It is true that cheap tickets are the most essential
ingredient for gratifying breaks for any avid holiday maker! It is also true
that changes in travel plan after having booked these cheap flights are common.
Date changes, cancellation and other amendments to the booked tickets are often
desired and requested by many travelers. Many holiday makers often complain
about the exorbitant charges that are levied by travel agents to accomplish
these amendment requests which cause the otherwise cheap ticket deals to become
highly expensive deals.
All bookings are subject to certain terms and conditions set
by the airlines. In addition they are also subject to the terms and conditions
and other clauses and factors as set by the travel agent. It is essential for
new or infrequent travelers to be aware of and consider these factors while
making bookings with travel agents, as ignoring these may lead them to pay a
bomb in case of some later amendments to the bookings. Here are some of these
factors.
Changeable and
Non-Changeable Tickets
Holiday-makers who feel that they might need to change their
travel date either before departure or before return travel would do well to
book changeable tickets. These tickets can be changed by paying an additional
date change fee set by the airline. If booked with a travel agent, an admin fee
over and above the change fee is levied by the travel agents.
Those booking non-changeable tickets are not permitted to
get the travel dates changed by the airline. Furthermore, the non-changeable
tickets can only be cancelled and reissued for travel on a later date which
will entail a cancellation charge and one might not even get a cheaper fare for
new tickets.
Refundable and Non
Refundable Tickets
Refundable tickets can be cancelled for a cancellation fee
as stipulated by the airlines. Cancellation of tickets booked with the travel
agent usually attracts an admin fee apart from cancellation charge. The
remaining balance after levying necessary charges is refunded to the
passengers. However, non refundable tickets would not be eligible for
cancellation at an additional fee and result in complete forfeiture of the amount
paid with an exception of the unused airport taxes. Airport taxes form a very
small part of the ticket cost which are refunded to passengers.
Fares Subject to
Availability
Remember, the airline fares are highly volatile and change
on an ongoing basis based on the availability of seats in the airline’s
inventory. All fares quoted to travelers are subject to availability unless
they are paid for and ticketed. So a fare quoted to a traveler today may not be
available tomorrow or may even expire early, unless the booking is confirmed by
making a payment. It is advisable to confirm the booking as soon as you figure
that you cannot find a cheaper one to avoid loosing it.
Availability of seats also affects those tickets which are
to be amended. For example, travelers with tickets on cheap flights to India
who request a date change or even a change of time on the same day may not
necessarily get the same airfares on flights to India for the new schedule.
Fare Difference
The unavailability of seats in the same booking class often
results in fare difference payable by the passengers. The fare difference adds
to the cost of ticket. For example, those booking cheap flights to India and
requesting return date change might have to incur additional cost made up of
date change fee, the admin fee and the fare difference, ceasing them to be cheap
flights to India anymore.
There are a number of other terms and conditions set by
airline and travel agents that many novice air travelers are unaware of.
Understanding ones discussed above are sure to enlighten them as to how things
work in the air travel industry and may help them grab the best deal to avoid
burning a hole in their pockets.
No comments:
Post a Comment