In this day of self service, the airlines have made it easy for you to book your next trip.  Unfortunately, this comes with some very common and sometimes expensive mistakes.

Airlines are becoming quite unsympathetic to these errors and, more than likely, you will have to pay to make changes once your booking is submitted, if they permit a change at all – especially if your fare is a non-refundable one.

So, take your time when making your reservations and pay attention in particular to the following:

1. Dates – It’s important to note that the calendar function on many of the airline websites are different with different default dates.  You are given a couple times to verify your travel dates prior to submitting the payment info.
2. Names – In this day and age with increased security, airlines are required to collect your name as it appears on your passport or other identification and these must match.  To do a name change after the booking is submitted, again ,they more than likely will charge for this change if they allow it all (and many won’t).  This includes simple typing mistakes.

While I have pointed out the two most common errors, I have seen mistakes in destinations as well.  There is so much information available to you on these websites during the booking process, including your baggage allowance, change fees,  meal service, availability of B.O.B. (buy on board), check-in information, terms and conditions, en-route stops, change of planes, code-share flights, check-in information, type of equipment and many more things.

So help avoid that unnecessary stress and possible additional costs by just taking your time when making your own travel arrangements.

Wishing you happy and safe travels…

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