Flights and Airline Tickets
Going for a long trip is accompanied with a lot of excitement, fear, plans, dreams and a lot of Preparations. During the trip we will find ourselves many times on a flight which is the most effective, fast and mostly, the cheapest to get to far away places
To Stat with: Before you go to buy the flight tickets, first, plan your course. You do not have to do so with details but you better decide about a few things that will eventually help you buy the airline tickets:
- In which country are you going to land and star your journey?
- From what country, you are planing to fly back home at the end of the trip?
- How long will the trip last? Are you planning a long trip with an open flight ticket or Do you need to go back to work and you already know the date for the flight back home?
- Do you know exactly in which countries you are going to visit or is it all open and other continents are a possibility?
When to buy a flight ticket? Timing as always is a very important issue. If you plan on starting your trip in high season you better hurry up and buy your airline ticket as soon as possible otherwise you will pay more, fly in a company you didn’t wanted to fly in or in worst case scenario stay with no ticket at all.
Sometimes you need to book the flight ticket months before the actual flight. If your destination isn’t popular or you are planning on going before or after the high season you can try to find some "last moment" deals.
WWhere to buy airline ticket?
Who from? In a big agency? Or maybe in a small intimate one?
Who is the travel agent?
Trough internet? By phone?
Each option has its own advantage and risks. In the internet you can find better price but your flight ticket do not have mom and dad and so if there will be a problem it can be complicated. To buy your airline ticket by phone (even from a big agency) it's faster but once again if you will face a problem it can be annoying.
To go to an agency sit with the agent and hear about all the option you have is the best way it's not important if it's a small or a big agency/ the only thing that matter is that you will get the maximum information you can and that you will be able to trust the agent that they will help you any time and place around the world.
What company to choose?
You got few offers for airline ticket from several companies, how to choose?
There is no right answer. Each traveler prefers other things, one would like a prestigious company, and others would prefer the cheapest price even if it means that the sits will be dense and the food with no taste. Other would like a connection in a European country.
Things to remember when you buy a flight ticket.
Buying a flight ticket is not only when you go for a long trip but also when you go to a short one.
In buying your flight ticket pay attention to the following:
- Is the flight is direct one or is there any connection? How long do you need to wait at the airport terminal? Are you allowed to get out from the terminal? Does it involve any payment?
- Is there any special problems that the company you flying with is known for?
- When is your flight back home? How many changes can you do without any extra payment? How much does a change cost?
- How much will it cost you to cancel your flight ticket? Will you get part of the money back?
- Does the company have an office in the country you are traveling to? What is the phone number and address there?
- How much weigh can you come home with and how much does extra kg costs? It is very important since usually after a trip you come back with a lot of presents and souvenirs and you would not want to leave some behind.
To what date to set the ticket back ?
It usually goes like that: the travel agent will ask you for how long are you planning on flying you will stutter 6 months... Maybe 8... or even 9?
And then the travel agent will suggest that you will book the ticket back in 6 month from the flying date.
A mistake a big mistake
If ou are planning a long trip... know that time flies and plans can change. If you planed on traveling for 6 months, land in Lima the capital of peru and then go back from Rio de Janero crazily you can easly find your self after 10 mounths in Colombia after buying in brazil or even in mexico after you have been all over central America.
If you will book the ticket as the travel agent suggest you will have to do the first free of charge change after 5 month and then probably to do one more change in order to set the exact date a second change that cost around 130$.
So what to do? Very simple!!!
Book your flight ticket to a year less one day, the maximum that an open flight ticket allows you do not let the travel agent to convince otherwise and to scare you by telling you will not find a ticket back or any other fairy tale.
From my experience I never had to wait more then one week from the moment I wanted to go back home. A few weeks before you want to fly back book your flight ticket and then you will not have to wait bored but rather to keep on with your plans until few days before the flight.
More issues There some other things that you need to consider about flights and flight tickets:
- Getting to the airport
- Packaging
- Ordering vegetarian or special food
- Sitting place – when to get to the airport and what to ask for so you will get good sits.
In sum Not always the cheapest flight ticket is really the cheapest. You can buy a flight ticket to any exotic destination in a very cheap price but every change in the dates or locations will cost you hundreds of dollars and eventually will cost more then the other tickets which cost more but allows you to make changes free of charge and to get a refund of 90% in case of canceling.
If you plan on a trip with many destinations ask for round the world ticket it worthwhile and save a lot of money. Usually travel agents are not excited to tell you about them but it is a good idea to ask them about it so you can decide for your self whether it works for you or not.