Despite security headaches and rising fuel costs, air travel is still the most popular way to get to your destination. Because of heightened security, a simple error on your ticket can result in extra fees or even leave you grounded. It's always worth knowing what might go wrong, so you can be sure that nothing does.
When Booking Flights, Tips to Avoid Ticketing Errors
Published
On: March 19, 2009
Incorrect Name on Booking: The most common and frequent mistake customers make is while booking their ticket, they misspell their name. Airlines are very particular about the name on the booking. The FAA wants to be sure the same person who purchased the ticket, and who was screened at all security checkpoints, is the individual boarding the plane. Name changes are practically impossible to achieve. In case any name changes are required, the minimum you can expect to be charged is $100, an FAA imposed fee. Worst case scenario is that you might be informed "No changes permissible". In this case, you are left with no other option than to buy a new ticket. In fact, most airlines won't issue a refund of any kind when you buy a ticket under a wrong name. You're just out of luck. Before clicking "Submit" and booking your ticket, make sure that you have thoroughly checked the name on the booking before proceeding with the purchase. Ensure the name on the ticket is identical to the one on your passport, license, or other form of ID.
Selecting an Incorrect Airline: Another commonly reported issue by air travelers is booking the wrong flights. Do not confuse this with code sharing flights, i.e booking one airline but then flying on a "Partner" airline with different rules and service standards.
"Code sharing" is a way of extending an airline's reach. US Airways, for instance, may say it has an LAX-to-Washington flight. In actuality, that flight might be operated by United, a partner airline. The services offered vary from airline to airline. The code share is part of a "cooperative services" agreement between two carriers. It refers to a practice where a flight operated by an airline is jointly marketed as a flight for one or more airlines. Most major airlines today have code sharing partnerships with other airlines. Code sharing is a key feature of the major airline alliances.
Airlines sell tickets on each other's flights, either by buying a block, or by simply dipping into the other airline's inventory. And each can sell the ticket at whatever price it chooses to. This means that an airline can advertise destinations it does not fly to, and still receive the passenger's business for any flights that feed into the other airline's flight. Under a code sharing agreement participating airlines can present a common flight number for several reasons, including:
Connecting flights - This provides clearer routing for the customer, allowing a customer to book travel from point A to C through point B, under one carrier's code, instead of a customer booking from point A to B under one code, and from point B to C, under another code.
Flights from both airlines that fly the same route - This provides an apparent increase in the frequency of service on the route by an airline
Perceived service to a no-service market - This provides a method for carriers who do not operate their own aircraft on a given route, to gain exposure in the market through display of their flight numbers.
Under a code sharing agreement, the airline that actually operates the flight (the one providing the plane, the crew and the ground handling services), is called the operating carrier. The company or companies that sell tickets for that flight but do not actually operate it are called marketing carriers or validating carriers.
How to Identify a Code-Share Flight
Flights shown below are code-share flights.
The code-share flights in the upper and lower sections of the orange frame use the same aircraft.
The symbol indicates the airline that is operating the flight with its aircraft and crew.
More information regarding this can be found by calling the airlines:
People often come back after their travel complaining about the low service standards of the airlines. Here' an example: A gentlemen travelling with a family of four on an Alaska Airlines flight operated by American Airlines was not charged by Alaska for checking the first bag, but American Airlines charged him ($120 total). Upon complaining, he was informed by a spokesman for American Airlines, "The general rule of thumb is that the baggage rules of the OPERATING airline (the one operating the aircraft that the customer is flew on) sets the checked baggage fee rules that apply."
As per, Alaska's website, "Passengers originating on a partner or code share flight may be subject to additional restrictions.
Please check with the operating carrier for their baggage guidelines." Make sure that you have done the right amount of research about the airlines before going ahead with the booking. Also, keep your eyes open for code-share flights.
Choosing an Incorrect Destination: Another prevalent error made while booking flights, as reported by various flyers is choosing an incorrect destination. In this situation, instead of booking a flight from LAX (Los Angeles) to ATL (Atlanta), the selection has been reversed.
Remember airlines are seldom able to make any changes in this case. More often than not the ticket would be useless, and you would be required to rebook your flight.
An airport code is a short code used to identify a specific airport. There are two international systems used:
IATA airport code, a three-letter code which is more commonly known to the public
ICAO airport code, a four-letter code which is more commonly used internationally
Most of the "hard to decipher" identifiers become obvious if you know the name of the airport, rather than the city served. Two good examples of this are:
From Louisiana, there are multiple codes: MSY and ESF Moisant Field in New Orleans and Esler Field in Alexandra. Orly airport (ORY) and Charles De Gaule airport (CDG) serve Paris, France, while Tokyo, Japan, has the Narita airport (NRT). When you know what the code represents, some curious acronyms become obvious: CMH is Columbus Municipal Hangar, BWI is Baltimore Washington International, LGW is London Gatwick, and LHR is London Heathrow.
In most cases, the first letter stands for the continent or region, the second letter stands for the country, and the third and fourth letters stand for the name of the specific airport.
Both the IATA and ICAO airline codes are used to identify airports. However, each airport code is significant to a specific airdrome.
As you can see from th picture above, your search for Miami can return quite a few airport codes Miami (Florida), Mian Yang (China).
This occurs due to the drop down list offered on a booking form of a website, also called a booking widget. What you’ll find is that beside each airport code is the city name and country or region. Therefore, while booking your flights, know your origin and destination. Be certain about what you input into the ‘To’ and ‘From’ fields, before you click on the ‘Buy Now/Search/Submit/Book’ buttons.
Purchasing Restrictive Tickets: In our pursuit to find the’ Best deal’ available, we tend to go for restrictive tickets without even realizing that we’ve done so. Sometimes the better deals might be fully refundable tickets. Ask before you book, always. Some tickets come cheap and come with certain rules and restrictions. It’s always advisable to check with the airlines regarding the ticket you want to purchase and what the rules and restrictions are. Know the terms and conditions attached to your booking.
Generic policies attached to restrictive bookings can be as follows:
Tickets can be non-refundable
A ticket change fee might be required in case of any amendments or changes to your booking
An advanced purchase, such as 21, 14 or 7 days prior to departure
The option of getting any sort of refund on these bookings is extremely remote. So, if you think there is a possibility you might need to change your travel plans for any reason, we suggest you purchase an air ticket with fewer restrictions.
Ask yourself the right questions before you book your tickets:
Is there any likelihood I might want, or need to change my travel plans?
In the event of a cancellation, am I entitled to any refund?
In case there is an amendment (name/date) to my ticket, will there be additional fees?
Coming up with right questions prior to your purchase will save you a lot of hassles in the future
Wrong Dates: The possibility of choosing incorrect dates might sound very remote, near impossible, but it’s one of the most common ticketing errors. Mostly attributed to inattentiveness during the process of booking, at times, we keep on proceeding without realizing our mistake. Airlines, due to their strict rules might not be able to make any changes to the booking.
Mistakes happen. But when the mistakes are connected to an airline ticket, they can ruin your entire trip. Always, carefully check, check and recheck all your information before you hit the ‘Book’ button when booking flights.
*The 15 USD off offer is on our transaction service fees only, the discount varies based on the transaction service fees charged for that ticket, and the value of discount will be up to the amount of the service fees charged for that transaction or USD 15 per transaction which ever is less. You must use the promo code upon check out to avail this offer. This offer may be revised or dis-continued without notice.
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