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So, I wonder if I’m the only one who follows a rigid ticket-buying process. There’s no particular reason for this, but if I had to guess, I’d say I do it, so I take all the steps, cover every angle, and try to get the best value for the ticket I buy. In previous articles, I’ve spoken about what not to do when buying a ticket, so this would be an extension of that article about what I do when I book my tickets.
In this article, I’ll discuss the top websites I visit and the steps I take when purchasing a mileage or cash ticket.
In This Post
Google flights.
Price.
The first thing I do is go onto Google Flights, and for a straightforward reason, Google Flights makes it easy for me to see my dates. 99% of the time, when I fly, I am flexible with my timetable, so if I have to fly somewhere instead of going on Wednesday, I can always change it to Thursday, and the same applies to the return leg. Being flexible with your days can sometimes make a massive difference in price. The link for Google Flights is here:
Ex-EU.
Another reason I use Google Flights is that I’m flexible in my departure/arrival city. As many of you know, I’m based in London, so logically speaking, leaving from a London airport would make sense. However, I am okay with hopping on a short flight to Dublin, Helsinki, or anywhere in Europe because the ticket prices are way lower than in the UK, thanks to a low tax system. Plus, on Google Flights, you can search for up to seven airports at once, and do the same for my arriving airport, too.
Points availability.
The next step is obviously looking for points. Since we are in the comparing points to cash stages, we need to find availability to have something to compare it to, so if it is BA, AA or VS, I’m flying, I’ll have a look on Seat Spy because it’s the quickest however one thing to note is that they are not always the most accurate, so whatever you see on Seat Spy always remember to double check it on the airline website as well, just to make sure the seats are actually available.
aeroLOPA.
aeroLOPA is a phenomenal website with 3D-like images of aircraft seating. It makes it extremely easy to see where I could sit on the aircraft, as sometimes it will be an airline or a plane I haven’t flown on before, so it will be unfamiliar territory for me.
Conclusion.
For me, always when I travel, I like to try new things, like new aircraft, new business/premium economy class or sometimes maybe even a new first or, yes, even economy class seats; flying is fun, and I never want 2 trips to be the same, I go as far as always going with different routes to the airport whether ill drive myself and try out different airport car parks or trains or limousine service (we call them minicabs here…) or even helicopters like we see in NYC where you can literally be picked up with a helicopter and dropped off in Manhattan. Flying is fun, and I always keep it that way; there is so much on offer, and I love trying it all.
What is your strict travel routine ‘ticket buying process’ when you fly? Let me know in the comments below.
Part 2 of ‘My Process for Booking Hotels’ will follow shortly.
