

不要只想著找到最便宜的機票，而是要找到自己能夠負擔的最佳票價。

With the exception of Budget Airlines and low cost carriers, which tend to have more fixed pricing.

撇除掉價格通常很固定的廉價航空。

When it comes to major airlines, the price of flying can fluctuate so much that it's almost impossible to know when you'll get the absolute cheapest price.

當我們提到主流航空公司，它的票價波動大，以至於你很難精準地買到最便宜的機票。

That being said, there are optimal times to book your flight.

話雖如此，但還是有購買機票的最佳時機喔！

A study by Cheapair.com, which I'll link to in the description box below.

我會將 Cheapair.com 所做的研究放在下方資訊欄。

Found that 21 to 105 days before you have to leave is the prime booking window where you'll find the best fares for a flight.

它們發現在行前 21 到 105 天是購買機票的最佳時機。

There is no such thing as a last minute day of deal, so make sure you organize, because booking your flights last minute is not a good idea.

其實並沒有「最後一天」購票優惠，所以還是要有計畫，畢竟在行前最後一分鐘購買機票不是一個明智的決定。

Now when it comes to when you should fly.

那到底什麼時候飛比較划算呢？

Historically speaking, mid-week, that's Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, generally have lower fares than a Friday, Sunday, or Monday departure when you'll find more business and vacation travel.

根據經驗，在周間例如星期二、星期三、星期四，通常比出差或度假較常選擇的星期五、星期六、星期日和星期一出發的機票便宜。

If you know where you're going, you might also want to research when the low season or the rainy season is.

如果你已經決定好旅遊目的地了，你應該也會調查當地的旅遊淡季或是雨季吧？

Although it's always a rainy season when I'm involved.

雖然我去旅行時常遇到雨季。

Again, these are general tips but a good starting point when you're researching flights.

再重複一次，這些只是最普遍的小妙招，但卻是你在搜尋機票時一個好的開始。

So, how do you go about finding the best fare when there are so many different airlines?

那到底要怎麼在眾多的航空公司中選到最佳的票價呢？

Well, there are basically three ways to do this.

基本上有三種方式可以實踐。

You can book through a travel agent, they're usually very knowledgeable and might have access to whole sale deals that you won't find online.

你可以透過旅行社預訂，他們通常資源很豐富，也握有你在網路上絕對找不到的獨家優惠。

Or if you wanna have more control, you can book the flight yourself by doing research online.

但如果你希望自己更有掌控權的話，也可以在線上自行訂購機票。

You can do it through a third party booking website, like Expedia or Priceline.

你可以透過獨立的訂票網站預訂機票如：Expedia 或 Priceline。

These sites will allow you to compare different airlines, buy package deals, and make your bookings through the site.

這些網站會幫你比較各個航空公司的差異，你可以在網站上訂購機加酒等一整套的行程。

Or if you're like me and you want full control and you'd rather make your booking directly with the airline.

又或者你跟我一樣喜歡完全掌控自己的行程，你寧可直接向航空公司訂票。

You can use a flight aggregator like Skyscanner or Google flights.

你可以使用航班彙整資訊網如： Skyscanner 或 Google 航班。

I love Google flights.

我喜歡用 Google 航班。

It's got everything you need and a really easy to use interface, it's the perfect tool for research and discovery.

你想查什麼航班它都有，且操作介面簡單，真的是個很完美的搜尋工具。

Unlike other Google owned websites.

不像其他 Google 旗下的網站。

Let's say that you know your destination, but your dates are flexible and you want to find the best fare.

假設你已經決定好旅遊目的地，但出發時間很彈性，你想搜尋最佳票價。

Well, you put in your destination and if you look in the calendar, you can see how much the flight will cost if you were to book today.

那麼就輸入你的目的地，然後看看日曆，你可以看到如果在當下買機票的話價格會是多少。

On the other hand, if you know the dates you can travel but you don't know where you wanna go.

另一方面，如果你已經確定旅遊時間卻尚未決定旅遊目的地。

Just put the dates in and Google flights will suggest some destinations.

就在 Google 航班上輸入日期，它將會給你去哪裡玩比較划算的建議。

You can even filter your results based on the type of travel you wanna do, the number of stopovers, your price range, or the airline you wanna fly with.

你也能夠以自己喜歡什麼航程、轉機次數、可以接受的價格範圍或是你喜歡的航空公司去選擇機票。

If you collect loyalty points, as you should.

你也可以累積哩程點數喔！

Keep in mind that a lower price usually involves fare restrictions and connections, which means a longer travel time.

要記得低價機票通常包含機票限制條款和轉機機制，這也表示需要更長的旅行時間。

If you're not in a rush to book, you can set up an email alert and Google flights will let you know if the price changes.

如果你不是很急著要訂票的話，你可以在 Google 航班上設定 email 通知，追蹤每次的票價變化。

Once you found a price that you're okay with, Google can take you directly to the airline's website to complete the booking.

當找到你覺得合適的機票後，Google 可以直接帶你到航空公司的網站進行購票。

There are some other great resources for tracking flights and finding flight deals.

還有其他搜尋航班與訂購機票的網站。

Hopper is a really great mobile app that does a lot of the things that Google flights can do.

Hopper 是一個很棒的手機 app，它的功能與 Google 航班類似。

It can track flights, offer predictions, and it has hotel bookings.

它可以追蹤航班資訊且有票價估算與飯店預定的功能。

And there are a ton of websites out there that keep track of really cheap deals and mistake fares and I'll link to them in the description box below.

還有很多的網站可以追蹤便宜機票與有 bug 的票價，我會把這些網站放在下方的資訊欄喔！

If you're in Canada, you need to follow nextdeparture.ca, they're posting tons of deals all the time.

如果你住在加拿大，你就必須追蹤 nextdeparture.ca 這個網站，他們總是提供許多優惠票價。

Now, once you booked your flight, keep an eye on it for the next 24 hours.

現在，當你訂購機票之後，在接下來的 24 小時內緊盯著它。

Most major airlines will allow you to cancel without any penalty 24 hours after you book a flight.

大部分的主流航空公司允許你在 24 小時內無償取消訂票。

If the fare doesn't change in that time, my number one tip is to close your browser window and never check again.

如果票價在那段期間內沒有變動的話，我的最佳建議是關掉視窗且不再查看。

The price might go down, it might go up.

價格可能降低，也可能提高。

But after 24 hours, there's not much you can do, so I don't think it's worth knowing.

但在 24 小時後，你就沒辦法再做什麼了，所以我覺得再查也是無濟於事。

So, those are just some tips for finding good flight deals.

以上就是一些搜尋最佳機票組合的小撇步。

If you have any of your own, let us know in the comments below, and if there's anything you wanna learn in an upcoming class, let me know.

如果你有自己的訂票小妙招的話，請在下面留言跟我們分享喔！那如果你在下堂課有想要學的東西，也請讓我知道喔！

I'll see ya next time.

我們下次見啦！

A la prochaine!

下次見囉！