How to Book Flight Tickets

Booking flight tickets can seem quite complicated because there are so many websites, airlines and travel agencies to choose from these days. Moreover, ticket prices also fluctuate constantly, making booking even more complicated. However, you just need to study hard and be a little flexible, next time you will be able to book tickets easily.

Table of Contents

Book flight tickets online

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Buy tickets in advance. If you want to buy tickets at the lowest price, the best time to book domestic flight tickets is between 112 and 21 days before departure. Booking tickets 54 days in advance is considered the perfect time. However, even if you book a ticket 54 days in advance, you will not be able to buy the cheapest ticket. ^{[1] X Research Source}

If you’re booking an international flight, it’s a good idea to hunt for tickets as soon as possible, especially if you’re going to a small destination or the location is close to a single airport. ^{[2] X Research Source}
If you plan to fly to a popular holiday destination, such as Phu Quoc during the summer break, you should book your tickets as early as possible. When many people need to fly at the same time, it is rare for the price to be cheap. ^{[3] X Research Sources}

Allyson Edwards

International consulting and world travel

Allyson Edwards graduated from Stanford University with a BA in International Relations. She has since gone on to facilitate international collaborations with agencies in more than twenty countries, she has also consulted for companies in the education, financial technology and retail industries.

Allyson Edwards
International consulting and world travel

Expert Tip : Book your tickets strategically. Fares for international flights will be cheapest when you book about 2 months in advance, while domestic flight prices fluctuate quite a lot until about 1 month from the flight date before increasing sharply. Keep an eye on fares and book when they’re the cheapest!

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Find tickets on cheap ticket hunting sites. Before booking tickets, please browse through cheap ticket hunting sites, such as Airfare Watch Dog, sanvemaybay.vn to find promotional tickets. This is especially helpful if your destination and flight dates are flexible, so you’ll be able to find great deals.

Sometimes airlines also have promotions for customers on the website or through the airline’s announcement. You can subscribe to your favorite airlines or visit their websites to find these programs.

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Enter journey information into ticket hunting sites. Go to ticketing sites such as SkyScanner, Momondo or GoogleFlights and enter your itinerary. These websites will search and display flights that match your destination and flight date, you can choose flights by fare, airline or journey time. ^{[4] X Research Sources}

Many ticketing sites allow you to enter multiple destinations at once and search for flights on different dates. This will help you find the most suitable flight if you have flexible itineraries.
If you have time, browse through a few ticket hunting sites. Prices may vary from site to site, so it’s better to browse through a few sites to get the best price. ^{[5] X Research Sources}

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Select the number of stops for the flight sector. A lot of flights, especially long-haul flights, often require you to stop at the airport in the middle of your journey. This stop is available for aircraft changeovers and security checks. When searching for flights, be sure to check your transit information so you know how many stops you’ll have to make, how long each stop will take, and at what time of day.

You’ll probably find a cheaper flight if you’re comfortable with multiple transits. However, consider whether the fare you save is worth the amount of time you spend in transit.

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Visit the airline’s homepage. Once you’ve found your desired itinerary, choose your itinerary on the ticketing page and go to the airline’s homepage to book a ticket. You can book tickets through ticket hunting sites, but there will be an additional service fee. ^{[6] X Research Sources}

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Choose a seat. Many airlines allow customers to choose their seats at the time of booking. Remember to choose seats for the people you’re booking for. You can choose to have everyone sit together if there’s enough room; Choose a seat near the aisle, by the window, or in the middle. You can also pay an additional fee for a seat upgrade, such as a legroom seat.

If you cannot choose a seat when booking, you may be able to choose a seat at check-in. If you prefer to sit in a certain position or need to sit close to your companion, such as traveling with young children, you can call the airline to see if a seat can be selected first.

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Choose to use the full service or not. When the booking process is almost done, the airline may suggest additional services that you can book, such as booking a hotel or renting a car. You can choose these services when you book or book separately.

Before booking an extra service, such as a hotel room or car rental, you should research first to make sure the company offers you the service at the most reasonable price.

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Request special support services. If there are any special requirements, such as the need for a wheelchair, they should be requested at the time of booking. If there is no place to enter this required information when booking online, you can contact the airline’s customer service directly.

Some other special amenities may include flying with service animals, medical care or special diets,

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Choose whether to purchase additional insurance or not. During the booking process, you may also be asked if you want to purchase additional insurance. Please read the terms and conditions carefully to consider whether your flight or itinerary needs insurance.

You can buy insurance at work, health care, and credit card services. So take a look at these options and compare costs if you want to buy travel insurance.

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Book tickets! You will confirm all of your itinerary information is correct on the airline’s website, then follow the instructions to enter your personal and payment information to complete the booking process. You may also need to enter the information of the people you will be flying with.

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Receive booking confirmation and invoice. After booking, you will receive a booking confirmation and an invoice via email. If you don’t receive an email after a few hours, you should contact the carrier.

Save confirmations and invoices in a safe folder. You should also print them out.

Research about the trip

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Decide on a location. Depending on your trip, you can be flexible about exactly where you’re going. Take the time to research to find the perfect destination.

For example, if you want to visit the Caribbean, you can choose to stop by more than 28 island countries and 7000 islands.
If you already have a fixed destination, you may still find a second airport. For example, if you’re visiting relatives in San Francisco, you can also look for flights to nearby Oakland Airport. ^{[7] X Research Sources}

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Decide when to go. Discuss with your travel companions to decide when you will make the trip and how long it will take. The more flexible the travel date, the easier it will be to find cheap tickets. ^{[8] X Research Sources}

If you cannot be flexible with your departure date or will depart early, it is best to book your tickets as early as possible. This is especially important when you’re flying during peak times of the year, such as the New Year holidays. ^{[9] X Research Source}

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Check if you need a visa (visa) or vaccinations. Some international destinations require visitors to obtain a special visa to enter their territory or get vaccinated prior to entry. Research all of this so you have time to make arrangements, apply for a visa, and get vaccinated.

For the most up-to-date information, visit the websites of travel agencies, such as dulichviet.com.vn in Vietnam, www.travel.gc.ca in Canada www.travel. state.gov in the US.

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Decide who to go with and what luggage to bring. For example, if you’re traveling with an infant, depending on your flight’s service, you may not need to purchase a separate seat for your baby. However, traveling with a small child means you will have to carry extra luggage, such as a baby bag, crib or stroller.

Book flight tickets through travel agencies

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Summary of trip information. After doing your research, choose your destination and departure date, although these can be flexible. Also, have your payment and personal information ready for you and those with you.

For example, you will need to know the dates of birth and passport numbers of all those traveling with you.

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Find a famous travel agency. You can ask friends and relatives for advice if you have no experience in finding a travel agency. If you can’t turn to anyone for advice, you can search online and choose a company that has good customer reviews. ^{[10] X Research Source}

Don’t believe all the bad reviews. Many people often give bad reviews simply because they are not satisfied with requirements that go against company policy.
Note the number of good and bad reviews the company receives. If they’ve received a lot of bad reviews lately, it’s best not to work with them.

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Work directly with the travel agency or contact by phone. Depending on the company, you can either visit them in person or talk over the phone. You need to pay attention to whether the counselor is knowledgeable, friendly and service oriented to the customer. They need to be able to answer all of your questions and have experience booking trips similar to yours.

Prepare questions in advance, preferably print out a piece of paper so you don’t forget to ask anything.

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Provide travel information. You need to inform the travel agency about your destination and departure dates, and let them know if you have flexibility to get to nearby destinations, stop in multi-stop or go on a different date. Also, don’t forget to mention special wishes and services if you have one. For example:

The seat you desire, such as a seat near an aisle or window.
Special services, such as wheelchairs.
Do you want to buy additional services, such as accommodation or car rental?
Do you want to buy insurance?

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Book tickets! After receiving the information, the travel agency will give you information about suitable flights to choose from. Make the best choice and continue talking with them to complete the booking process. You will need to provide them with personal and payment information.

Prepare the necessary information in advance to make the booking process go more smoothly.

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Receive invoice and confirm booking. Usually the travel agency will send this information to you via email. If you do not receive an email after booking for a long time, please contact the company again. You can also request to receive an invoice and a hard copy booking confirmation if you are unable to access the email.

Save the confirmations sent to you in a safe folder to avoid accidental deletion. You can also print this information out on paper in case you encounter a technical error as your flight date approaches.

Advice

You can also choose to register for a meal when booking if a meal is served on the flight. If you have special requirements, such as food allergies, don’t forget to let the airline know when you sign up for a meal.
If you need assistance with your flight, such as a wheelchair, you will also need to request it during your booking. If you forget, please call and inform the travel agency or airline as soon as possible.
If you’re a member of a loyalty program, don’t forget to check out promotions for this or other promotions to book tickets at low prices.

Warning

Read the airline’s policies on ticket cancellation, transfer or exchange before booking. If you need to delay or cancel your flight for any reason, you need to know how the ticket you booked will be handled. You should also consider buying travel insurance.
If you want to buy tickets through a travel agency, you need to consult carefully before making a decision to estimate the cost of the flight to the place you need to go, thereby knowing the service price of the company. reasonable or not.
Consider in-flight transit waiting times. Sometimes cheaper flights have longer airport transit times and are more inconvenient if you are traveling with elderly people or children.
No one can predict with 100% accuracy when the airline will launch promotional tickets. Waiting to hunt for discounted tickets sounds very attractive, but if you have fixed your destination and departure date, you should book your tickets as soon as possible, because sometimes you will have to spend more if you try to wait until the last minute. ^{[11] X Research Source}

Steps

Book flight tickets online

Research about the trip

Book flight tickets through travel agencies

Advice

Warning

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