Copyright (c) 2013 Daniel Hardie
International air travel is a complex system of rules and regulations from various countries and governments however there are some standards that you as a traveller should be aware of when booking your flights.
There are a few common mistakes that travellers make time after time again. It is surprising to see just how many people make these mistakes which results in hefty fees and charges by the airlines, travel agents and other third party travel suppliers that may be awaiting your arrival on the other end of your travel.
In order to learn and avoid these mistakes we will look at the 3 most common mistakes people make when booking travel. Being aware of such mistakes will hopefully get you to take a more proactive approach to checking your details. Even if you rely on a travel agent to check these details, they only get their information from you. So if you haven’t double checked your details then you could up for the costs or cancellations of your intended trip.
The first and most overlooked mistake that people make when booking travel is that the passenger does not check the name on their ticket and compare it to their passport.
It seems silly to think that a passenger doesn’t know their own name however an itinerary for travel needs to match your passport word for word, letter for letter. Does your passport include your middle name? Is it missing your middle name? Whatever details are on your passport needs to go on your booking.
Other times where names are often incorrect may include booking for a group of people and they are not all present at the time of making a booking. Are you just guessing their passport name? Maybe their name is John Smith and so this is what you advise the airline when booking the ticket. Chances are John’s passport also includes a middle name, for example John Doe Smith.
The other mistake I see time and time again is hyphen names. In the above example maybe the name is John-Doe as the first name, but you may only call them John and therefore book it this way.
The repercussions of this mistake means that you will need to change the booking which does attract amendment and sometimes even cancellation fees from the travel agents and the airlines. These fees are only charged if you have paid in full, so if you have only locked in the seats tentatively, you should change the names as soon as possible.
If you have paid your flight in full then the seats are locked in with the names on the booking. Any changes after being paid in full will attract amendment fees and any increase to the fare, taxes and fuel. The sooner you check your details the cheaper the fees and charges will be.
Often passengers may not notice the name being incorrect and then arrive at the airport to check in. If this is the case, sadly you will lose your flight and pay a 100% cancellation of the flight. The only way to get on now is to purchase a brand new fare… if there are any seats left of course.
The 2nd mistake people make when booking travel relates to their passport validity. Passports may have an expiry a few months after your return but the international rule is you must have 6 months left on your passport, from the date you get back to your country of origin.
Please note the date is always from the date you arrive back in your destination, not your departure date from your destination. Keep in mind travel times and time zones that change during your flight. You may leave your destination on a Saturday the 1st of the month but arrive home on the 3rd due to time zones. In this scenario you need 6 months validity from the 3rd.
If you do not have the passport validity for the date of arrival back to your country of origin then you will be denied boarding. Even if it is out by just one day, you will not be allowed on the flight.
Hopefully the airport security in your country of origin notices this passport validity before you do fly to your destinations. If they don’t the other country will detain you on the other end. For this reason your airport security should pick up the passport expiry date before you even get through customs and so protecting you from detainment on the other end.
The last and third most common mistake people make when booking travel is checking the change and refundable policy on their fare.
Not all fares are created equal, some allow change for minimal costs, some allow changes are hefty costs and some fare does not let you change any details at all. Each airline and each fare price will have its own rules.
As these fees can be quite hefty, it one of those things that you absolutely need to check before paying for your flight in full. Generally speaking, the cheapest fares and those fares that are on fantastic sales and deals are usually non-changeable and non-refundable tickets.
If for example you paid for your flights in full and you needed to change your dates or perhaps you noticed that one of the passenger’s names is incorrect. In this scenario the fare rules of the ticket will kick in for amendment fees and charges.
Your fare rules may state something like ‘$ 100 amendment fees, plus any fare and levy increases’, but if you didn’t check your ticket and it was non-changeable then you would need to cancel the ticket, without any refund and purchase a brand new ticket.
This is just another reason why you need to check all passenger names on the booking to your passport. It must match exactly and if it doesn’t you will be liable for any costs incurred and sometimes that means 100% loss of your payment.
Hopefully within this article you can now see that checking your details, passport and rules of the fare is very important. Be proactive when booking your travel and don’t just rely on the travel agent to know exactly what your passport name is and be sure to ask them to go through the airline rules of the ticket before paying in full.