Booking flights both short haul and long haul can be a skill honed only over years of travel experience. The internet has slowly infiltrated the market for booking holidays and could be argued, eliminated a need for a travel agent. I strongly disagree. Below I have put together 3 major tips around booking flights, what to look out for, the benefits of an agent and how to get the best deal for your money.
Always book in advance
I often get asked questions like is it cheaper to book on a Monday or a Tuesday? Can I just rock up to the airport and get a cheap seat? In short, both of these old wives tales are incorrect. The only way to ensure you get a cheap seat is by booking in advance, well in advance. The airlines will release, on average, 9 seats on any given day of travel at a special cheap rate, once those seats are gone, the price jumps up into the next tier, once those seats are gone it jumps up again and so on and so forth. As the plane starts filling up, the price starts going up therefore there is no way to get a cheap seat by rocking up to the airport as you can be guaranteed, that plane will already be full. Just in the same, it is no cheaper to travel over the weekend or over the week; the price structure is the same. The reason why it may be more expensive in the weekend is obviously there are more people travelling therefore availability is slim. This could also be the case when travelling during the week. I constantly get clients wanting to travel tomorrow and can’t understand why they can’t have the price in the window. The only way you can ever guarantee getting a great bargain on a flight is by BOOKING IN ADVANCE. By booking in advance you have more chance of searching a greater availability pool across more available airlines.
Booking on the internet does not always mean the best deal
I argue with people on a daily basis about booking on the internet. 7 words that I can’t stand……… “I found it cheaper on the internet”. Airlines strike various deals with various travel companies. There are 2 fares available for sale: A published fare and a private fare. A published fare is one that is out for advertisement right across the board, it is a flat rate that everyone is selling i.e.: house of travel, flight centre, expedia, jet abroad. Then there is a private fare. These are fares that are solely sold to one supplier i.e.: flight centre have a deal with emirates that you cannot see on expedia, that is because it is a deal that emirates and flight centre have dealed solely with themselves. These deals are often extremely limited and may only last for a few days; this will also be the case for opposing companies such as house of travel. The reason why flight centre can’t get that deal is because it is one solely made for house of travel. This is where travel agents can beat internet prices. The likes of expedia and jet abroad will NEVER have private fares, they are always selling their fares at a published rate/flat fare and you may never know if you could have got it cheaper if you hadn’t asked your local travel agent. And besides, did you ever find a flight on the internet that you can put on hold for a week?
Cheapest is not always bestest
People always ask me for cheapest, and I give it to them. And then they want to know why their layover is 12 hours in Brunei and I say “Because you asked for the cheapest”. When running searches for flights, on the internet especially, the airlines will automatically spit out what is available. It doesn’t know that you want flexibility to change dates; it doesn’t know that you want short layover times; it doesn’t even know which city you might want to go through. Always be cautious when booking on the internet how many stopovers your going to go through, how long the layovers are going to be and the rules and restrictions around flying. Often, the cheaper flight will involve huge layovers or 3 stopovers before your destinations. I constantly hear of people booking a bargain flight online, and then not realizing it was going through 4 cities with an overnight stop somewhere that you have to pay for, they go in to cancel it because they realize it is undoable and then find out their ticket is completely non refundable. Not a good time. The rules on cheap fares will 90% of the time be extremely restrictive in that they are completely non refundable and that you cannot date change. If you are looking for a ticket that is going through a particular destination or has a short layover or you want more flexible rules, the only way you can find this ticket is by seeing a travel agent. They are skilled in understanding airline flight paths and can get you the best deal around your specifications, it may not always be the cheapest, but it will be exactly what you need.
For all your booking enquiries email: shannon.pitman.nz@flightcentre.co.nz
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