How to Book a Flight.
A step by step guide.
It may seem obvious, but I can’t tell you the number of times people have asked me, “Where’s the best place to go online to book a flight?”
Putting aside booking award travel using airline miles or credit card points (that’s a post for another day), below is a step-by-step guide to guide you through searching for and booking flights online.
Once you have a rough sense of your travel dates and/or destination(s), begin with an online travel search engine. We love Google Flights for its ease of use and wide range of features.
Enter in your departure and arrival locations as well as your travel dates, or use the “multi-city” feature to explore multi-city trips.
It’s essential to include in your search the number of travelers (adults, children, infants in their own seat, and infants on a lap) as well as your preferred class of travel (economy, premium economy, business or first). The number of travelers, in particular, is key to identifying flights with the actual number of seats available you seek to book.
Keep in mind that children under two may fly in an adult’s lap or in a car seat in their own paid seat, but children over two must have their own seat. And if you’re booking your teenage child a ticket for them to fly alone, double check the airline’s rules regarding unaccompanied minors, which vary widely.
Once you click Search, Google Flights will display the best flight options, which are ranked by their algorithm according to price and convenience.
At this point, you may filter your search in a variety of ways to suit your preference including Number of Stops, Airlines, Bags (carry-on and/or checked), Price, Times, Emissions, Connecting Airports, and Duration.
Once you filter your search with any must-have features, we suggest utilizing the “Sort By” feature to display flights in a way that suits you best. The options include Best Flights, Price, Departure Time, Arrival Time and Emissions.
Google Flights will helpfully identify whether prices are low, average, or high for your travel dates and also provide a price history for your travel search.
If your travel dates are flexible, we recommend checking out the “Date Grid” and “Price Graph” located at the top right of your search results to identify the most cost-effective days for you to fly your selected itinerary.
If you are not in a rush to book and/or you routinely fly to a particular destination, consider using the toggle on the price tracker at the top left of your search results. You can toggle either specific dates to receive email updates when flight prices change for your searched dates, or select tracking any dates to receive routine email updates when prices are low for the selected itinerary.
Once you have filtered and sorted your flight options, select your departure flight first. Keep in mind that the roundtrip price listed next to your departing flight may change depending on which return flight you select.
After you select a departure flight, Google Flights will provide search results for best returning flights, again ranked by their algorithm according to price and convenience.
We love the details that Google Flights provides about each flight leg. Use the drop down arrow to obtain specific details such as flight number, whether the flight is operated by another airline, aircraft type, legroom, Wi-Fi and TV options on board and carbon emissions.
Once you’ve viewed all the options on Google Flights and are ready to book, we strongly recommend booking your flight(s) directly through the airline’s website, rather than through a third-party such as Expedia. Booking directly on the airline’s website will ensure accurate ticket pricing as well as up-to-date information regarding policies and any applicable fees for baggage, seat selection, priority boarding, cancellation, changes and refunds.
A few final tips.
Keep in mind that the basic economy fares offered by American, Delta and United tend to be the most restrictive and typically do not allow you to bring a carry-0n, select your seat, or change your flight. If you anticipate traveling with bags and/or want to select your seats in advance, you might actually spend less money overall by booking a standard economy fare upfront.
Do book your flight using your full name as it appears on your passport or driver’s license.
Consider purchasing travel insurance, especially if the airline has a strict cancellation and/or change policy.
The majority of airlines permit changes and/or cancellations to tickets within 24 hours of booking, so you’ve got a narrow window of wiggle room.
