Planning a trip takes a significant amount of your time, and booking airline tickets even more so. You have to spend time researching the destination you are visiting and booking hotel and flight tickets accordingly. This task can get even more cumbersome if you don't do things the right way. Hence, it would help if you were extra careful when making an air travel ticket booking. Most travellers are guilty of booking flights for the wrong date and time. Some of them even booked the wrong destination. Hence, it would help if you were extra careful with teh airport codes since they can be tricky. So here is a list of a few common mistakes people make when booking a flight and how you can avoid them. 

Wrong Flight Time

Are you confused about the timing of your tickets? Make sure you confirm it. This is one of the easiest mistakes that many travellers tend to make when making air travel ticket booking. So check if you are working with a system that does not run by the 24-hour clock. It is suggested that you have a 24-hour watch on your phone so that you don't get confused about what your tickets say about the departure times. 

Wrong date

Keep in mind that flight booking websites have a current date as the default date. So make sure you mention the correct travelling date when you start with the booking process. But when you shuffle back and forth to edit the details or to check them, sometimes the date tends to change and go back to default. Proceeding to the payment page without checking can end up with a flight that is taking off that very day. Therefore, you must check the date before making the final payment. 

Booking the Ticket Too Early

The best chance to get the best possible fare is 45 days before domestic travel and 60 days before an international trip. This is true until you are planning to fly during high-traffic days like any holidays. Booking the flight too far in advance will lead you to pay a much higher fare. 

Wrong Passenger Details

Make sure the information you have on the boarding pass or tickets is precisely the same as your passport, especially when flying on an international flight. One small mistake, like leaving out the middle name or the wrong passport number, can lead to the flight taking off without you. 

Insufficient Baggage Allowance

Remember that each airline has a different baggage allowance limit. International baggage allowance is usually 30 Kg. but this may not be the same if you are flying domestically while abroad. Many airlines allow you to carry only 15 Kgs of check-in luggage when flying domestically. So take into consideration the fur coats and fancy boots you packed for your vacation, as you may have to pay a hefty amount to accommodate the luggage. 

Connecting Flight With No Enough Time in Between

In contrast to what most people think, a layover of an hour or two is not enough to act as a connecting light. Though you can get lucky sometimes, it usually takes around 90 minutes to get your baggage transferred. Moreover, when travelling internationally, you need to go through immigration, security, and customs and also get your bags checked and repeat the same before boarding the connecting flight. Apart from this, transferring between terminals also takes up significant time. It would help if you considered all these factors when choosing a connecting flight. 

Not Being Aware of Mistake Airfares

Mistake airfares are quite common in the world of instant online booking, where all transactions are automated. Also known as errors or airline price glitches, mistake airfares occur when an airline or travel agency accidentally lists the wrong price for a flight, thus selling the ticket for much less than it is worth. The problem with these airfares is that airlines do not have to honour them and, hence, may cancel tickets if they are a big loss. However, many a time, mistake airfares are honoured since it may cost more to the airline to correct the problem, and it also affects their public relations. 

Since studies show that many of the mistake airfares are not cancelled, it is a good practice to wait for a while before making another travel arrangement. It is also suggested that you don't book error fares for your honeymoon or a group vacation. Remember that it is extremely rare for airlines to cancel mistaken fares after months of booking. Most of them will cancel them shortly after the booking. 

To Sum Up

Therefore, you need to pay careful attention to these little details when booking flights. Even if your tickets are cancelled, you will have to bear a cancellation fee. So why pay the extra money when you can avoid it by being more careful?