Some Things To Think About When Booking Your UK Flights Online

by Justin Fincher For some people, making their travel plans has never been easier. Simply go online, find the most convenient flights, click 'confirm', and you're done. It's as simple as that. Well, maybe not. There are few things that you should take into consideration before you go ahead and click the 'confirm' button. It might help to ensure that the UK flights you are about to book suit both your travel needs and your pocket book.


One experience that keeps cropping up is the one in which you book your flight, only to discover that the friend or business associate who is traveling with you got a much better deal on their ticket. How can that be? You are sitting right beside one another! Well, airline ticket fares are a somewhat complicated matter, but there are generally some very good reasons why two people traveling together end up paying different fares.


One of the usual culprits when two people who are seated right next to each other have paid different fares for their seats are ticket restrictions. Tickets can be fully refundable, partially refundable, or completely non-refundable. They may come with restrictions that force the traveler to pay heavy penalties for changes made to them. Some tickets can even be of the completely non-refundable, no changes permitted, 'use it or lose it' type. Generally speaking, the lower the price that you paid for the ticket, the more likely it is that it will come with lots of restrictions. However, in the world of airline ticket pricing, there are always exceptions.


Two other things can affect the overall cost of airplane tickets. A very important factor is the airline itself. The fares offered by most major airlines can be substantially higher than those offered by discount carriers. The reason for this is that the larger airlines, often called 'legacy airlines', have a much higher overhead than do discount carriers. This is reflected in higher ticket costs. The lower prices that are offered by discount carriers don't necessarily mean lower quality, though. Some of them offer service as good, or better, than their larger competitors do.


The other factor that can influence ticket cost is whether the ticket was purchased from the airline directly, or through a travel agent. What many people don't realize is that airlines often provide travel agencies and ticket wholesalers with contracted fares that can be much lower than those available when booking directly with the airline. These types of contracts are normally offered to agencies that can produce a large volume of sales for the airline.


Keeping the factors influencing the cost of your ticket in mind, there are a few very simple steps that can help you to find the best ticket to suit your travel plans, at the best possible price. First, you will have to figure out what sort of ticket you will be needing. Do you anticipate making changes to either your outbound flight or your return one? Is it possible that you may have to cancel at the last minute? If so, you will need to purchase a ticket that permits those changes. Online travel agencies will often have an option to select flexible fares, as well as one that allows you to see the rules of the ticket before confirming it. If the rules are too confusing, contact the agency's support line.


The second step that you should be following is to plan at least a few weeks in advance, whenever possible. The best fares often require an advance purchase of two or more weeks. The final step in ensuring that you are not paying more than you should be, is to compare prices. Just remember that seat availability changes frequently, so if you do find a really great deal, but are not yet ready to purchase it, try to put it on hold. If you don't, it may no longer be available when you decide to book it later on. You should also respect any ticketing deadlines that you are given. If you allow it to pass, you can lose both the fare and the seat.


The factors that go into determining airline ticket prices may not seem to be all that terribly interesting to the casual vacationer. Understanding them, though, can be very helpful when if you are planning on booking your UK flights through an online travel agency.

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Created on Dec 31st 1969 18:00. Viewed 0 times.

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