1. Reserve Flights Directly With Airline
I can’t stress this enough – it will save you major hassles if you have changes or cancellations while you’re traveling! To reschedule – the airline will redirect you to the company you booked your flights through… IF you can get through to them, it will be time consuming (and most likely frustrating!). I recommend you do your preliminary searching/comparing on sites such as Expedia… but then BOOK your flights directly on the airline website.
2. Price Watching
There are numerous theories about the best days/times to book flights or clearing your computer history. When we’re working together to plan your adventure – my best advice is to book your flights well in advance (those peak summer season Europe tickets will sell out or explode in price). Google flight tracker is a good way to monitor price… but I suggest once you find a schedule/airline you prefer and a price you’re comfortable with – book it.
Depending on the flight – it’s also sometimes a better option to upgrade your ticket with your points. If you’re using frequent flier miles to book a ticket – it may benefit you to look at different city departures. On my recent trip to Seattle – I couldn’t get one mileage ticket to Tokyo from my home airport of Denver… but I could get 2 with my points from Seattle.
3. Don’t Book Travel “Packages”
I know travel packages including flights are tempting, but I highly recommend you don’t book those. I also don’t suggest the cruise line airline departments or flight packages, as I’ve had clients experience major problems going this route.
4. Confirm Your Details
Make sure to double check your travel dates, airport flying in and out of, and name matching your passport. Avoid fees the airlines may impose to make changes at a later date.
5. Check Connection Times Along With Customs/Immigration
Even though the airlines may show it as a “legal” connection – a 2 hour layover isn’t enough time in large international airports such as Frankfurt or London. Be sure to look into where you’ll be going through customs/immigration – to allow for extra time you may need. You’ll also want to see if you need a Visa or ESTA in your connection city.
6. Know Luggage Inclusions/Limits
See if you can check bags all the way to destination, or if have to claim and recheck your luggage (if you’re changing airlines this may be the scenario). I suggest flying on the same airline to avoid this issue. Also, with all the different ticket choices – read up on how many checked bags you’re allowed, carry on bags, and personal items (and if there are extra charges for any of these).
7. Read Your Ticket Fare Rules
There are so many classes of tickets with each airline now and also numerous different fare rules. Make sure the details of the option you choose… nonrefundable, refundable, changeable, baggage fees (or size/number restrictions), upgradeable, and if you can choose seats (or if that’s a fee).
8. Check Your Seats
Aerolopa is a great site/app to check on seat maps/layout with all the airlines and their different plane configurations. It’s nice to know if your seat reclines or if your window seat doesn’t actually have a window!
9. Insure Your Flights
If we’re working on a trip together and your flights are nonrefundable – it’s best to bundle the entire trip under one travel insurance policy. You don’t want to deal with 2 insurance policies/companies if you need to make a claim! I’ll help with this. 🙂
10.Credit Card/Airline Status Inclusions
Look at your credit card and airline memberships for airport lounge or other perks you may have.
11. Download Airline App
You’ll want to have the airline app on your phone for ease of checkin, flight status updates, and downloading your boarding pass.
For more information about Global Entry and TSA PreCheck click here.
Even though I don’t book airline tickets, I’m always happy to coordinate with your trip, offer advice, include flights in your online itinerary I build, and guide you through the best scenarios to work with the rest of your trip!
Until the next adventure – bon voyage!
Kris
