Nowadays you can book a flight through an online booking site or directly with the airline, but booking with an airline is always a winner, why? Booking directly with the airline is always cheaper and offers more security, unlike online travel agents who charge you a commission and don't always offer any kind of compensation when anything doesn't go according to plan.
Having said this, online booking sites do come handy since you can use them to compare airfare deals and find vacation packages. There are more than enough online booking sites such as Expedia, Skyscanner, Orbitz and Kayak offering enticing packages for the Christmas holidays and summer vacations so, it's great to check them out.
2. Entering the wrong details
It may be an obvious one but one of the mistakes to avoid when booking a flight online it’s to enter the wrong personal information and flight details. Things like typing in incorrectly your surname and the wrong flying date can cost you a small fortune and a lot of hustle (quite literary!).
You would think that making a simple mistake like a misspelled surname could be easily and freely rectified by the airline, right? Well, many airlines don’t seem to think so since they will happily charge a ridiculous fee for a little update on their system.
This is why it's a good idea to double check (even triple check while you’re at it) the names and flying dates since many airlines won’t show you much sympathy in these days of hard economic times. There are some airlines though that will amend wrong details without charging you a penny. Airlines are constantly updating their policies so it’s a matter of checking their policy on name changes before booking.
3. Booking a flight the last minute
By last minute, I mean a couple of weeks before you’re due to travel. Two or three weeks may seem like a lot of time before booking a flight but it’s definitely not advisable since you can get much cheaper flight tickets when booking at least 8-9 weeks in advance.
Also, you may have difficulty finding the dates you want to travel, or even worse you may not find flights at all because you’re booking during the high season.
4. Using a credit card
Another of the mistakes to avoid when booking a flight online is using your credit card. Using your credit card to pay for your vacation may be tempting but if you really don’t want to be overcharged astronomically you’ll be wise not to use a credit card (instead use a Visa debit)
Credit cards are useful sometimes but using them to pay for your vacation isn’t a great idea because airlines charge typically anything between 1% and 5% per booking . It may not sound like a lot when booking a domestic flight, but 5% per booking on a $2000 flight ticket and you’re looking at $100.
5. Booking a long-haul flight with budget airlines
Budget airlines have certainly revolutionized the air travel industry by offering very competitive and inexpensive flights, and they’re great to use for short trips abroad and domestic flights. However, the thing to remember about booking flights with budget airlines is that they have more “cons” than “pros” (particularly on long destinations).
One major drawback of budget airlines it’s that when flights are cancelled they only compensate you minimally, though luckily a new “flight delay law” have been passed, which means budget airlines do have to compensate you fully (if you choose to). However, the kicker to this is that budget airlines only have to compensate you if they flight delay is for more than 6 hours.
Even with this new law, budget airlines are proving to be not as accommodating as traditional airlines since they also don’t offer a baggage transfer when booking a connecting flight. This means having to go through airport security all over again when you reach your connecting destination.
There you go folks! These are some of the things to consider when booking flights online. You don't necessarily have to avoid booking with budget airlines or booking flights through an online booking site but at least you know what it all means. Hope you enjoyed the post:)
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