{"id":314,"date":"2016-05-15T12:20:55","date_gmt":"2016-05-15T12:20:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.travelwithanda.com\/?p=314"},"modified":"2020-03-28T18:36:47","modified_gmt":"2020-03-28T18:36:47","slug":"booking-a-flight","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.travelwithanda.com\/index.php\/2016\/05\/15\/booking-a-flight\/","title":{"rendered":"Booking a flight"},"content":{"rendered":"

A lot of people are still wondering whether booking a flight is something they should entrust to a travel agent or do by themselves. I am not here to convince you that only one option is good because it is not. Travel agencies are believed to be a safer option, but then again who will vouch for you if they go bankrupt? This shit happens, you know. Furthermore, the agencies don’t work for free, so be prepared to pay some extra money. At last but not the least, if you are not sure about the destination or the dates of your travel and prefer some flexibility, then perhaps it is better not to waste their time. Eventually they will stop trying. So, if you are wondering if it is safe to book a flight ticket online by yourself, how to get the best price, what happens if your flight gets cancelled etc., you came to the right place. <\/p>\n

Choose your final destination and airport wisely<\/strong><\/h5>\n

Obviously you know where you are going, however you might want to check if there are more airports<\/strong> in your final destination. For example New York has several airports in vicinity of Manhattan, and JFK isn\u2019t necessary your cheapest choice<\/strong>. Usually all airports provide some kind of public transport to \u201cmajor\u201d cities so you might want to consider this combination if the price difference in flight tickets is substantial. After all, you will pay over 50 $ plus tolls and a tip for a taxi from JFK to Manhattan (one way). So do the math, especially if you are not traveling alone.<\/p>\n

Furthermore, if you are planning to rent a car and go for a road trip<\/strong>, it is sometimes useless to take the same road back, if you can drop off your car in another city<\/strong> and depart home from there. In this case you can chose \u201cmulti-city\u201d option in flight search engines and there is a pretty big chance you will pay the same or similar price as if you took a roundtrip. This advice isn\u2019t so much for saving the money, as it is to save you some time<\/strong>. If you are driving miles and miles through some deserted areas or endless highways, you will appreciate not having to go back the same way just to return the car. Plus, you can return your car earlier and save the day\u2019s rent and the gas. \ud83d\ude09<\/p>\n

On the other hand you should consider departing from the airport closest to your home<\/strong>*, because you might be dead tired after on overnight and\/or long distance return flight. Driving back home from the airport can be exhausting and very dangerous. (Trust me, this is not my mom speaking). Also, you need to pay a parking fee, tolls, gas\u2026 so again, do the math<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

\"Booking<\/p>\n

Check different search engines<\/strong><\/h5>\n

For international and US flights I usually find the best deals on Expedia.<\/a> What I like with Expedia<\/strong> is their customer service<\/strong>, they are always available and in most cases they have resolved my complaints in my favor.\u00a0However, Expedia sometimes doesn’t offer all fight options (for example sometimes they don’t offer low cost airlines), so I always check Skyscanner<\/a> too. This is a search engine which browses the offers from other ticket agents\u2019 web sites. The difference here is that you don\u2019t pay to Skyscanner<\/strong> as you do with Expedia, but to the ticket agent directly (Travelgenio, BugetAir, Airticket24, etc.). They also don’t offer customer service – if you have questions or complaints you need to contact web agents directly.<\/p>\n

What I really hate about Skyscanner<\/strong> is that they find a really good price but after you click on the best offer the price usually changes signifficantly. If nothing else, they will charge you a card fee (sometimes even up to 30 EUR) which never happens with Expedia.<\/p>\n

Check different flight days – be flexible<\/strong><\/h5>\n

If you are flexible for a couple of days, I highly recommend you to browse different departure and arrival dates. Usually flights which don\u2019t last over weekends<\/strong> are considered as \u201cbusiness trips\u201d and are much more expensive \u2013 so make sure your search includes at least one Saturday or even Sunday. Also, there are some low budget airlines<\/strong> which offer flights only 2 or 3 times per week. For example Aegean Airlines fly from Ljubljana** to Athens on certain days and on those days prices can be 50\u20ac cheaper (sometimes even more), not to mention you get a direct flight instead of connecting via Belgrade (which is usually the case). Similar case was with Flydubai – they flew from Zagreb to Dubai directly 3 times per week. Sadly, they stopped the route a couple of years ago.<\/p>\n

Choose the right time to book – good luck with that<\/strong><\/h5>\n

It is hard to be smart here but so far booking a flight as early as possible<\/strong> has always turned out the best choice. Especially with low budget airlines<\/strong> like EasyJet or Ryanair. Unlike the hotels, airlines hardly ever release those \u201clast minute\u201d deals to fill in the seats. They prefer to fly half empty. As an economist, I will never understand why, but I am sure there is some \u201cpowerful\u201d explanation behind this. If anyone who reads this knows what is the catch here, please scroll down and enlighten us with your answer in the comment below. \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n