3 Things to Consider Before Booking Your Flight Deal

I recently returned back from a pretty epic 4 country, 2-week tour in the Middle East (with a stop-over in Kiev, Ukraine). This was all thanks to securing a flight deal from NYC to Amman, Jordan for less than $300. I must admit, however, that before booking the fare I was very skeptical.

Don’t get me wrong. I love a good flight just like many of you. Gone for me are the days, however, where good pricing outweighs travel aggravations. So I have developed a short checklist for vetting whether a flight deal is holistic or just a flight deal in the base price. Before booking my Amman, Jordan trip, I ran through my short flight deal checklist. After completing the checklist, on balance, the deal was a holistic one so I booked the flight.

Now, it was clear that some of my co-passengers had not done the same. There were several disgruntled people who were complaining about baggage fees for carry-on luggage and last minute seat changes that were announced at the gate due to the decision of the airline to change planes that day. In hopes that I can help you avoid being one of the disgruntled passengers in the future, I am sharing the short-checklist that I use to avoid travel aggravations.

Read the Fine Print to Calculate the True Cost of Flight Deals Before Booking Your Flight Deal

Some airlines are notorious for charging a base price as the sale and then tacking on additional fees for “premium services”. That is why I always make sure I have a good handle on what is included and what isn’t included in an offered sale fare. This “premium service fees” sometimes even apply when booking a Super Saver Business Class fare. As such, it is important to know what you are getting yourself into before booking the flight.

Some of the pesky fees to look out for are:

Baggage Fees,
Seat Selection Fees,
Multi-Fee Upgrades,
Airport Check-In Convenience Fees,
Food and Beverage Fees, and
Purchase Type Fees (i.e., purchases using a credit card versus a debit.).

If after all of the potential fees that may be applicable to a trip are taken into consideration the flight deal is still a good deal, then I know it is time to purchase. That is exactly what I did when booking my Amman, Jordan flight. It is also the reason why when other passengers were aggravated in Kiev, I was cool as a cucumber.

EXPERT TIP: The good news is if you end booking a flight and then realizing it is not really a deal, many airlines subject to U.S. aviation regulations offer you the right to cancel your ticket purchase and get a refund within 24 hours of purchase.

CHECK AIRLINE FINANCIAL HEALTH BEFORE BOOKING YOUR FLIGHT DEAL

Like many of you, I heard the news about all of the passengers who were stranded as a result of WOW Airlines “unexpectedly” ceasing operations. The truth is, however, that WOW airlines’ financial difficulties should not have been that much of a surprise. The airline had some pretty consistent public reports of financial difficulties. In fact, I returned from Iceland (the home base for WOW airlines), a few days before the airline ceased operations. I, however, was not traveling on WOW airlines because I did an airline financial health check before booking an Award Saver Fare.

An airline financial check is a brief review of tools that help you evaluate an airline’s financial status. A financial check will determine whether there is a possibility of an airline ceasing operations in the near future or most tragically while you are mid-trip. If you want some more information on my favorite tools for checking airline financial health, check out my blog post on that topic here.

CHECK AIRLINE SAFETY RECORD

The final thing that I will check before booking a flight deal is the airline’s safety record. Obviously, the most tragic thing that can happen when traveling with an airline who has a poor safety and maintenance record is a plane crash. Improper maintenance, however, can also have the impact of flight delays, plane changes, etc, which can cut into your vacation time.

As such, I like to check airline safety and maintenance records so I can try to avoid travel shenanigans. If you want some more information on my favorite tools for checking the safety record of aircraft maintained by an airline, check out my blog post here.

RECAP OF WHAT YOU SHOULD CHECK BEFORE BOOKING YOUR FLIGHT DEAL

As a recap, the 3 things on my short holistic flight deal booking checklist are:

Read the Fine Print to evaluate the true cost of the flight;
Check the airline financial health to avoid trip cancellations or getting stranded;
Check the airline safety and maintenance record to minimize the likelihood of maintenance-related flight delays.