Buying a airline ticket online

TELLIT01

I agree with the advice to use a High Street travel agent.  It may be a little dearer but you will have peace of mind knowing that everything has been done correctly.

Bonhomie

TELLIT01 said:

I agree with the advice to use a High Street travel agent.  It may be a little dearer but you will have peace of mind knowing that everything has been done correctly.

You might agree with it, but can you confirm to the potential purchaser that the ticket conditions will be exactly the same as if they bought the ticket with the own payment card, directly with the airline?
You'll be able to read a recent thread wherein the OP cannot do anything with his ticket without going through the booking agent. Airline cannot help him.

jimi_man

TELLIT01 said:

I agree with the advice to use a High Street travel agent.  It may be a little dearer but you will have peace of mind knowing that everything has been done correctly.

I’d say the opposite. I see no advantage with going through a travel agent and generally the advice is to avoid them if possible. Other than airline specific ones such as BA Holidays who have an excellent reputation. 

And I don’t think you would have piece of mind. If something goes wrong then it’s far better and easier to go through the airline rather than a travel agent. This is demonstrated in numerous threads on here. 

DullGreyGuy

jimi_man said:

TELLIT01 said:

I agree with the advice to use a High Street travel agent.  It may be a little dearer but you will have peace of mind knowing that everything has been done correctly.

I’d say the opposite. I see no advantage with going through a travel agent and generally the advice is to avoid them if possible. Other than airline specific ones such as BA Holidays who have an excellent reputation. 

And I don’t think you would have piece of mind. If something goes wrong then it’s far better and easier to go through the airline rather than a travel agent. This is demonstrated in numerous threads on here. 

Not all travel agents are equal. 

Wife and a friend were going on a day trip to France to go to a trade show. Wife booked her tickets via a travel agent, her friend booked directly with Air France. 

Circa 10pm the night before wife got a text from the agency saying the flight had been cancelled; friend got no notification that night. Wife phoned agent who said they could see there was a BA flight leaving 5 minutes before the Air France was due to go and landing at the same time to give them an hour and they'll get AF's permission to switch carrier. 45 minutes later call to say its done and email is on its way with new ticket details.

Obv wife told her friend, they tried to call AirFrance and were told the lines were closed. So wife headed off to the airport in the morning, friend did the same whilst trying to call AF on the way. At 9am wife was sat in her seat on the plane, her friend was still in a queue to speak to AF (simultaneously on the phone and the customer service desk at the airport). Finally got to speak to speak to someone circa 11am by which point it was too late to travel. 

twopenny

Interesting Guy.

When we had one I would use the travel agent. I think in all I paid an extra £30 for them to wait for the cheapest price, book the flight and hotel, print off all the tickets and gumph I needed, choose my seat and give me lots of advice about the area.

I've also found them to get the cheapest fare when it was an emergency flight and again did the work.

I have booked flights online but I did a lot of practise runs first to be sure I was getting it right and you do need to know what you're looking at.

If you can find any help to do it that's the best. We have a group here dedicated to helping people learn their way round online stuff as not all of us have friends or family who can show us.

Also the U3A may have a computer savey group. They are usually the most efficient as there will be a few members who really know their way around this stuff.

Outeast1000

NoodleDoodleMan said:

Do you have a relative or friend who is computer literate to make the booking for you - and subsequently download and print off the boarding passes ?

I suspect you may not be comfortable using a mobile 'phone for any part of the process ?

Therefore the suggestion of using a "High Street" travel agent would be good advice - and they can provide the paper copies of the boarding passes which are the better option IMO.

Can I ask which airline you are looking to travel with - and where you are intending to fly to ?

Certain airlines currently have a very negative reputation for customer care etc. when things don't go according to plan.

I might be travelling to Toronto probably with Air Canada 

Outeast1000

eDicky said:

Having selected your flight and paid for it by card (ideally direct with the airline), an email gives details of your booking and how to proceed for checking in etc. Your name and passport details will be electronically connected to the flight booking so in the airport you need no physical ticket, just your passport and boarding pass, which can be printed or displayed on your phone. The whole thing can be done on a smartphone if you have one, using the airline's app.

OK i book my flight online then i receive a confirmation email which i print out from a printer which i take with my passport to the check in desk of the airline that i am travelling and they issue me with a boarding pass and i am good to go , right or wrong 

Doshwaster

Outeast1000 said:

eDicky said:

Having selected your flight and paid for it by card (ideally direct with the airline), an email gives details of your booking and how to proceed for checking in etc. Your name and passport details will be electronically connected to the flight booking so in the airport you need no physical ticket, just your passport and boarding pass, which can be printed or displayed on your phone. The whole thing can be done on a smartphone if you have one, using the airline's app.

OK i book my flight online then i receive a confirmation email which i print out from a printer which i take with my passport to the check in desk of the airline that i am travelling and they issue me with a boarding pass and i am good to go , right or wrong 

It can't hurt to have the confirmation but in most cases you don't need it. Just handover your passport at the check-in desk and you will be given a boarding pass. Occasionally they may ask for the bank card used for the booking as a security check but this is rare.

If you are happy to check-in online then this can usually be done from 24 hours before departure. You will then be able to print out a boarding pass so there is no need to go to the check-in desk unless you want to drop off a suitcase. If going hand luggage only you can go straight through security and to the gate.

eDicky

Outeast1000 said:

eDicky said:

Having selected your flight and paid for it by card (ideally direct with the airline), an email gives details of your booking and how to proceed for checking in etc. Your name and passport details will be electronically connected to the flight booking so in the airport you need no physical ticket, just your passport and boarding pass, which can be printed or displayed on your phone. The whole thing can be done on a smartphone if you have one, using the airline's app.

OK i book my flight online then i receive a confirmation email which i print out from a printer which i take with my passport to the check in desk of the airline that i am travelling and they issue me with a boarding pass and i am good to go , right or wrong 

It's exactly as Doshwaster says. There's no need to print out the booking confirmation, and no need to present anything at the airport other than your passport, plus boarding pass if you've already checked in online or phone app. If not you can check in with air Canada at the airport, I don't think they penalise you for not checking in online (I haven't flown with them lately). You will have the opportunity to add details like choosing a seat, special meals, etc online, as well as check-in.

DullGreyGuy

Outeast1000 said:

eDicky said:

Having selected your flight and paid for it by card (ideally direct with the airline), an email gives details of your booking and how to proceed for checking in etc. Your name and passport details will be electronically connected to the flight booking so in the airport you need no physical ticket, just your passport and boarding pass, which can be printed or displayed on your phone. The whole thing can be done on a smartphone if you have one, using the airline's app.

OK i book my flight online then i receive a confirmation email which i print out from a printer which i take with my passport to the check in desk of the airline that i am travelling and they issue me with a boarding pass and i am good to go , right or wrong 

in 99% of cases you dont need the booking confirmation though its not a bad thing to have. 

Having done your booking online your next thing will be checking in online, most airlines its 24hrs before the flight but it can vary. You can then print your boarding pass online and bring it and your passport to the airport. 

If you are hand luggage only you can go straight to security, if you have hold luggage you still queue for the baggage drop/check in desks.