Travel Question: What’s the best way to get a last-minute, low-fare flight?

Q Can you just rock up at an airport on the day and buy a cheap ticket – and, if you can, is this the best way to get the lowest fare?

Graham S

A It is not as easy as it used to be. In the late 20th century “standby tickets” were a big part of the aviation scene. Whether you were shuttling from Edinburgh to Heathrow or wanting a cheap flight from Gatwick to New York, rocking up on the day and hoping for the best was part of the travel scene, particularly in the 1980s. It was my principle way to fly the Atlantic and I never failed to get a seat – though occasionally it was touch and go until the last moment.

Even into the 21st century, you could pick up cheap one-way flights on charter airlines if they had space available – which, at least coming back from Mediterranean airports, they usually did. But I last achieved this around 2007 from Palma. It worked then, with a last-minute seat on Spanair for about £50. But last year I tried the same thing and it went disastrously badly – I ended up paying over £200 for a flight on easyJet.

The one airline on which I have some success with late bookings at very low prices is British Airways, booking online.

Normally, in common with most airlines, BA puts fares up sharply towards departure date. But in the past year or two I have picked up a Gatwick-Barcelona and Venice-Gatwick ticket for about £35 each the night before travel. And right now I am looking on ba.com at Almeria-Gatwick on Saturday 6 April for just €20 (£17). Of course if demand is strong, this could cost 10 or 20 times as much.

One other outstanding British Airways deal: late-notice city breaks in Europe, often at absurdly low prices. Last August I had a four-star, two-night stay in Milan (which actually turned into three nights, but that’s another story), including flights from Heathrow for £189. Even cheaper BA short-break deals are generally available to destinations such as Prague and Nice.

Every day our travel correspondent Simon Calder tackles a reader’s question. Just email yours to s@hols.tv or tweet @simoncalder