Overseas Travels: Commonsense tips on shopping for airline tickets abroad

Overseas traveling can be fun or headache depending on how you approach it, how well you plan ahead and above all, how much you enjoy the journey itself. Before you can actually begin your travels abroad however, you need to book the airline tickets to meet your needs. Searching for bargains in airfares is no shoe-shopping by any means. The airfare is one of the biggest expenses of the overseas travels.

Based on my first hand experiences of booking an airline ticket from America to India (different airports at different times), here are some key tips. Many of these tips are just commonsense and should come as no surprise to anyone:

Start bright and early: Trying to book an overseas plane ticket at the last minute is no fun. In the crunch time, you end up paying a lot more than you normally would. Whenever possible, plan ahead and start your airfare search at least 2 to 3 weeks in advance. Yes, there are last minute deals that you might find during slow seasons; however, waiting for the last minute hoping for a good deal is often a big mistake.

Do your own research:The internet makes it so easy now-a-days to try different websites and different airlines for airfare comparison. Try them out, spend some time looking around and see what is available. If your travel allows you to be flexible, you can certainly get some decent deals. And after you get a feel for the online price range, you may also call some local travel agents for comparison shopping.

Be flexible on the depart/return dates: I noticed that flying on the week-end for international flights is more expensive. Flying during weekdays, or returning on Monday (instead of Sunday) is generally cheaper. So, be flexible in your travel plans. Many online sites allow the option of flexible search. Kayak, Delta and United Airlines etc. allow you to look at the calendar ( a few day before and a few days after your depart/return dates) with prices marked for each day based on the flexible depart/return dates.

Special deals: Many airlines offer special deals or discount fares during slow season or during off days of the week. The biggest problem with these deals is that many of them are advertised last minute and don’t give you much time to plan ahead. Many sites allow you to subscribe to an email alert with latest promotions or upcoming special offers.

Read the fine prints: Some online sites advertise their airfare without including the taxes in their price. You don’t find the surprise until you start to look at the finer details. Also, many airlines now charge extra fee for luggage/baggage check-in, so take all this into account before pressing ‘purchase the ticket’ button.

Avoid no-name online travel sites: There are thousand of sites looking for your credit card number and other personal info. So, tread carefully. Try to stick with a well known travel site, or book directly with the airline.

Main websites that are helpful and reliable: I personally liked the following websites, for the ease of their use, the options in flight search. Also, the pricing was quite competitive.

Look beyond the price: While it is all good to look for the cheapest airfare, make sure that you are not sacrificing on the overall comfort. For example, avoid weird travel segments with long lay-over and long connection delays. By end of the day, the idea is to enjoy the journey.

The little things matter: Oh, and don’t forget to select your seat assignment – window or isle, whatever you prefer. :) Many airlines will meet your special dietary needs or any such restrictions, in case you are looking for a vegetarian meal, for example.

My End result: I ended up buying a ticket with Delta airline directly. It was not the cheapest airfare. The decision was driven by the flight times, competitive pricing and the past experience with Delta during domestic/USA flights.

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