Want to book the perfect flight? If you’d like to decrease the stress of flying, minimize the chance of getting delayed, and maybe even save some money along way, then ask yourself these 10 questions before booking your next flight.
1. Which day of the week is my flight?
The day of the week influences how busy the airport will be and the price of the ticket. Although airfare widely varies in price, flying on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday is often cheaper and the airport is usually not as busy as other days.
2. Is my flight date on or near a holiday?
Airports tend to be busier and flights tend to be more expensive around holidays like: Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years, Spring Break, Memorial Day, 4th of July and Labor Day. Unlike other holidays, Spring Break dates and duration vary by school. Most schools schedule a 1-2 week Spring Break for students somewhere between late March and late April.
3. How early in the day is the flight?
Flights early in the morning are less likely to be delayed than afternoon or evening flights. Delays from air traffic and weather conditions often accumulate throughout the day and create a ripple effect throughout the country. Sometimes flying at less desirable times, like early morning or late evening, can be cheaper than flying at other times of the day.
4. Does the airline offer later flights that day to my destination?
Later flight options in the day mean that if your earlier flight gets hopelessly delayed or even cancelled, you might be able to get rebooked on the later flight the same day. Sure beats having to book a hotel room or even sleep at the airport while your wait for a flight the next day.
5. How many connections are there?
Nonstop flights are ideal. Not only are nonstop flights faster than ones with connections, having no connections eliminates the added stress, uncertainty, and delays that can occur in connecting airports.
6. How long is the layover?
Layovers less than 1 hour are risky. If your first flight gets delayed, you could easily miss your connection. Also, finding your way to your connecting flight’s gate can be more confusing and time consuming than you might think, especially in large airports. Sometimes your connecting flight’s gate is located on the opposite end of the terminal or even in another terminal entirely. A short layover also means you probably won’t have extra time to buy a buyer or use the bathroom.
While layovers that are too short are risky, layovers that are too long can be grueling. Layovers start feeling long after just a few hours. The longest scheduled layover is 23 hours and 59 minutes (anything longer is considered a stopover).
If you’ve got a painfully long layover, you may consider spend some time exploring the city. Make sure you allow adequate time for returning to the airport and for going through customs and immigration (if you’re traveling internationally).
7. Where are the connecting airports located?
The location of the connecting airport matters and so does the season. If possible, avoid connecting through airports in winter regions (e.g. Chicago O’Hare or the Denver Airport) in the winter and airports in hurricane regions (e.g. Fort Lauderdale) during hurricane season.
Also consider some airports are more crowded, harder to navigate, unpleasant to wait it, and incur more delays than others (e.g. Chicago O’Hare, Washington Dulles, LAX, etc). It’s not always feasible avoid certain connecting airports, especially hub airports, nevertheless a connecting flight in Phoenix in the winter is much less likely to suffer from snow delays than a connecting flight in Denver in the winter. Just saying.
8. What time will I arrive at my final destination?
Arriving to your destination city in the morning or afternoon is often more pleasant than arriving at night, especially when the city is unfamiliar to you. It’s harder to navigate a new city at night. Plus a lot of stores will be closed. Many cities have areas that become more dangerous and should be avoided at night as well.
9. What’s included with my ticket?
Some budget airlines, like Spirit, charge extra fees for everything from carry-on luggage to a bottle of water on the plane. Even if you’ve flown with an airline before, consider that the airline may have changed their luggage policy since you last flew with them. Research the airline before buying the ticket so you know what to expect.
10. Is the ticket worth the price?
To some travelers, snagging a crazy cheap plane ticket might be worth enduring a long layover or sacrificing other conveniences. To other travelers, selecting the most convenient flight may be well worth paying a premium. Which type of traveler are you?