George Nugent Travels

Booking flights is almost, if not more, stressful for most people than taking them. With so many diffferent airlines and so many different types of fares it can be a challenge to know which airline is offering you the best value for your money.

This post will make hopefully make the process more straightforward for you as I share the tips I use when booking flights to enusre I am getting the best value for money. These may not work for everybody, but try them and let me know what you think.

Throughout this post I will use an example booking. This will be for flights between Glasgow and Alicante in Spain.

1. Decide Where You Want To Go.

It sounds really basic, but this one step makes the entire process much easier. Decide where you want to go on holiday and how long you want to go for.

If you have specific dates then write these down as well.

Once you have decided on this, you can move on to step 2.

2. Knowing What Airlines Fly To Your Destination

Your best source for this information is not the airport or airline websites, it’s Skyscanner. I say this because they will show you all of the options available to you with all airlines.

Once you have done this search make a note of the prices and eliminate any options you do not like, I normally eliminate bookings with very late arrival times in my destination, alongisde the most expensive option.

For this trip I will be eliminating easyJet because of the price and will consider both Jet2 and TUI.

3. Adding on extras

Now you know the airlines you need the next step is to go to their websites and start adding in the extras you want for your booking.

Consider the following;

Seats, Baggage, Insurance and also any inflight catering pre-order options

For my booking I will be adding a seat and a checked bag to both bookings, below is a breakdown of the cost for each option.

As you can see the final Jet2 price is £468

As you can see the final TUI price is £513

With all of that considered I will be eliminating TUI and will be booking with Jet2. You may have notice that the Jet2 price increased significantly more than the TUI price. This shows why this step of the process is the most important, remember, only add what you need to the booking and try and pack as light as you can, baggage is by far the best way for an airline to take money from you.

4. Book The Flights

Now I know I am booking with Jet2 I would go ahead and make the booking to ensure I pay the price I have seen. If possible book as soon as you know the final price, as leaving it may increase the price as departure gets closer or as more people book.

5. Know Your Rights

In the case something goes wrong, know your rights when it comes to getting a refund. Below is a link to the Citizens Advice website, which clearly lays out the rights you have as a traveller.

This website is your best tool in the event of a delay or cancellation to your flight, save it, you may need it.

Citizens Advice Website