 How far ahead? |
AfricaAntarcticaAsiaCentral America CaribbeanEuropeMiddle EastNorth AmericaOceaniaSouth AmericaOceans and SeasHow far ahead?OceaniaTopic Type: Help | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Booking ...timeframe | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
deppeler Paul Deppeler Post Count: 2 Msg: #1 169 days ago, July 24th 2008 | I am planning a trip to Australia (from USA, I am Australian) in Jan '09 and was wondering what peoples thoughts are on booking ahead. | Is it better to book way ahead (now) or closer to the time (2 months)? With gas prices as they are, booking ahead my be wiser as prices could rise, any thoughts. thanks  Mell Mel Fla Post Count: 5517 Msg: #2 169 days ago, July 24th 2008 | Hello Paul :) | Do you mean booking the plane tickets? If so, yes I would book ahead. You will have a better chance of getting bargain flight tickets. As the time for leaving comes closer there are fewer and fewer bargain plane ticket left. Mel deppeler Paul Deppeler Post Count: 2 Msg: #3 169 days ago, July 24th 2008 | Hi Mell, thanks :) | Yes, plane tickets. I also thought that because there is 'limited' flights to Oz from the US that booking ahead might be better as far as getting a seat. Any ideas why when I go to book a flight like on Orbitz for example, it says I can't choose a seat (for the USA-AUS flight), how do I know that there are even any seats available? [Edited: 17:02 - deppeler ] Mell Mel Fla Post Count: 5517 Msg: #4 169 days ago, July 24th 2008 | That just means you cant prebook a seat. They assign you one when you check in at the airport. Some airlines have a system where you can choose and prebook a seat. There are some airlines who overbook but that rarely happens. On the off chance that it does they will put you on another flight usually a few hours later. One way to avoid being the victim of overbooking is to get to the airport around 4 hours before the flight time and try to get in the check in queue as soon as the check in opens. But dont worry too much about this. As I said the planes are more often underbooked than overbooked. | I think the best way to book the flight is to use an internet search engine which searches a number of airlines for you and then you can choose the flight that gives you the best price and buy it with your credit card. The sooner you book the more chance you have of gettting the lowest prices. Usually the tickets are available to buy from 11 months before the flight date. When the list comes up it does not include taxes so bear that in mind. Here is the search engine I generally use for long haul flights. Change it to English by clicking on the US flag. www.billigfluege.de steffim008 SteffiMadison Post Count: 8 Msg: #5 165 days ago, July 28th 2008 | Booking ahead is the nice option as for as cost is considered. You may have benefits of reduced cost. |  wandering Lawless Lauren Hansen Post Count: 12 Msg: #6 164 days ago, July 29th 2008 | I agree, booking ahead has all the advantages. Also, It gives you the opportunity to search for the cheapest flights, with the best airlines! I don't think you can even purchase a ticket if there are no seats available, I find sites will close the shopping cart and indicate max capacity. | As far as choosing a seat - go a little early and talk to the airline representative checking you in. If you're preference is window/aisle just let them know and they always try to accommodate. Cheers Number of Users: 4 | Number of Posts: 6 | ||||||||||||||
