Hamburg  - Search engines specializing in flight prices seem to be the way to go to when looking for affordable flights, according to Germany's Computer Bild magazine.

The search engines yielded the best deals in online travel agencies, the report added. The magazine tested several ticket search engines and online travel agents on 30 different routes.

First place went to search engine Swoodoo, which found the best price in 13 instances. Second place went to checkflix. de, followed by kelkoo.

Regardless of whether a search is on an airline's website or on an online search engine, customers should always watch out for hidden costs, reported the magazine. Additional fees are often levied above and beyond the flight price, sometimes just for using a credit card.

Service fees are almost standard nowadays. Other services automatically assume customers want to buy travel insurance. If a customer is not interested in such options, deactivate them before booking. (dpa)