Booking a flight is almost always a decision that requires a significant amount of money to be spent.

The exact cost can always be kept low, so long as you can avoid these common mistakes that can make air travel a pain.

1. Don’t rule out non-stop flight paths. Just because they sound more desirable doesn’t mean that they are necessarily more expensive. Low-cost carriers are generally lowering the total cost of a fare, so you can go non-stop for less sometimes.
2. Likewise, don’t assume that weekend trips are more expensive. The airline industry has gotten much more competitive in recent years. Many airlines actually offer special deals for weekend flights. When it comes down to it, making assumptions about flight expenses doesn’t work anymore because of how competitive and diverse the industry has become.
3. Check nearby airports. It may surprise you to know that distance often has little to do with the cost of flights. Regular traffic between two airports can also lead to lower costs. For example, on any given day it can cost less than $500 to fly from LAX to Taipei. A flight from an airport nearby might easily cost twice as much. If you have more than one local airport, it would be wise to shop around and compare costs.
4. Time of day is another insignificant factor. If you choose a nighttime flight, chances are you could’ve paid the exact same fare as a daytime one. Your choices in airline and airport are both more important than the time of departure.
5. Lastly, timing is actually important in some ways. While the time of the flight doesn’t matter so much, the time you choose to book the flight does. Book your flight during a time when nobody around you is. If you need to fly out of LAX, book the flight at 5am on a Tuesday, or any other unpredictable time.