The Flight Combinator blog
Notes on finding cheap direct flights: real fares from routes we track daily, the mechanics behind low-cost pricing, and the occasional strong opinion. Written by the people who build the search.
- Reading a price calendar like a pro: month heatmaps, weekday effects, booking windows
A price calendar is the most information-dense screen in flight search — if you know what the colours actually mean. Weekday effects, booking windows, and when cached prices lie.
14 Jul 2026 · 6 min read - The Madeira trick: why you shouldn't fly there direct from Spain
Direct Barcelona–Madeira barely exists — we found one Binter fare at €730. Route through Porto or Lisbon instead and the same trip costs under €100. Here is the exact play.
11 Jul 2026 · 6 min read - Barcelona to Morocco for under €25: how the cheap days actually work
Ryanair sells Barcelona–Rabat from €17–23 — but the same route hits €70 in the same month. What actually separates the cheap days from the expensive ones.
8 Jul 2026 · 5 min read - The return-flight trap: why round-trip fares aren't always cheaper
The round-trip discount mostly died with the low-cost carriers, but the habit survived. When two one-ways beat a return, when they don’t, and how to tell.
6 Jul 2026 · 4 min read - How flexible dates cut flight prices in half — real numbers
Not a growth-hack platitude: actual fare spreads from routes we track daily. ±3 days of flexibility is routinely worth 40–60% on European short-haul.
2 Jul 2026 · 5 min read - London's six airports, ranked by how much they'll ruin your morning
Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted, Luton, City and Southend, ranked by the only metric that matters at 5am: total pain from bed to boarding. With the honest maths on when the cheap fare is worth it.
30 Jun 2026 · 7 min read - Every airport is three airports: the multi-airport search mindset
Paris is three airports, Milan is three, Brussels is two — and pretending a city is one airport is the quietest way to overpay. How to think in airport sets.
26 Jun 2026 · 5 min read - Morocco has 18 airports. You probably know three.
Everyone flies into Marrakesh, Casablanca or Agadir. The other fifteen airports — Oujda, Nador, Essaouira, even Beni Mellal — are where the cheap seats and the better trips hide.
23 Jun 2026 · 6 min read - Why we only search direct flights (and when that's wrong)
Flight Combinator deliberately refuses to show connections. The reasoning, the maths on sub-4-hour routes, and the three cases where a layover honestly wins.
20 Jun 2026 · 5 min read
Reading is optional — the search does the work either way.
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