Travel Tips for International Travel

How to book an flight -Where do I start?
Sometimes you book a flight and then when you search again you find a cheaper one, or you book a ticket and find that there has been a special offer and you could have got it cheaper. Other times you may think it is better to wait until nearer your date of travel, then you realise the price has increased.

Some useful information, a word of advice!
If you are quoted a fare from a travel agent remember the price is not guaranteed until it has been ticketed. Recently because of the fuel prices, airlines have had to charge Fuel Surcharges If you are quoted a good price it is better to book and pay for it straight away to guarantee the price.

Is My Money Safe? You will always have to pay for flights in advance, so it is important to know if your money is safe if the airline goes out of business. ATOL - Is a licensing and financial protection scheme for air holidays and flights sold by tour operators in the UK. Under this scheme, if a firm goes out of business, you will get a refund for flights. If you are abroad when it happens, you will be able to finish your holiday and fly home.

Is your flight covered?
You are usually protected if you buy your ticket from a travel agent and do not get your ticket within 24 hours. You are not usually not Atol protected if you receive your ticket within 24 hours. The Travel Agent should tell you if there is no "Airline Failure Insurance" with your ticket. You must be given a receipt showing whether you flight is ATOL protected or not.

You may think it is better to book your own flight online but when something goes wrong your travel agent has the experience to know what to do and has established relationships with airlines, tour operators and travel companies. Support your local travel agent!

Airlines route and timetables – check out who flies where and when

Think of when you want to travel, are your dates flexible, ask your travel agent when is the cheapest times to fly. Many countries such as USA have price seasonality and there are always cheaper dates to travel.

If you find a cheap fare, always look at the routing, do you really want to have several changes of aircraft, sometimes it is better to pay a bit extra. Ask your travel agent to find out the elapsed flying time i.e. the total number of hours you are actually travelling. Also look at your connecting times; do you have a lengthy time to wait in-between flights?

The general rule is the cheaper the fare the more restrictions it will have, the more expensive the fare the more flexibility it should have. Always check the rules of your fare i.e. can it be changed, is there a penalty to change it, can it be refunded?

Are Low Cost Airlines Cheap? Not all low cost airlines are cheap; many scheduled airlines offer just as competitive fares. Due to compensation for denied boarding many low cost airlines are increasing their costs and looking for ways to increase their revenue e.g. charging for checked baggage. This is an interesting article on Airline Compensation also see how to complain against an airline or tour operator

Online check in – many airlines offer online check-in, check your airline website, this saves you time and puts your mind at ease and you can allocate your seat. Some airlines are starting to adopt self service check in such as British Airways

Baggage Allowance
When buying luggage make sure that it is light weight as many of the scheduled airlines as well as the low cost airlines are now reducing their baggage allowance. I would strongly suggest you look at the appropriate airline websites and check this out or ask your travel agent. When travelling to the USA, airlines use what they term as the “Piece Concept” which allows you two pieces of baggage with certain dimensions and a maximum weight. Many US Airlines used to allow a maximum weight of 32 kilos (66lbs) per case but many of them have reduced this. You should be able to check the excess baggage rate on each airline website. Other than USA many of the long haul destinations calculate their excess baggage per kilo, as 1% of the first class one-way fare, as you can imagine this can be rather expensive. A good example of this is travelling to Dubai on “Emirates “ you are allowed a total of 20 kilos of checked baggage from UK to Dubai, the excess baggage rate is about £20 per Kilo!!!! This is something to watch out for, all you shopaholics!

Do you find packing a nightmare?
I always tend to take too much, if anyone has any good suggestions or any more tips on packing please email enq@buybeforeyoufly.com, I will publish these on this page. Here are some useful Ideas on what to pack

Frequent Flyer Programmes
It is advisable to join airline frequent flyer programs because airlines generally look after their frequent flyer passengers by occasionally offering upgrades and access to airport lounges. Many people think they have to travel regularly to qualify for free tickets on a frequent flyer program. One example is Amercan Airlines on certain fares the minimum mileage to claim a free ticket is 10,000 miles (which is the approximate miles from UK To Los Angeles). This can be exchanged for a free ticket on British Airways to Europe.

Upgrades - How to get an upgrade!

Can't make up your mind about your holiday destination?
Advice on where to travel

Jet Lag: how to beat jet lag

Save on Accommodation:
All About Airports for travellers who are REALLY on a budget and are looking for a way to save money off their travel expenses, why not consider sleeping in an airport?

N.B.- The above is just for information only. I accept no liability for advice offered.