Your guide to finding the best deals on last-minute flights.

Want to travel somewhere on the spur of the moment and without breaking the bank?  You totally can so long as you know how, when, and where to look. Here are some tried and tested tips from Skyscanner Australia on how to secure last minute deals. Happy travels!

1. Download the app.

Years ago you could score yourself a cheap last minute flight by just walking up to an airport counter and asking for a stand by ticket. These tickets are now a thing of the past, thanks partly to more sophisticated computer systems, and code sharing agreements that mean most flights meet capacity. Even if a plane isn’t full, you can only get on a stand-by flight if you miss your flight; if you have a full price ticket and you want to get on an earlier flight; or if you work for an airline or are a close relative of someone who does.

So forget rushing to the airport. Instead, for a cheap, last minute deal, download Skyscanner’s free travel app. Through the app you’ll find cheap weekend getaway deals for the next four weekends, last minute flights, and the top travel deals by month.

2. Don’t settle for the first flights you find.

While stand by tickets are not the same as they used to be, you can still find a last minute deal if you keep your eyes and ears open. Try searching for flights on different days. Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays tend to be the cheapest days to fly, whereas Monday, Friday and Sunday are prime flight days for business travellers, as well as families leaving or returning from a trip away.

Sign up to airline newsletters and the Skyscanner newsletter too, and follow your favourite airlines on social media. Social media is usually the most immediate way to find out about a flash sale. Follow Skyscanner on Facebook and keep your eyes peeled!

LISTEN: While we’re on the subject of travelling, we need to talk about plane etiquette. (Post continues below.)

3. Bookmark our International Deals and Domestic Deals pages.

Does cost savings of at least 20 per cent sound good to you? Bookmark and regularly check back on Skyscanner’s best last minute and early bird deals to popular international and domestic destinations.

4. Be flexible.

Everybody knows that you need to be flexible when you’re looking for cheap flights. But when it comes to last minute deals, there’s more to being flexible than choosing anti-social flight times. It also means being flexible about your destination, and the airport you’re flying from. This way you could find yourself in a gorgeous city that you hadn’t thought about visiting before. The best way to do this is to use Skyscanner Australia’s ‘everywhere’ destination option. It will show you the places that are cheapest to visit on a short timescale.

5. Sign up for Skyscanner Price Alerts.

You can also find last minute bargains with Skyscanner Price Alerts. Just choose a destination and date and if the price of flights changes you will automatically be sent an email. Skyscanner Price Alerts are free and you can change your alerts or unsubscribe at any time.

6. And finally there’s our Best Time to Book tool.

Knowing the best time to book can be tricky, but worry not because our Skyscanner Australia travel tech experts have analysed millions of prices to make sure you get the best price for your flight. Our handy Best Time to Book tool also tells you when its the best time to book a flight and how much you can save if you book at the right time.